Snow, Sunshine & Giant Wooly Mammoths - The story of Febfest 2016

There's something just a bit special about winter in Glencoe although we did have to survive storms Henry, Imogen & Jake before the weather finally settled down.

Storms, what storms?

We managed to un-batten the hatches just in time for our winter festival Febfest and whilst we were busy stocking up the whisky shelves some folk were out on the slopes or riding their bikes, lucky devils.

Cracking view

Ice, Ice baby!

With all this snow around it was no surprise that our Winter Safety Lecture series that ran throughout the month was well supported. Over the four weeks we welcomed over 300 folk to the lectures.

 

Opening night

These four evenings, delivered by qualified mountain guides, are a chance to refresh and learn about the skills and planning required before heading out into the mountains.

Top tips from the best

Having done this for some 31 years we felt it was time for a change of venue and with plenty room to spread out and roaring fires to add atmosphere the Boots bar was the obvious choice.

Room with a view

We never tire of looking for new cask and craft ales and this year we added 4 cask ciders and over 30 Scottish gins to our range.

is it your round?

We are extremely proud of our food and top marks to the kitchen brigade for producing an interesting and varied selection for the specials board as well as our revamped menu. Well done lads

local produce.......from New York?

Throughout the month our staff were busy selling tickets to anything that moved for our Big Winter Raffle. We had a shed load of prizes including 100 baby mammoths accompanied by their dad.

What do you mean 'it's too warm'

Stacks of beer, cider, whisky, Mammut holdalls, accommodation, gear, food and activity vouchers along with t-shirts galore were all up for grabs.

Sorry, Pool table out of action for a bit

So where did you get all the prizes?, who won what?, how much did you raise? Good questions.

Many thanks to our sponsor Mammut who, as well as throwing lots of goodies at us, also dig deep into their pockets to pay for the lecture series. But we couldn't do it without the support of our suppliers and local businesses who get right behind our fundraising efforts.

So a big 'Thank You' in no particular order to:

Mammut UK

Rich Pyne

Glencoe Independent Hostel

Nevisport

Letterfinlay Specialist Foods

Ice Factor

SeaXplorer

Cairngorm Brewery

Isle Of Skye Brewery

Thistly Cross Cider

Anteallach Brewery

Orkney Brewery

Benromach

Gordon & Macphail

Alex Roddie - Epic author
Karl from Glencoe Photographic for taking the snaps
Kristin, Will & Liam for assisting with the draw

Special thanks to the lecturers:
Andy Nelson
Davy Gunn
Andy Spink
Rich Pyne

We are still counting the pennies but we have raised over £1000 so far.

And now for the Winners!

Mammut Goodie bag

Well done Ryan



'I'm gonna look cool in this hoodie'

Just what Sergio needed 'another t-shirt'

'I can't believe my luck' says J



Rich Pyne with his latest victim, eh!,client Jim

No favouritism here then Will, party at yours?

Jeff now has a better shirt for under his fleece

Looks like Stuart will be staying local next time

All proceeds from our fundraising efforts throughout February will go to Mountain Safety Initiatives

Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team in action

Thanks to all our customers and guests for parting with their hard earned cash and we look forward to doing it all again next year. 

Clachaig Winter Mountain Safety Lectures 2016

Dates for the 2016 series of the Clachaig Winter Mountain Safety Lectures have now been confirmed. Running on Tuesday nights throughout. February, the lectures are presented by local mountain professionals and look at various aspects of planning your day out in relation to staying as safe as possible.

Thanks to the sponsorship by Mammut UK, the lectures are Free Entry. Starting at 8pm the lectures move to the Boots Bar for a new venue this year.

Read more about the history of the series on the GlencoeScotland web site here. You'll also find full details of each lecture on the What's On listings for February.

Make a note in your diary, tell your friends,... If you'd like some posters in jpg or pdf format get in touch with us at Clachaig and provide an email address.

