Skye - 2010

The In Pinn Bristling With Climbers.

Another spell on Skye has just finished with some rewarding, but long and hard days on the Cuillin Ridge. The weather has been mixed, but never poor enough to curtail a day’s activity. The company has been second to none as first Mark and Peter, and then Callum, Doreen (from Peebles), Pete, Mark, Irene, Peter and Simon accompanied the good Doctor and myself up the length and breadth of the Misty Isle’s highest peaks.

Bla Bheinn on a Better day!

This mountain marathon started with a damp ascent of Bla Bheinn with Mark where all the views were virtual and the mountain quiet until four wonderful search and rescue border collies accompanied by local guide Tony Hanly arrived on the summit. Bla Bheinn offers a short day (and there aren’t many of those to be had around here) and is a good choice if the weather is not so good. But do try and climb it at least once on a good day as its isolated position away from the main ridge makes it a superlative viewpoint.

The second day gave us warm sunshine and we toiled up the Great Stone Shoot in Coire Lagan and up on to the spectacular summit cone of Skye’s highest point: Sgurr Alasdair. The visibility was not quite good enough to give us a view of St Kilda but we weren’t complaining and were just content that the rock was dry for our airy traverse of Sgurr Thearlich and Collie’s Ledge to our second Munro of the day: Sgurr Mhic Choinnich. This all went smoothly and Mark even agreed to pose at the end of a tight rope for a photo with the depths of Coire Lagan far below him (as he knew only too well)!

Mark, (Very) High Above Coire Lagan!

The third day, with Peter joining us, was a much less successful day in Coir a’Ghrunnda with low cloud, burns in spate and Mark’s troublesome knee all combining to give us a view-less and Munro-less day!

Sgurr a'Mhadaidh With Sgurr a'Ghreadaidh Behind.

Meeting up with the Doctor and our ever-growing band of budding alpinists saw an unusually long straggle of 9 ascending An Dorus (the door) for a stunning day on 2 ropes of the central peaks of Sgurr a'Mhadaidh, Sgurr a'Ghreadaidh and Sgurr na Banachdich. Pete declared he didn’t know such concentration existed as we snaked our cautious but exhilarating way along the sharpest arête in Britain around those familiar Cuillin landmarks that punctuate progress along the ridge: the black gash, the wart and the three teeth. We cuddled many a Cuillin that day!

Not Now Keith; I'm Concentrating!

From the final summit a long and tortuous descent down the scree and shale of Coire an Eich led us back to the Glen Brittle Youth Hostel and the sight of a large golden eagle (possibly a sea eagle) soaring above us in search of an evening meal. Thankfully, there was still sufficient life in our party (just) to suggest we had nothing to offer!

Poser on the Ridge - You Get a Lot of These!

Tuesday saw a return to Coire Lagan but not, thankfully, the Great Stone Shoot (an horrendous ascent route now). A reasonable climb up the edge of the An Stac screes placed us on the ridge for a there-and-back ascent of Sgurr Mhic Choinnich and then, in gathering gloom and a bitter crosswind, a quick shin up the Inaccessible Pinnacle.

Cold? It's Just a State of Mind!

Everyone did really well and seemed to take this precariously perched flake of rock in their stride (and occasionally, straddle). Even the abseils went smoothly so well done everyone – firstly for climbing the Pinn and secondly for not catching hypothermia! A slow and complicated descent down Coire na Banachdich ensured another 10-hour day – you don’t get much time to write postcards or watch the footie when you’re climbing the Cuillin!

Doreen (from Peebles) Struts Her Stuff on the In Pinn!

And now for something different…. Oh no I forgot, and now for another 10-hour day in the cloud! This time it was the long, long trudge from the Glen Brittle campsite (the toilets are no longer public by the way!) and around into Coir a’Ghrunnda. The views were as non-existent as before but at least the water levels in the burns had receded and posed no problems. Shaley paths and seaside scrambling in the murk gave us Sgurr nan Eag and Sgurr Dubh Mor and a chance encounter with a lone walker who required rescuing that night by the Skye Mountain Rescue Team! Navigation in poor visibility remains the Cuillin’s greatest challenge (other than falling off them of course) and should not be underestimated. For such a sharp, well-defined ridge, finding your way about in thick cloud is surprisingly difficult. The last part of the day was spent traversing beneath the Thearlich-Dubh (T-D) Gap and up onto a very tricky and greasy Sgurr Alasdair. Skilful cricket skills enabled Peter to catch Irene at second slip at a delicate moment of the climb in a particularly greasy gulley and it was a relief all round to reach the summit! No view at all this time, let alone of St Kilda. It was not a place to linger today so it was down the Great Stone Shoot (in 30 mins; well done team!) and back down Coire Lagan in another 10-hr plus Cuillin Fest! No postcards; no footie – again!

