Stac Pollaidh - how hard is the scramble to true summit?

[rspat]

Apart from the pics posted here - which seem to be the final scramble to the West summit - is there anything of concern going along the ridge from East to West?

There is another small tower further East than the scramble which would have to be negotiated on the North side on an outward sloping ledge if one was sticking to the crest - again, I didn't fancy this so circumvented it by dropping down a gully on the South side just before the obstacle for quite some distance then reascending another obvious gully to the crest.

[HighlandSC]

I wanted to put the walk on as Grade 3 as the walk isn't so long and is done by lots of inexperienced hillwalkers. This meant the description had to advise giving the summit a miss! But then if I put it on as Grade 5 alot less people would choose it.

On the other hand, it seemed a bit strange to have a route on Stac Pollaidh and a page for the Graham Stac Pollaidh and not to link them together. It's up to users to decide whether they want to consider it bagged or not - you can always unclick the Graham. It's the same situation with the Cobbler really - probably the majority of ascents recorded don't include the actual summit, but many of the walkers will say they've done the Cobbler. Hope that makes some sort of sense

Makes sense and I suppose it is quite clear from reading the description that it's not a route to the real summit. How about adding another route that does take in the summit?

There's plenty of scrambling, hard or easy as you like, the ridge is very complex with many possible routes but not any impassable obstacles that come close to the difficulty of the final tower.

The gully option is really fairly easy, though the gully is quite steep and loose - you do not have to actually ascend the leaning slab in the photo, the route is through the gap between the slab and the mountain proper to connect with a short gully on the other side. On return, the route feels safer due to the slab acting as a chockstone which floors the gully you're descending.

Sounds good - at least I'll have some fun getting to the point of doing (or wimping out of!) the final scramble.

[HighlandSC]

I’d agree with you 100%…… but its all in the wording, people never say i’m summiting the Munro’s/Corbetts or Grahams or reaching the top of the Munro’s, they usually say i’m doing, bagging or climbing the Munro’s and these words are open to interpretation. I’d agree you can’t summit a hill without reaching the summit but i don’t believe you have to reach/touch the summit to claim a mountain as done/bagged or climbed, whether or not you tick the hill as done in your logger is down to your own conscience and any rules of the site.

I know, but under my own conscience I wouldn't class a hill as done, bagged, summited, or anything else unless you'd been to the very highest point.

My original point was the WH description lists the hill under the "Summits Climbed" section of the walk description. As Paul mentioned, it makes sense of sorts to have a link to the walk description from the hills own general page, albeit you don't summit it for real. Perhaps there's a need to have a different kind of link like "Hills walked on but not summited"

I wonder how heated the debate about this would be if it were a Munro....

[Lifeonloop]

Trail magazine did a video on youtube showing an ascent to the true summit. I think this shows the difficulty pretty well at 4.30

[chalkywhyte]

That looks very exposed Certainly looks a grade higher than the Cobbler and I don't even know if I would do that now (The last couple of times it was iced up and getting down took some nerve).

But at my age, that level of exposure simply scares me

[skuk007]

Scares me too.
The guy in the video made it look not too bad but I'm sure when you are actually there, looking at the drop if you get it wrong, it will seem terrifying. Maybe when I've got a bit more exposure experience I would think about it. Maybe!

[malky_c]

I don't know how hard this is. First time I was up there (about 8 years ago) I went straight onto the summit without even thinking about it. A couple of years later I was put off by ice.

But when I was up there in 2008, I couldn't bring myself to do it, despite spending about 20 minutes trying various moves! I know I've got progressively more aware and scared of heights over the years, but I thought it would still be easy. Going to have another look this summer maybe!

[assynt_bob]

I've been to the summit a few times. The hardest bit to get to the true summit is basically one move that is shown in the pictures. The move has got a little harder in recent years because a bit broke off one winter.

I have had to put a rope on people on two occassions to bring them up/down that section but overall it is just exposed and straightforward in summer. Winter is a different game.

Bob Kerr
Assynt MRT

[Kendonm]

Age must make a difference. Climbed Stac Pollaidh many times as a young lad and didn't think anything of it.

Did The Cobbler today for the first time now 31. Wee bit sketchy with wet boots I have to say. Glad to get back through the hole and back to the path.

Guess if you made a big enough mistake getting to either true summit you'd be in some amount of trouble.

[Sgurr]

I printed out malky_c's photo of "how to Climb Stac Pollaidh" learned it off by heart, and took it with me for my Graham completion. By then I was 74, husband had said he would not like to climb it again with me as he had/has a dud knee, so I'm afraid I got a guide, as I had a rotary cuff tear which had weakened my shoulder (a couple of years previously, I hadn't been able to raise my right arm above waist level), and I wasn't sure I could pull myself up. Ken (guide) used a rope for the penultimate step, and I was very glad of it, more to calm my nerves than anything else. I think if I had been uninjured and younger, I would have gone for it unguided. below, malky's pic



There is a very good description of the wriggle round route to the left on another web-site ( author Cuillin) but Paul has asked me to desist from leaving links to that website.

[mountainsofscotland]

I have used yellow marker to mark the alternative way up and down. The slab marked with yellow is technically easier than taking the wall directly but you need to be careful going up / coming down as you get to it from a short distance down a gully.

I find it easiest to go up the route that Sgurr has highlighted (marked red) and to come down the slab (marked yellow)

[willsdad]

To me, it's all down to the individual and what you consider yourself.

I consider myself a Backpacker or a Hiker. I am not a Mountaineer.

I did Stac Pollaidh this June. I went to the saddle, dropped my daysack and poles, then proceeded to try and climb the west pinnacle. The moment I started to get a little 'wobbly legged' I came back down.
I consider myself to have bagged that! In my view, I couldn't safely go any further.

If anyone considers different....good for you, but I really don't care

[HighlandSC]

I'll just chime in here to say that I'm usually comfortable with most scrambling, but when I was on Stac Pollaidh it was wet and I didn't consider it safe enough to attempt the final scramble to get to the summit. Did think about it for a while though

[weaselmaster]

I had a half-hearted go at this a couple of years back and nerves got the better of me. I've looked at the pics and videos and am not comfortable at the prospect of the exposure (either on the way up, or coming back down again )

As far as I'm concerned it does need to be summited if I am to say I've climbed it.
Plan on using a guide and combining it with a traverse of the ridge proper or maybe - if I am feeling brave that day - an ascent via the west buttress.

came across a guide called Paul Tattersall @gofurtherscotland.co.uk who lives up that way and knows the mountain well - plan to use him in the spring

[prog99]

I know Paul, you'll have a great time with him.