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Tackling Skye

Tackling Skye


Postby Weekend Wanderer » Fri Aug 17, 2018 10:46 pm

Hi everyone ,
Looking for some advice re Skye .
It is next on my list of places to visit .
I have read varying reports about the severity of the mountains there and have heard lots of shouts to hire a Guide but I would rather try and wing it on my own .
I'm am fairly experienced with about 220 Munros climbed and have no problems with a bit of scrambling i.e. Aonach Eagach , Forcan Ridge etc .
I realise that I will need someone for the In Pinn however .
Where would I start , what mountains to tackle first and any other tips would be greatly appreciated . The very mention of Skye does give me goosebumps , a mixture of fear and excitement and I'm not ashamed to admit it either :)
And I have heard about those damned midgies as well :)
Cheers
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Re: Tackling Skye

Postby Coop » Sat Aug 18, 2018 5:54 am

My advice- hire a guide and don't try and wing it.
Don't underestimate any of it especially Sgurr nan Gillean.
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Re: Tackling Skye

Postby walkingpoles » Sat Aug 18, 2018 7:44 am

Check out all the walk reports. Know the places you can't/shouldn't go without a rope. Bring a helmet. And be ready to turn around before reaching the summit. If you encounter a situation where it looks like you're doing something stupid, it might very well be something stupid.

Going on your first day with a guide to the InnPin will give you an idea about what you encounter on the ridge.

My other advise is not to climb all munros in one holiday. A leisurely approach is much safer. And you want to go back to Skye anyway, so leave an excuse to do so. :D
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Re: Tackling Skye

Postby spiderwebb » Sat Aug 18, 2018 9:32 am

My advice would be to go explore yourself first. It may depend on how convenient it is for you to go to Skye and if you're looking to just get the munros bagged, so to speak. If the latter then a Guide may be best. If you're happy to accept that you may not always come away with a summit in the bag, then go yourself. Apart from the walk ins, the level of fitness required would be about the same for climbing stairs all day :D

Couple of things worth mentioning, Skye is less about navigation in the true sense, map/compass etc, but more about familiarisation with the various routes, knowing what features (notable rock features and such like) to look for confirming you're on track etc. navigation comes in to get you to a point, up the particular glen and so on. Once on the ridge, this knowledge of such features plays a bigger part and in the mist it can be very confusing, the ability to follow a compass bearing (and there are places where the compass will not be true, GPS or similar probably more use), is rather immaterial, as you'll probably be able to go forward or back, either side being less of an option for obvious reasons. Noting wind direction also as an aid to the direction you're pointing, are you going up when you feel you should be going down, the usual route finding techniques. Lastly, once on the scrambly sections, don't make any move that you cannot reverse, and if it looks impossible, look around, there is probably another way, one that others have used, scratch marks from crampons, rock discoloured, bearing in mind that many folk over the years will also have nade the same mistakes, so don't take these signs as being the route :wink:

My first trips to Skye were infrequent, as I lived down south, so it would have been a one weekend a year trip, and not all those were to Skye. It was 30 years to reach 50 Munros. Clearly living up here helps and you could compress the Skye trips into a year. But like you the first time I read of the Cuillin it gave me goosebumps too. But over the years have had many trips, and many turning back, but none without learning a little more, becoming familiar with the walk ins and so on.

First time to do Alasdair via Sron na Ciche, (picked that route so I could look down on the Cioch :D ) we arrived at the 'Bad Step', just an awkward corner, form which a slip would certainly hurt (a sling can be useful to hold on as you take the step round onto the continuing ledge. But after that we could not see the way on, it wasn't obvious, a drop down to a col and then this huge impenetrable bulk in front, where do we go, we know the summit is up there !! Luckily a party of two came up from Coire Ghruinnda and proceeded to climb a small chimney which was the key, but difficult to see from our stance further back, once up that it was just a case of picking a route up. Down the Stone Shoot (I've never gone up it :D ).

Similarly, the walk up into An Dorus,, I seem to have a habit :lol: :lol: of missing the slight deviation to An Dorus up near the top and ending up at the bottom of the Black Notch ( I now have a large boulder firmly engraved in my memory as the key to keep left and not follow the other path, although it might be worth a look, albeit wet, you pass the top of it on approach to Greadaidh), and the first trip to An Dorus we turned right climbed out to do Greadaidh, as Mhadaidh filled us with fear, when in fact it is relatively easy either by going through An Dorus by a few steps and turning back up, or easier still there is a faint path on the left where the An Dorus gap starts to close in. On the way up this way there are even areas of flat where folk no doubt bivvy when doing the whole ridge.