Reasons to be cheerful - Febfest 2015

Skiing in 'the' Buff

February is one of our favourite months here at Clachaig. The winter helps, of course, sub-zero temperatures bring hardy axe wielding climbers, fresh snow brings boarders & skiers and our winter beer festival brings just about everyone else. This year it would be fair to say that we experienced a mixture of weather conditions from crisp blue skies to wet and windy days with temperatures high enough to dine alfresco, albeit in your thermals.

Thanks for the award CAMRA

For those in the know Febfest is so much more than just a beer festival, although we never miss an opportunity to fill our cellar with award winning beers.

Pie and a pint anyone?

During the four week celebrations we host regular live music sessions along with Quiz nights, 

Whisky/Gin/Vodka Tasting Masterclasses, Weekly Prize Raffles and Winter Mountain Safety Lectures. Add some tasty accommodation deals, excellent grub and the largest range of cask and craft ales this side of the Pennines to the mix and it’s easy to see why this time of the year is so popular.

go on, have another dram

The weekly raffle

Whisky & good company. What else do you need?

This year our Winter Mountain Safety Lecture Series celebrated it’s 30th anniversary and with numbers topping the 100 mark on two of the four nights it looks like it could roll on for another 30 years. By our reckoning over 350 folk attended the series.

Eyes down for a full house

Airbag demo

Mammut shop @ Clachaig

Once again we were joined by Nevisport who set up a Mammut stall in our residents lounge to allow for leisurely browsing during the lecture break. Many thanks to all who attended and in particular the lecturers Mike Pescod, David ‘Heavy’ Whalley, Richard Bentley and Davy Gunn who educated, enlightened and entertained those present. 

The Big Winter Raffle is now very much a part of our Febfest celebrations here at Clachaig and this year the swag fund was the largest to date with some 40 individual prizes

Mammut's contribution to our prize fund

We are very grateful to Mammut who continue to sponsor the Clachaig Winter Mountain Safety Lecture series and also dig deep into their pockets to provide some great prizes.

Huge thanks also to the many local businesses and accommodation providers that have also chipped in and made it all possible.

Thank you, in no particular order, to:

Mammut

Trail Magazine

Glencoe Mountain Resort

Letterfinlay Foods (Fort William)

Glencoe Independent Hostel

Gordon and Macphail (whisky merchants)

Kinlochlaich Garden Centre

Clachaig Inn

Vertical Descents

Claymore Filling Station

NTS Glencoe

Thistly Cross Cider

Lewis Hamilton (The Band)

Edencoille B and B

Ice Factor Kinlochleven

Craiglinnhe House

Nevisport (Fort William)

Sea Xplorer

Tomatin Distillery

Cairngorm Brewery

Perception Chocolates

Sinclair Brewery
Loch Ness Brewery

Wallaces Express
Glencoe Photography

So, how much did we raise?

Total raised this year £2,335.78

And where does the money go?  

The money is split 50/50 between Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team and the Transceiver Park at Glencoe Mountain.

 

Always ready when called upon

Training Park Glencoe Mountain

But we couldn’t raise all this money without our guests and customers who year after year part with the contents of their wallets at every turn, so your generosity is noted, and very gratefully accepted. 

Thank you for your support. 

Want to see some happy prize winners?

You'll never get lost with this Transceiver (or that shirt)

Ready for the trip

another winner roped in

No more camping for me, I'm upgrading

Fashion icon

nothing beats your neighbour winning a bottle of whisky

some great tunes from Lewis Hamilton

should have gone to specsavers

Rucksack stuffed with goodies - thanks Trail Magazine

Well that's about it for another year folks. Big shout out and high fives all round to our hard working staff, who spent the whole of February selling raffle tickets to anything that moved. Not least of whom is our Alfie who sold countless tickets and is crowned this year’s King of the Raffle who was joined by his Queen, Erin, on the final night.

drummers eye view

remind me how to lower this mic?

And finally, a very special thank you to our mistress of ceremonies, Shauna. 

A job well done. 

See you again next year.