free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
Note that this gpx is an approximate route only, created on the OS App post-walk - For route details on the Cuillin ridge best refer to a reputable guide book/topo-guide!!!The Glenbrittle campsite opened on 1st April and the weather forecast was excellent, so I went for a Cuillins trip this week. I had to be back on Thursday, so the plan was 2 nights camping with a single biggish walk on Wednesday. I still had the 2 Munro sub-tops of Sgurr Alasdair to visit and I also wanted to revisit the southern Munros. I went up Sgurr nan Eag, Sgurr Dubh Mor and Sgurr Alasdair with my wife on a single day in 1990 and I just can’t remember the route we used from Alasdair to Dubh Mor. This was back in the days when we typically just followed the routes provided in the 1986 SMC Munro book, so I was hoping this trip would jog my memory.
I arrived at the campsite by 6pm. It was the quietest I’ve ever seen Glenbrittle, just a few camper vans and a handful of tents – it was the first day of the season of course.
- Not busy in the Glenbrittle camp site
The road has been resurfaced in places and some additional passing places created to cope with the Fairy Pool mayhem which was nice. It’ll still be carnage in peak tourist season though.
It was a windy night, not cold, but I still think my camping gear is better suited for summer. I got a decent enough sleep regardless, made a fry-up breakfast and was ready to go by 7:30am.
The first part of my route followed the standard path up to Coir’ a’ Ghrunnda.
- Looking up into Coire Lagan early morning
- Sun just coming up over Loch Brittle
As I walked around the western slopes of Sron na Ciche, I had a vague recollection of traversing across the grassy and boggy slopes from Coire Lagan in 1990, and the memories all came back. On that day, we must have gone up and down Sgurr Alasdair by the Great Stone Chute, then descended to 300m and traversed round to join the Coir’ a’ Ghrunnda path to continue to the two southerly Munros on the standard route. A lot of re-ascent but the easiest route. I do however remember feeling a bit scared on Sgurr nan Eag when we strayed off the ridge slightly on the An Gharbh-choire side and ended up on increasingly steep slabs before regaining the ridge.
Anyway, that was 1990. For my 2025 solo ascent I decided to take on Sgurr nan Eag by the WSW Face, a grade 2/3 scramble detailed in the SMC Skye Scrambles guidebook. Where the Coir’ a’ Ghrunnda path turned left and headed up the gully into the coire by the rock wall, I continued heading east, dropping slightly into the coire and crossed the burn.
- WSW Face of Sgurr nan Eag
The scramble started at NG450194. The route guidance seemed rather complicated when I read up on it beforehand, but once on the face everything became clear. Fortunately, I had asked The Internet what a cone sheet was, as these feature heavily. Essentially, the route zig-zags up the face on a series of left slanting grassy ledges and right slanting cone sheets which create natural easier ways up the moderately steep gabbro slabs. Eventually I reached a small stream originating from a gully high on the WSW face of Sgurr nan Eag and scrambled up this for quite a way before emerging onto the crest of a rocky rib leading to the northwesternmost end of the summit ridge.
- Stream from the high hidden gully on WSW Face of Sgurr nan Eag
The rock was mostly clean, dry and grippy gabbro, but there were some wet sections in the gully with black slime that can make even gabbro slippery. At least these treacherous sections were easy to identify and could be avoided with care. The whole route involved 450m ascent and was almost continuous scrambling. It was never difficult, just the odd slightly delicate move and never felt too exposed, although there was a lot of bare steep rock below. A good alternative route up Sgurr nan Eag in my opinion.
Once on the ridge it was just a short walk to the summit at the southeast end of the ridge.
- Summit of Sgurr nan Eag looking south to Rum
- And north to Sgurr Alasdair, Sgurr Dubh Mor on right
- And east to Bla Bheinn
The slabs on the northeast side are quite severe, so I avoided the 1990 mistake and remained on the crest or slightly to the southwest side. It was breezy, but no more so than down at sea level. There were a few walkers/climbers on the summit and I ended up walking and chatting with Kyle who works for Historic Scotland for the next part of my route. From the summit of Sgurr nan Eag, we returned northwest along the ridge then traversed around the east side of Caisteal a’Garbh-choire before dropping some height and scrambling up onto Sgurr Dubh an Da Bheinn, a sub-top of Sgurr Dubh Mor, via its south ridge.
- Loch Coir' a' Ghrunnda from descent on north ridge of Sgurr nan Eag
- From Bealach a' Gharbh-choire looking west to Loch Coruisk, northeast face of Sgurr nan Eag on right
- Looking around east side of Caisteal a’Garbh-choire towards south ridge of Sgurr Dubh an Da Bheinn
- On Sgurr Dubh an Da Bheinn looking northwest towards Sgurr Thearlaich and Sgurr Alasdair - Inn Pinn prominent in middle of photo, Sgurr Mhic Choinnich right of centre
]It was then a sharp drop down east to a rocky col before clambering up to the summit of Sgurr Dubh Mor. This was all fairly continuous scrambling with various route options but nothing too difficult or exposed.