Another Misty Summit!

We finished the week with ascents of the 3 northern peaks seen to such advantage from the Sligachan Hotel: Sgurr nan Gillean, Am Basteir and Bruach na Frithe (yes I know you can’t actually see the last one from Sligachan but you can use your imagination)! The ascent into Coire a’ Bhasteir provided a welcome change from Glen Brittle but the tops were mostly enshrouded in cloud as we hauled our weary selves below Am Basteir and it’s sinister Tooth up onto Bruach na Frithe. Regrettably, Irene’s knee was causing just too much pain to continue so I gallantly forsook an ascent of the last 2 peaks and accompanied her off the mountain whilst the remainder of the group followed the Doctor up and down Am Basteir’s east ridge and up and down Sgurr nan Gillean’s west ridge. This day proved to be the longest yet – 11 hrs!

The Doctor Leading From the Rear(s)!

Throughout the week the team’s spirits remained high despite many new experiences and unusual positions that many were probably not expecting. The humour flowed in line with the adrenalin and Doreen (from Peebles) was good enough to let me know what she thought of the life-cycle of the Common Lousewort…… Callum has very few Munros left to do, Pete has discovered new depths of concentration and I will be forever indebted to Simon for his invaluable insight into the formation of baked and chilled margins, isostatic rebound and sliken lines!

And now to Knoydart...

All Scrubbed Up at the Slig!

Check out my future plans for similar walks on: http://www.hillways.co.uk/summer/summer.htm

Sunshine on Skye!

Cuillin Ridge

Last week I again helped out Darren with a party of Scotland’s finest youngsters on a couple of days climbing two of the easier peaks on the Cuillin Ridge of Skye. Perfect weather provided a magical backdrop to the climbs and afforded great views all along the ridge as well as to distant Ben Nevis in the south-east and the Outer Hebrides out to sea.

Day 1 saw us departing from the Glen Brittle youth hostel and wandering up past deep pools and waterfalls into Coire a’ Ghreadaidh. Half-way up, the grass gives way to good old Cuillin gabbro rock and the last part of the route is up a scree-filled gulley to An Dorus (the door) – a distinct notch on the main ridge which provides relatively easy access on to the skyline. The highlight for us today was the sight of a golden eagle right above us; for some of the party, it was their first such sighting! A left turn at the top up a tricky (for some) rock step opens the way to a short scramble along the ridge to the summit of Sgurr a’ Mhadaidh (918m). The return route was modified slightly to avoid the rock step. We intercepted the scree gulley a little way below An Dorus and returned to a Glen Brittle bathed in hot sunshine under cloudless skies – Skye as you must experience it at least once in your life (although you may have to try quite a few times before succeeding)!

Am Basteir

Day 2 started from the Sligachan Hotel and we took the well-worn, but good quality path up towards the base of Sgurr nan Gillean’s Pinnacle Ridge before threading our way across Coire Bhasteir right below the imposing chisel-shaped rock peak of Am Basteir and its detached offspring, the Basteir Tooth. Once again, what should we see soaring above us but one of those golden eagles - and for some of the party it was their second such sighting! It was then just a short traverse across the odd soft snow patch to our summit of the day, the Cuillin’s easiest Munro: Bruach na Frithe (958m). From here we could again see along the length and breadth of the main ridge whilst that newly-familiar golden sun just kept on shining! Our descent took us down into Fionn Choire before following the bubbling waters of the Allt Dearg Mor back to ‘the Slig’.

Sgurr nan Gillean and Am Basteir From Bruach na Frithe

If you want to try your hand at the UK’s premier mountain chain and you have little experience of climbing and scrambling, treat the adventure (because that is what it will be) will a deal of respect. Research the Cuillin fully and gain as much understanding as you can of the complexities, difficulties and technical problems involved in traversing these enigmatic rock pinnacles. Unless you are very experienced, employ a local guide and get yourself very fit . You should be entirely comfortable with exposed ridges and rock ledges (not to mention route-finding prowess) to tackle the peaks separately and you will need rock climbing skills and experience in order to conquer Sgurr Dearg’s Inaccessable Pinnacle and some of the intervening steps along the Ridge.

Check out my future plans for similar walks on: http://www.hillways.co.uk/summer/summer.htm