First time seeing the Inn Pinn, I declared 'I'm never getting up that', I even put a cursory tick in my Munro book, because I had touched it :lol: :lol: But many years later a new found friend, went up it on his own, with a coil of rope for the abseil, he was up in 5 minutes. He took myself a few years later, longer than 5 minutes, but I had done it, if it wasn't for its position, it would be no worse than any other scrambles that you've already done. Its also the only one I wore a helmet for, although given my helmet had had its use caving for protection from falling stuff, I wasn't convinced to wear it even for the Inn Pinn, the drop being such that I failed to see the benefit of only having my head intact :D

Its all easier to get familiar if the weather plays ball, as I said it can be a confusing place in mist when up amongst the rock, boulders etc. But first time, doing some of the more straightforward ones, be sure to look across to others to pick out the features that you can read up on, it all adds to the knowledge for the future trips. Depending on who you are with, it can be useful to have a small length of rope, say 25 to 30 foot and a couple of slings/carabiners for some bits, folk with small legs and such like :lol: I seem to have a few friends that are challenged in that area :lol:

So, basically I would go yourself, find all this out for yourself, its so much more rewarding or get a guide, preferably one that'll carry you up too, saves all the effort :wink: Most of all enjoy the adventure :D
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Re: Tackling Skye

Postby davekeiller » Sat Aug 18, 2018 9:34 am

The red cuillins are lower and definitely a walk rather than a scramble. Bla bheinn is probably the easiest of the black cuillins. There are other peaks on the ridge that can be picked off in ones and twos without too much scrambling, look at walk reports and guidebooks.
And buy the Harveys map because the OS maps are useless on the ridge!
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Re: Tackling Skye

Postby Coop » Sat Aug 18, 2018 2:09 pm

davekeiller wrote:The red cuillins are lower and definitely a walk rather than a scramble. Bla bheinn is probably the easiest of the black cuillins. There are other peaks on the ridge that can be picked off in ones and twos without too much scrambling, look at walk reports and guidebooks.
And buy the Harveys map because the OS maps are useless on the ridge!


On that one - I bought the Harvey's map before going.
Checked in at Glenbrittle Yh and they sell another map: 1 in 16 I think - I'll check later. 3 or 4 quid it was - waterproof and more detail than any
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Re: Tackling Skye

Postby Ben Nachie » Sat Aug 18, 2018 8:03 pm

What spiderwebb said.
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Re: Tackling Skye

Postby Coop » Sat Aug 18, 2018 8:23 pm

The map I was talking about is
Around & about the Cuillin hills. Part of os explorer 411.
1:16000
The Yellow Walk Maps
From yellowpublications .
Handy wee thing
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Re: Tackling Skye

Postby nigheandonn » Sun Aug 19, 2018 10:41 am

Dave Hewitt (I think) made a post a while ago with comments on his experiences on Skye in the days before it was almost automatic to hire a guide - that whole thread might be worth searching for.
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Re: Tackling Skye

Postby jmarkb » Sun Aug 19, 2018 10:55 am

Some reasonable introductions to Skye scrambling would be:
Normal route to Sgurr nan Eag via Coire Ghrunnda
S ridge of Banachdich
NW ridge of Bruach na Frithe

These all involve moderate (Grade 2) scrambling, are not too long and have relatively straightforward route finding.
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Re: Tackling Skye

Postby prog99 » Sun Aug 19, 2018 11:38 am

Coop wrote:The map I was talking about is
Around & about the Cuillin hills. Part of os explorer 411.
1:16000

Just looks like the os 1:25k zoomed in a bit?
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Re: Tackling Skye

Postby Dunblane Bagger » Wed Aug 22, 2018 1:49 pm

Hi,

first time I went climbing on Skye I went with a compleater as being a Skye virgin I wanted to be with someone who had been there and done it, and also had memory of the route finding.

My first was Bannachdich which is pretty straight forward if you head up directly from the YH and only give very mild scrambling (if any at all)
Bruathe na Frithe is pretty straight forward too so you could tackle those 2 on your own without much issue.

The key for me is the weather. warm and sunny make both types of rock more friendly. The Gabbro give immense grip in all weathers, but Basalt when wet, becomes really slippery and dangerous.

The Black Cuillin will give you a huge adrenalin injection which will last way beyond you getting back down, and it is such an awesomely beautiful place and you will LOVE it..

The major difference for me between mainland scrambles and Skye is the exposure, the rock,and the route finding.

Hope this helps? main thing is to go there, enjoy it, and take it all in..
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Re: Tackling Skye

Postby Sgurr » Wed Aug 22, 2018 2:15 pm

There was a thread on which are the "easiest" Cuillins and which order to place them in. I think from what I can recall that in order of "easiness" it went something like this. Any could be harder depending on the route. Some discussion if 5 and 6 should be together (But you'll do them together) I did 7 to 12 excluding 9 with a guide. Others will have different orders, but I suspect towards the top end. If you just want a quick bag, I would guess a guide is essential, especially if the cloud is down.

1.Bruach na Frithe
2.Sgurr na Bandadich
3. Blaven
4 Sgurr nan Eag
5.Sgur a' Mhadaidh
6 Sgurr a Ghreadaidh
7.Sgurr Alasdair
8 Am Basteir
9. Sgurr Dubh Mor
10 Sgurr Mhic Coinnich
11 Sgurr nan Gillean
12. In Pinn
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Re: Tackling Skye

Postby Alteknacker » Wed Aug 22, 2018 10:34 pm

Ref the Inn Pinn. I wouldn't say it's especially difficult, provided you have a head for heights and can abseil. I wouldn't have thought that a guide is a must if you meet these 2 criteria.
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Re: Tackling Skye

Postby auldal » Thu Aug 23, 2018 9:38 am

Some excellent replies here, one thing I would add, buy a guidebook. This 1 has some very accurate descriptions https://www.amazon.co.uk/Skye-Scrambles-Scottish-Mountaineering-Scramblers/dp/0907521991
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