{"id":1749,"date":"2014-01-06T22:14:38","date_gmt":"2014-01-06T22:14:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=1749"},"modified":"2014-01-12T16:42:23","modified_gmt":"2014-01-12T16:42:23","slug":"these-boots-were-made-for-walking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2014\/01\/06\/these-boots-were-made-for-walking\/","title":{"rendered":"These boots were made for walking…"},"content":{"rendered":"
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My trusty boots enjoy their final outing - with crampons for good measure!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s been a long relationship but it had to end sometime. This weekend I gave my trusty Scarpa Manta’s one last outing on the hills. My new three-season boots won’t take a crampon so I had to revert to my winter boots until I can afford a new pair. Their soles may have gone almost bare and there may be a hole or two in the outer fabric but they still did a job. However, I wouldn’t want to trust them to a full winter’s outing on the Scottish mountains, so it’s time to say goodbye.<\/p>\n

The parting made me think about how long I’ve had the boots. It turns out that I’ve had them since 2005 – and thank goodness for digital cameras for recording for posterity the dates of all my walks since the early noughties! I think I must have bought them, along with my Grivel G12s, for a trip to Chamonix to do some glacier walking and get some Alpine experience with my brother and sister-in-law.<\/p>\n

In them, I’ve climbed a few hills in that time, mainly in Scotland. We used to travel north to Arrochar when I lived in Glasgow and since moving to Inverness they’ve travelled far and wide to trek on the hills, moors and forests of the Highlands.<\/p>\n

Saturday’s walk took us up Sgorr nan Lochan Uaine, a Corbett in betwen Loch Clair, in Glen Torridon, and Achnashellach. The boots proved their worth when we had to don the crampons for the final ascent on the hard snow, almost perfect for walking the last steep section to the summit shelter – which was filled with snow upon our arrival.<\/p>\n

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At the summit of Sgorr nan Lochan Uaine above Glen Torridon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was an unexpectedly perfect day as far as the weather was concerned and we enjoyed fine views over Liathach and Beinn Eighe from this fine vantage point.<\/p>\n


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