- On Sgurr Dubh Mor looking west to Sgurr Thearlaich and Sgurr Alasdair
- On Sgurr Dubh Mor looking south towards Sgurr nan Eag
From Sgurr Dubh Mor we returned over Sgurr Dubh an Da Bheinn then took the much easier northwest ridge down to Bealach Coir’ an Lochain where Kyle headed back down to Coir’ a’ Ghrunnda. I took a lunch break here at a bivvy circle. It was quite warm and pleasant in the sun and no longer windy. From Bealach Coir’ an Lochain I continued a short distance north along the ridge and over a rocky outcrop before reaching the T-D gap. Then I crossed easily over boulders in the upper part of Coir’ a’ Ghrunnda dropping slightly then climbing over scree to reach the base of the cliffs on the south side of Sgurr Thearlaich, a short distance west of the T-D gap.
- In upper Coir' a' Ghrunnda looking east to the Thearlaich-Dubh Gap
There was a clear path in the scree below the cliffs so I traversed west, climbing towards the Bealach Sgumain.
- The traverse at top of scree below south face of Sgurr Alasdair
At the end of this traverse below the eastern cliffs of Sgurr Sgumain I found the Sgumain cave – a striking volcanic feature that has had a low wall built across its front to create a bivvy site.
- The Sgumain cave
From here I headed straight up to the crest of Bealach Sgumain where suddenly I was looking over yet more cliffs down into Coire Lagan, a most spectacular sight. There are some pinnacles on the ridge leading up to the summit of Sgurr Sgumain so I elected to traverse around these on the Coire Lagan (north) side. It looked slightly easier from where I was standing and the route guidance I had with me was not specific about this section. The climbing traverse was straight forward over moderately steep gabbro slabs but was very exposed on the Coire Lagan side. It was also in shadow and felt cold which added to the forbidding feeling of the place. I was quite relieved to clamber out into the sunlight on the narrow ridge between the twin summit outcrops of Sgurr Sgumain. I think the actual summit is the westernmost outcrop.
- On Sgurr Sgumain looking northeast to Sgurr Alasdair, only about 200m away
When I crossed back to the eastern outcrop, the route down looked much more inviting on the Coir’ a’ Ghrunnda side. It was slightly less exposed and in sunshine which always helps, so I scrambled down the southern side of the pinnacles. This involved some slightly trickier down-climbing, but was more pleasant and less exposed than the northern side I think. Back down at the bealach, the way ahead to Sgurr Alasdair is blocked by a “Mauvais Pas” or Bad Step. The bypass route is well documented and involves traversing right (east) along a scree ledge below the south face of Sgurr Alasdair to a chimney. The chimney was easy to find and involved a short Grade 3 scramble up the left wall before crossing over to the right where I then scrambled up steep broken rock to the summit ridge. There was nothing too difficult in this section, just typical Cuillin scrambling after a couple of slightly more tricky moves at the start. There are plenty of good holds on secure rock in the chimney, and indications that plenty of climbers and scramblers have passed this way given the slightly polished rock.
The short summit ridge of Sgurr Alasdair and tiny summit platform is hugely impressive. It is obviously the highest point of the whole ridge, fantastically exposed perched over the abyss of Coire Lagan, and the views of the rest of the Cuillin ridge and out to sea are spectacular.
- On Sgurr Alasdair looking southwest
- On Sgurr Alasdair looking north over the Cuillin Ridge, Sgurr nan Gillean on right
- Some climbers on the Inaccessible Pinnacle as viewed from Sgurr Alasdair
- Glenbrittle camp site as viewed from Sgurr Alasdair
One other person was here, just leaving as I arrived. I spent a little time taking in the views before heading down the southeast ridge to the top of the Great Stone Chute. More scrambling was involved in the descent with some basalt around, but it was dry with plenty good holds so nothing too serious.
Now for Sgurr Thearlaich. From the top of the Great Stone Chute the way is barred by a vertical wall, but by heading right down the screes towards Coir’ a’ Ghrunnda a short distance I found a spot where I could climb up and gain the ridge where the scrambling became easier although still over very steep ground. This short climb was technically the hardest of my day with a few quite tricky moves. It was good fun though, and as it was low down on the face it didn’t feel scarily exposed. I was aware that I might need to retrace my steps here, but according to the SMC book, by going further down towards Coir’ a’ Ghrunnda I could have found an easier route. You do however need to be careful not to go too far as the scree chute disappears over a cliff on that side.
More scrambling got me to the summit of Sgurr Thearlaich. There was absolutely no wind by this time, and I could hear the tinkling of scree far below in the Great Stone Chute, presumably from the descent of the chap who left Sgurr Alasdair just before me.
- On Sgurr Thearlaich looking west to Sgurr Alasdair only 100m away
I was very conscious of just how close the Sgurr Alasdair tops are spaced – there must only be 100m between Thearlaich and Alasdair, with Sgumain only about 200m further west. Quite a tough 300m though and very different from my recent top bagging expeditions involving many kilometres traipsing over heathery mounds in the Cairngorms.
