I'll take the high road

Yesterday I tagged along on a Mountaineering Club trip to Glen Clova, which is about two hours' drive from Edinburgh, just north of Dundee. As I haven't really been hiking since high school I stuck with the shortest walk they offered (the options were short walk, long walk, or rock climbing).

We started off easy

Of course stopping every once in a while along the trail for a photo opp:
About 2/3 of the way up the hill we stopped by a loch to eat lunch.
At this point, our guide offered us the opportunity to turn back (some members of the group were getting tired) or to keep going. I figured that since I was already practically there, I might as well go to the top. Why not?

Well we turned a corner and there it was. The trail suddenly turned into a 75 degree slope which was being blasted by winds that can reach up to 70 MPH. Great. Now, mind you, I am an experienced snowboarder, so I know steep slopes and windy peaks. But, holy god. I started to climb but lost my breath and kept having to stop. Unfortunately, because of the wind, we couldn't stop because that would have meant risking losing feeling in our extremities (thus making it difficult to get back down). So I was forced, Leonidas-like, up the edge of the peak (anyone who has seen the movie 300 should be thinking of the scene where he goes to the oracle right about now).

I'm sure it wasn't as dramatic as all that. But I like to think it was.

Anyway, we finally reached the summit.
And gazed down upon the same loch where we had eaten lunch.
And for all of the hell in reaching the top, the views were absolutely worth it.
All in all I'm glad that I went. However, I don't think I'll be going again any time soon. Still, I win.

Aside from that, orientation week is over and classes start tomorrow. This will prove an adventure all its own as some of my classes have meeting locations and times described as:

"Lectures are held on Tuesday and Friday mornings, normally in the Anatomy Lecture Theatre, BMTO (with the exception of weeks 1 & 2). During weeks 1 and 2 the lectures will be held in the McEwan Hall on Tuesdays and Lecture Theatre 3, Appleton Tower on Fridays. Lecture times will vary and the timetable should be checked. (Most lectures will last approximately 50 minutes and start at 09.00, 10.00 or 11.10.)"

So, basically, I'm never going to know where or when my classes are. This will be fun. It will be like a scavenger hunt throughout the city.