The Loch Coruisk Memorial Hut was built in 1959 in memory of two young climbers, Peter Drummond Smith and David Monro, who lost their lives whilst climbing on Ben Nevis on April 1st 1953.
During the Easter break of 1953 both were staying at the CIC Hut on Ben Nevis and following a climb in the South Castle Gully area, they were avalanched and killed during the descent. Both had left a small sum of money and their families decided a suitable memorial would be a climbers hut.
Dame Flora MacLeod granted permission to build the hut on the shore of Loch Scavaig and at the site of an earlier fishing shelter and the still standing chimney. The hut, designed by Architect and Glasgow JMCS member, David Whitham was built over the course of 1957-58 by local builder Lachlan MacKinnon and colleagues.
The sheer labour of delivering materials to the site was prodigious. Everything had to be shipped in small boats from Elgol; concrete blocks, cement, bags of sand, wood, doors, windows and corrugated iron were all manhandled from dinghy to motor boat, dumped on the slabs at Scavaig and carried the last hundred yards over sodden, spongy ground; the only material to hand was water, and plenty of it!
A large group of Glasgow JMCS members, relatives and friends headed to the new Coruisk Memorial for the opening party on 23 May 1959 with the mothers of both Peter and David being present. The day was warm and sunny and it was quite a celebration!
The MacKinnon family connection continues as they own and operate the Misty Isle, organising Boat Trips from Elgol. They are instrumental in assisting with the transportation of materials (and Glasgow JMCS members!) to maintain the hut.
Without the boat operators routine maintenance would be impossible since it’s a long, rough 10km carry overland to the hut with no guarantee of being able to cross the rivers at Camusunary and Scavaig and including the tricky crossing of “The Bad Step”.
This situation was proven some years ago when one of our former Custodians carried the wood for a replacement door the 9.5km or so from Kilmarie to the Scavaig River which was in spate. Crossing the river he lost his footing and was given the option of saving himself or the door. The door was last seen bobbing on the waves heading towards the Isle of Rum, and fortunately the Custodian survived!
The hut was initially owned by a trust – the ‘Coruisk Memorial Trust’ but lacking the means to administer and maintain the property these responsibilities were taken on by the Glasgow Section of the Junior Mountaineering Club of Scotland which remained the case until 1975 when the Hut was bequeathed to Glasgow JMCS.
A couple of old JMCS friends are commemorated with plaques within the hut; George Hamilton who died on 18 November 1989 in Coire Ban Mor, Beinn Sheasgarnaich and Dr Angus McInnes, on Hell’s Lum in the Cairngorms on 13 March 1993.
Thanks to the hard work of many Coruisk Hut custodians (all members of Glasgow JMCS), the hut has been maintained and gradually upgraded to become the cosy place it is today.
