Does the eastern summit of Stac Pollaidh 'count'?

[PermaHeretic]

Here's me with my measly 1 Munro, 1 Graham and a couple of sub-2000s, desperately wanting to tick another box. It was windy... It did hail... I saw snow beneath me. I needed to use my £4.99 walking pole. Surely I gat half a tick?

[Mal Grey]

I first "climbed Stac Pollaidh" in 1976, aged 7. The east summit, not the main. It counted for me for years (not that I did tick lists, and there was no online ticking), and I only summited properly 20 years later. All that matters is honesty with yourself about what you've done, nobody else's opinion really matters. If you want to tick it, tick it, its not like you'll be arrested for claiming it.

I suspect you'll tick the main summit soon enough anyway though - its one of the best of all, and I include Corbetts, Munros and even Himalayan peaks. Nothing in the world is MORE beautiful than Inverpolly and Assynt, though plenty of amazing places match it.

I climbed Suilven at Easter, but only to the wall. We took 3 kids up, very carefully, (Having paddled in by canoe), the youngest was a day before his 4th birthday. To him, that sure as hell was a summit, the next day he built a scale model of it on a beach on the Fionn Loch. No way I'm taking that one off him.

[BobMcBob]

When I was on Stac Pollaidh there must have been 50-odd others, and about 5 of us did the west peak. I didn't see any of the others thinking they hadn't climbed it The important thing is that you enjoyed the day out.

[sross]

[quote="Mal Grey"]

I suspect you'll tick the main summit soon enough anyway though - its one of the best of all, and I include Corbetts, Munros and even Himalayan peaks. Nothing in the world is MORE beautiful than Inverpolly and Assynt, though plenty of amazing places match it.



I agree, it may not be the tallest, but this was one of the most beautiful views we saw in Scotland in 2012.

[foggieclimber]

Getting to the true summit of Stac Pollaidh involves scrambling/climbing a short rocky tower. Many scramble along the ridge as far as the large cairn to the West without going up the rocky tower to get to the true summit.

If going to the true summit, you can climb the rocky tower direct or go down a wee gully to the South until you reach a slanting slab which you can scramble up. I prefer going up direct and coming down the slab.

The rocky tower that you have to ascend to get to the true summit:


The East summit, that you did climb, is not listed in the Database of British Hills but is still worth doing.

[PermaHeretic]

Thank you all for your replies. I couldn't get good enough internet on my phone to look until I got home again (Devon).

Stac Pollaidh was definitely one of my highlights and tremendously satisfying even though not the true summit. I was completely alone except for the dog (who's a liability not an asset) and it was so windy. I was amazed I even got to the eastern summit, as I took a really long way round (around the left to the back, I'm sure it would have been shorter to go right) and it was only at the last minute I found a path that actually led up to the eastern summit.

I would have been very silly to have tried to do anything harder in that wind, with the dog and so little experience. So it was just as well I didn't know at the time it wasn't a true summit, as I think I would have been very tempted to try, having got so far. Which is exactly how I managed to 'climb' Beinn Ghlass last time (not previously having heard of Munros or known there was a 'thing' about climbing them). So... it's a big danger, I reckon, to go up too far in dangerous conditions lest one can't bear not to complete it. On this principle I gave up on Ben Hope far too early: I came back down at the first hint of rain - then got back to gorgeous sunshine, and realised it was probably 'altitude weather' rather than weather weather. Oh well, just have to go back to Scotland again!