Having bagged my two sub-tops, now it was decision time. Do I continue on to Sgurr Mhic Choinnich or retrace my steps and return via the Great Stone Chute? The guidebooks warned that the descent from Sgurr Thearlaich to Bealach Mhic Choinnich should not be under-estimated as route finding here is particularly difficult. I had with me a handy little topo-guide by Tom Prentice which gave very clear details of the route so I thought no harm in having a look as I could always retrace my steps if it seemed too difficult. The north ridge of Sgurr Thearlaich was initially a very pleasant airy walk with fantastic views.
- Looking along the north ridge of Sgurr Thearlaich towards Sgurr Mhic Choinnich
After maybe 150m I arrived at a walled bivvy site and this is where the topo-guide proved its worth. On first inspection it appears that the way ahead stops at a sheer cliff, but by descending a short distance left off the ridge and looking through a notch between knee high rocks I could see a down-climbable rib leading to the top of a sloping slab, just as the topo-guide described. This rib was very steep but the holds were plentiful and secure. The traverse across the slab (left when facing the rock or east) was somewhat exposed but not a problem. I passed above some large boulders to gain another flattish area. From there the route cut back west (left when facing out) and continued down a rubbly gully which was steep but could be walked down with care, as far as an obvious rock pillar. After passing east (bealach side) of the pillar and with a bit more down-climbing I reached easier ground a few metres below Bealach Mhic Choinnich and from there the crossing to the actual bealach was straight forward.
- Down at Bealach Mhic Choinnich looking south - the descent route from Sgurr Thearlaich is there somewhere
So, despite some slightly intricate route finding it turned out not too difficult albeit somewhat exposed. The SMC book grades this as a mod. rock climb. The SMC book also gives two other options for the descent which are more direct but harder and more exposed. This could certainly be a nasty little section to descend when wet or in bad visibility.
From Bealach Mhic Choinnich I had the option to descend into the Great Stone Chute but having come this far it made sense to continue to Sgurr Mhic Choinnich via Collie’s Ledge (or Hart’s Ledge depending on your point of view). From the bealach I went right to climb a big cracked block on the corner and then scrambled up to the start of the ledge itself, quite an obvious feature on the Coire Lagan side of Sgurr Mhic Choinnich. King’s Chimney, a v. diff. rock climb rises above the start of the ledge with some slings and climbing leftovers left hanging from the chockstone part way up. Collie’s Ledge is really just a very exposed walk along a well-trodden rocky path. I didn’t find the exposure all that serious as the ledge is reasonably wide, although this may have just been me getting overly comfortable after several hours in this terrain. Not a place to trip over, so best never to get complacent of course.
I had seen another walker some way ahead on the ledge and as I neared the end he appeared a few metres above me on the ridge. When the slope above eased a little, I clambered up and there I was, on the north ridge of Sgurr Mhic Choinnich. I had been along here just last year after being guided up the Inn Pinn, but then it was on the end of the guide’s rope. Much better fun being off the leash on my own. It’s another grade 2 scramble, easy enough but with a bit of exposure and a little care required to follow the correct route near the crest. At the summit I met up with the walker I spotted from the ledge, Jim a retired PE teacher. He had been up Sgurr Alasdair but partially descended the stone chute before crossing over to climb up to Bealach Mhic Choinnich. We descended together as far as Loch Coire Lagan. From our general banter we discovered that our birthdays were separated by only one day, a weird coincidence.
- On Sgurr Mhic Choinnich looking northwest
The descent from Sgurr Mhic Choinnich was just a re-tracing of steps to the end of Collies Ledge then around the top of Rotten Gully which runs off to the east.
- An Stac from Bealach Coire Lagan. A scramble for another day
We then left the ridge heading west to get onto the An Stac Screes, the way I had descended last year. The An Stac Screes are getting a little bare in places near the top which makes it slightly more treacherous underfoot and also opens up the risk of rocks dislodged from above gaining some momentum.
- Descending the An Stac Screes
Lower down the scree cover was better especially where the slope eased. I am too old for scree running which would inevitably lead to disaster if I attempted it, but I was able to get a bit of a step and slide rhythm going and the descent was not too painful.
- Loch Coire Lagan
Jim took a break to take in the late afternoon sun by Loch Coire Lagan so we said our goodbyes and I sauntered on down to the campsite.
- Loch Brittle and the camp site in the evening sun
The stroll down in brilliant sunshine with spectacular surroundings gave me the chance to relax after a long day of fairly intensive and exposed scrambling.
- The Cuillins as viewed from the shallows of Loch Brittle
I had a paddle in the sea (which was still a bit too cold for me to contemplate full immersion) before cooking up a meal and consuming a few beers by my tent until the sun went down. Still no midges! After another slightly chilly night I had a leisurely start and drove home. It would have been nice to have a few more days, but I will be back soon, the place is truly wonderful.
