Sore Knees on Schiehallion

January 2010 and after a failed attempt to find the sub-terranian bothy on Schiehallion 2 weeks earlier, Ian and I try again.  After 3 hours of walking up the slope in the dark Ian proclaims "Drew, I don't think we're going to find it this time."  Ignoring this realistic observation I feel the stones of the bothy with my unique mountain sense.  After 10 minutes of self doubt and thoughts of a plan B we stumble upon the snow laden shelter!  The relief is as tangable as the sheep staring at us through the darkness.
After climbing over the 2 foot snow drift we open the door with the usual trepidation.  With these bothies it's hard to tell what you will find inside: no furniture, other climbers or a family of rams.  Thankfully there are some chairs and no other guests.  "We're in for a good night's rest" I say to Ian as we unpack our cooking utensils.  After 20 minutes we have a wee fire and noodles on the boil.  Pure bliss halfway up a mountain with the wind howling outside and being in a cosy bothy.  We spend a few hours the next day climbing to the summit of the mountain when I realise that I have sore knees coming back down.  Old age is a real killer!!