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All these tales of Skye adventures reminded me of the wonderful time I spent there in 2003. I raked through my old photos and found some of the ridge traverse I completed with my friend Louise which I thought may be of interest to those contemplating this route. Just a few, as they’re scanned so nowhere near as fabulous as lots of the other photos posted recently.
Myself and Louise had previously arranged a trip to Skye to climb the In Pinn with a guide as neither of us had sufficient rock climbing skills to feel confident in leading this route, or indeed free climbing
! We duly booked with Mike Lates from Skye Guides and had a fabulous, successful day.
- climbing the In Pinn
- still climbing
- abbing off
I’d previously climbed Blaven which just left the remaining Munros on the main ridge. Appetite thoroughly whetted on the In Pinn, we arranged to return to do the ridge with Mike. Although it is feasible to do the ridge in one day (or a few hours apparently if you’re superhuman – gauntlet thrown Monty!) we decided we’d aim to bivvy roughly half way (at An Dorus). This does mean carrying heavier packs so I guess it’s a toss up between going fast and light or taking things more slowly with the extra weight.
On Mike’s advice, we started the ridge with a boat trip into Gars Bheinn from Elgol. Aesthetically this is a great way to approach the ridge.
- heading for boat from Elgol
On day 1, the weather was dry though clouds rolled in and out to occasionally obscure the tops. I should say at this point that, although I have some rock climbing experience and did the ridge on the back of 4 weeks climbing in Nepal, my friend Louise is one of these fortunate folk who remain insanely fit with apparently very little effort
She’s also blessed with a good head for heights and an ‘I’ll give anything a go’ attitude. So, despite limited hill walking experience and no knowledge of rock climbing, she romped up pretty much everything Mike threw at us
- Louise heading up Gars Bheinn
- starting the ridge proper
Most of the tricky bits of the ridge were climbed Alpine style moving together on a rope and the few rock climbs were pitched. I personally found the climb out of the TD gap a real b**ger of a route with a heavy sack; steep and polished with apparently non-existent holds - or at least they were doing a good job of hiding from me!
- Mike leading up the TD gap
- Louise pondering the initial moves
But I loved Naismiths route on Am Bastier. An exposed start but a beautiful, direct line. The glorious sunshine on day 2 helped of course
- edging across to start of Naismith’s route on Bastier tooth
- climbing Naismith’s route
An the dramatic finish up Sgurr nan Gillean is a truly fitting climax
- Hurrah! Summit of Sgurr nan Gillean!
To anyone thinking about doing the ridge, I’d say go for it, particularly if you’ve enjoyed the Aonach Eagach ridge and the pinnacles on An Teallach. It is achievable so long as you are fit (naturally or with effort!), have a head for heights and, if you don’t have rope skills, are willing to listen to a more experienced friend/guide who does. The benefit of the latter is all the route finding is sorted – reduces the mental strain! You also need to be prepared to bail out should the weather or conditions dictate. There’s lots of useful info on the Skye Guides website, including a downloadable ‘tips for success’ guide.
The Cuillin Ridge is physically and mentally demanding, and your fingers will feel like sandpaper for days from the rough gabbro rock but it’s a truly joyous route and rightly a classic. It’s on my list to do again someday though I may opt to take the ‘tourist route’ to bypass Mr. TD
- on Sgurr Dubh Mor
- Collie's ledge to In Pinn
- happy bunny :)
