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What incredible weather Scotland was blessed with last week! I was able to tick off four more of Skye's Munros, but Am Basteir was the first one we went for.
I've always been fascinated by Am Basteir, as it looks intimidating from the Sligachan view. I had climbed Sgurr nan Gillean last year, but figured Am Basteir may be a more difficult climb because of the 'Bad Step'. We'd worry about that later...
For now, the morning began in the lay by at Sligachan, with perfect visibility and very little wind.
The initial path is one that we had done before. You can't tire of the beautiful water colour with the mountain background. Pretty much every stream coming down from the mountains gives the Fairy Pools a run for their money (arguably better because of the lack of people!).
Soon we reached the gorge, with Pinnacle Ridge looking impressive. There's a little bit of scrambling here, but nothing difficult if you choose your route well (something I usually fail to do!).
The path was difficult to follow up to Coire Basteir, so we continued to aim in the right direction. The walk flattens out briefly, but you can see the scree slope that you're aiming for. It looks as if it's going to be incredibly steep, but wasn't actually that bad once we arrived. Aim left for Basteir, or turn right and head along the cliffs for Bruach Na Frithe/Sgurr a Basteir.
The climb up the scree was a little tedious, but I don't think there was any scrambling involved, other than a short section we had to by-pass because of a large sheet of ice that covered the main path. Soon we were rewarded with a wonderful view of the Cuillin ridge.
The summit didn't look too far away either.
A bit more scrambling involved now. Some people may begin to feel the exposure at this point. I didn't think it was too bad. The drops to the right hand side are sheer, but off to the left seemed to be more of a steep slope that felt a bit more reassuring. I felt more exposed on Gillean, but they are reasonably similar. Soon we reached the Bad Step. I attempted to downclimb, but struggled to lower my feet onto a solid hold. Taller climbers may find this straight forward. This was enough fun for my wife, who sat and appreciated the views from this point. I back tracked a little bit and found a section to downclimb, which skips the Bad Step. This didn't feel too exposed or difficult. The summit was soon reached after a small amount of scrambling. Great weather and views today!
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On the return route, I climbed the bad step. It's definitely easier to climb in this direction, but you could also return via the by-pass. There was an obvious hand hold that I had missed on the way down, and I'd be confident climbing down it in future. A couple of point of view shots!
Very good hand hold here that I didn't spot on the way down.
We considered going back via Bruach na Frithe, but ended up heading back the same way because of time. A little cool down was in order.
Whilst the Cuillins had been clear all day, there had been a funny white cloud over this peak all afternoon. It looked like a mess of white hair, and the hill became known as 'Boris' or 'Trump' for the rest of the holiday
