Sgurr a'Mhadaidh and Sgurr a' Ghreadaidh via An Dorus
Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 8:31 pm
..."Long, but come it will,
the golden run will come to us;
the Cuillin will rise,
genial in his white glory;
though the night is bitter to us
that cast a black shadow on the beauty,
the morning will break
on splendid battlements." SORLEY MACLEAN
It was time again to venture back into the Cuillin and once more with Marty and Sandy, all of us prepared for tackling more of these magical mountain ridges full of puzzles and tantalising intrigue
What I love is the combination of both the physical and the emotional levels experienced in the blend of fear and excitement that is hard not to feel in these mountains. The Cuillin deserves many trips getting to know sections of it bit by bit, and you can't avoid your mind planning what if this? What if that? Will I try a full traverse one day?
We did experience what the Cuillin can do on our way back down to An Dorus, and that is when the mist is thick, even a very small area that you have just passed through can seem completely unrecognisable. This sets minds into confusion and sometimes panic! The secret is keep calm, refocus and enjoy the thrill. Do not go rushing off anywhere though until you have relocated.
This is the point in the day when our plans changed! Not for any real reason other than intrigue about descending Eag Dubh. We had met a couple of lads that had emerged out of it earlier as we passed, and we had a little concern about setting up a safety rope for the down climb into An Dorus just a short distance further ahead. It would have been fun to pass through An Dorus again, but Eag Dubh won our vote today and it proved reasonably easy, though great care is required! There are small sections of down climb within Eag Dubh to be very sensible with and it is worth noting too that although less airy, some may feel very enclosed inside this dark rocky mountain crack. The following pictures tell the story of Eag Dubh
To my mind the essentials of the day:
1. Listening to great advice beforehand that I am so lucky to have received.
2. Assessing our group capabilities continuously.
3. Having the Harvey's map of the Cuillin (two scales available front and back).
4. Having made reference to and recorded pages of the SMC Skye Scrambles Guide.
5. Proper gear, foods and water.
A special, special landscape that presents beauty and danger unfolding days of quality atmosphere and light
the golden run will come to us;
the Cuillin will rise,
genial in his white glory;
though the night is bitter to us
that cast a black shadow on the beauty,
the morning will break
on splendid battlements." SORLEY MACLEAN
It was time again to venture back into the Cuillin and once more with Marty and Sandy, all of us prepared for tackling more of these magical mountain ridges full of puzzles and tantalising intrigue
What I love is the combination of both the physical and the emotional levels experienced in the blend of fear and excitement that is hard not to feel in these mountains. The Cuillin deserves many trips getting to know sections of it bit by bit, and you can't avoid your mind planning what if this? What if that? Will I try a full traverse one day?
We did experience what the Cuillin can do on our way back down to An Dorus, and that is when the mist is thick, even a very small area that you have just passed through can seem completely unrecognisable. This sets minds into confusion and sometimes panic! The secret is keep calm, refocus and enjoy the thrill. Do not go rushing off anywhere though until you have relocated.
This is the point in the day when our plans changed! Not for any real reason other than intrigue about descending Eag Dubh. We had met a couple of lads that had emerged out of it earlier as we passed, and we had a little concern about setting up a safety rope for the down climb into An Dorus just a short distance further ahead. It would have been fun to pass through An Dorus again, but Eag Dubh won our vote today and it proved reasonably easy, though great care is required! There are small sections of down climb within Eag Dubh to be very sensible with and it is worth noting too that although less airy, some may feel very enclosed inside this dark rocky mountain crack. The following pictures tell the story of Eag Dubh
To my mind the essentials of the day:
1. Listening to great advice beforehand that I am so lucky to have received.
2. Assessing our group capabilities continuously.
3. Having the Harvey's map of the Cuillin (two scales available front and back).
4. Having made reference to and recorded pages of the SMC Skye Scrambles Guide.
5. Proper gear, foods and water.
A special, special landscape that presents beauty and danger unfolding days of quality atmosphere and light