Sail Mhor to Eighe Main Ridge

[LobeyD]

I did the standard route on Beinn Eighe from Glen Torridon last week. Took a detour over Coinneach Mhor to have a look at the scramble to Sail Mhor. The relatively straightforward initial section petered out to either a dodgy looking loose gulley or an airy rockstep of several metres. I assumed the rockstep was the route but there were a few possible lines. Dan Bailey's 'Big Days' book has this at Grade 1 but I occasionally feel his descriptions miss a 'mostly' . Looked doable but probably best done in ascent so I left it for another day.

Anyone been up that way? Thoughts on scrambling grade etc. plus any photos of the step from below would be appreciated.

[malky_c]

I went up Sail Mhor a few months ago, but although I always meant to do the scramble onto Coinneach Mhor, I was short of time so I didn't bother in the end - just went back the way I'd come up.

It is mentioned in a few reports but this one seems to be the only one with any useful detail in:
https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=93431

[jmarkb]

It is Grade 2 via the rock step - there are several possible lines, steep but on good holds. Would feel quite commiting in descent. The gully may be easier but looser. Was about to link to my TR, but Malky has got there first!

[ness64]

I have only done this route in ascent which is certainly easier, but it is possible to bypass the rock step. The direct ascent looked impossible to me (I'm not a rock climber!) so I walked around the obstacle on the right hand (south) side and found a bypass path that leads to an easy 'staircase' which is no more than a grade 1 scramble. The sloping rock slabs above the staircase can be avoided by scrambling up a gully to the left.

Photos and description in my trip report:
https://ness64.wordpress.com/2015/01/28/meall-dearg-liathach-beinn-eighe/#Day%202

[jmarkb]

I have only done this route in ascent which is certainly easier, but it is possible to bypass the rock step

Ah, that's very useful, thanks for posting! I think that must have been the way I went in winter.

[LobeyD]

Thanks folks. Very useful info for (hopefully) future reference.

Looks like my impression from the top was about right. Grade 2 if taken directly but that it was such a jumbled mess of steps and slabs there was probably a meandering Grade 1 if you looked carefully enough.

[Boris_the_Bold]

The 1:25,000 OS map makes it look a lot simpler than it is, it was 'fun' (and fairly straightforward navigationally) in the Sail Mhor to Coinneach Mhor direction and looked impossible from above when I tried it in the other direction (at the end of a long day mopping up Tops), so I turned back and used the conventional descent into CMF.

There was no obvious sign of the 'optimum' route in the west-bound direction (eg no line of cairns, no handy rusty fence, no big sign saying 'Tourist Path to Sail Mhor' etc), so I'm not sure I was looking down the right 'cliff' when I made the decision to turn back.

If you planning to try this in that direction (and have a GPS), it might be worth seeing if you can find a detailed grid reference for the top of the down climb (or relevant gully), as it is obviously not a good place to to start down-climbing the wrong cliff!

Have fun!

BtB

[Driftwood]

I descended from Coinneach Mhor to Sail Mhor, and then returned the same way, in June 2019. After initially looking down a gully on the south side, I took the blocky route, which leads west and more or less directly to the line of the ridge out.

Three others went up that way shortly after I'd descended, though I've only views on it from below:

Blocky scramble to and from Sail Mhor

And that photo in full, to hopefully help locate it:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/cPdQuSG6zoE2Knsa6

I'm quite happy with easier scrambles (grade 1 and probably 2), especially in decent conditions, and found it fine on a clear, dry day. A great bit of a magnificent hill. I kept to the giant blocks, rather than the sloping slabs, but there are plenty of options.