Skye and then some

[snowdonia7]

Day 1 (25/05/2013)
Munros: Beinn Sgritheall
Time taken: 2.5 hours
Distance: 8 km
Ascent: 1090m

With best laid plans we set off from North Wales at 05.00 heading for Kintail arriving at Arnisdale at just after 2pm to fine skies over Loch Hourn.

Arriving at Arnsidale

As time was of the essence (we needed to get up and down and over to Skye later in the day) I had chosen the route described by Monty http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=19880

The path is a fairly stiff pull in the early stages

Setting off

Neil seemed to be on a mission – I was blowing hard; in fact I was over-exaggerating my heavy breathing in the hope that he would hear me and slow down, but he just kept plodding up the track that followed a fence.

Eventually we reached a small depression where the track came close to the Allt and we had a 30 second breather (Neil must have been feeling sorry for me to allow me that long ) before crossing the allt and pressing on towards the bealach at 600m.

We now chaged direction heading in a more westerly direction for the first summit at 906m; again the climb is quite steep and we wondered whether it was possible to contour round. Neil spotted a small cairn towards the southern side of the summit cone and I made my way in that direction, but just found myself in a boulder field. Undeterred I noted that the boulders ceased some 20 or 30 metres lower so I dropped down and started to contour round on what I first thought was a track; however this started to fade away and I was now just looking for the best line to stay on the increasingly steep hillside. Instead of accepting this as a bad route choice and heading back I kept moving west, but as so often happens on a traverse I was losing little bits of height as I went. It was with some dismay when after some time I looked up and saw that I now faced a very steep climb that appeared longer than the one I had sought to avoid with the contour manoeuvre

With no other choice I struck out directly up and more through luck than judgement arrived at the western edge of the saddle to the east of Beinn Sgritheall’s summit cone, where Neil (who had simply carried straight on after spotting the small cairn) was relaxing).

We then had a climb of about 140 metres to the summit

Beinn Sgritheall

Neil on Sgritheall

By now it was a little windy and there was some damp in the air so we didn’t hang about, although I did take the time to look out across Loch Hourn and think about how it may be best to tackle the Knoydart munros.

Looking out to Loch Hourn

I would love to combine a munro with a long Kayak/canoe journey (not that I have ever really done any of this, but on a fine and sunny day I imagine it has some appeal).

Heading down we soon fell into bad habits and started running – making some great progress through the scree. Part way down Neil uttered a phrase that he had used on the first day of our summer trip last year “Let’s not do too much too soon”
So we stopped running, but still kept up a quick pace arriving back at the car two and a half hours after setting off.

We quickly got changed then headed off for Skye with the intention of heading to Glen Brittle. En route we stopped for curry and chips at the take away in Broadford and telephoned Tony our Guide who we were to meet on Tuesday for the In Pinn. He said that Wednesday was actually better for him, so we checked the weather forecast for the next couple of days and with Sunday supposedly being fine we decided to attempt the northern 3 of the Cuillin from Sligachan and so headed to the camp site there.

We pulled in an saw a likely spot quite near the entrance; there was a tent already there with a lone guy sat in his car beside it – Neil asked him what the tariff was an he said £3 per person. This seemed more than reasonable and we started to pitch our tent – part way through doing so the rent collector arrived and said “£12 please” - now whilst £6 each wasn’t bad it almost felt like we were being mugged after initially being told it was only £3

By now I was quite tired after the long drive and just wanted to get settled for the evening and after a quick shower I hit the sleeping bag. Initially my attempts to get to sleep were thwarted by the arrival of the search and rescue helicopter that landed just behind the hotel across the road – it did this about 4 or 5 times that evening apparently, but after the first two I was in the land of nod.

Day 2 (26/05/2013)
Munros: Sgurr nan Gillean, Am Basteir, Bruach na Frithe
Time taken: 6 hours
Distance: 12.8 km
Ascent: 1226m

We woke in Sligachan to a fine day and whilst there was some cloud around the top of Sgurr nan Gillean we were hopeful that would soon disperse.

Sligachan camp site

So we packed up taking harness and rope and set out on the path from the rear of the hotel. The route was inspired by a TR posted by Ranger: http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=19751

We followed the path to the SE ridge (the tourist route) which involved with some fine scrambling to the summit of Gillean.

Gillean SE ridge

summit of Gillean

Neil approaching Gillean summit

The descent of the west ridge looked like it would require some careful route choices, but we noticed a sling at the top of a chimney on the northern side of the ridge. It seemed in good condition so we set up an abseil which was the full length of the rope doubled up.

Neil abseiling Gillean SW ridge

Once down this section the going was easier towards Am Basteir and the temperature was also hotting up. At the Bealach a’ Bhasteir we discussed our continued route and I suggested we might be able to abseil down to the Basteir tooth and beyond as we would be taking the rope after reading accounts of the ‘Bad Step’. As it transpired the step was not as bad as some reports suggest – although we were moving together on the rope both Neil and I were able to down-climb easily enough. The top of Am Basteir was a fine setting to reach half-way in my munro quest.

Am Basteir

Neil on Am Basteir with Gillean to the rear

By now though I was quite hungry and wanted to get passed the tooth to have lunch; unfortunately I hadn’t read any descriptions for this section and I was unable to get a view down to the Bealach nan Lice and couldn’t be sure of the length of the abseil required (it would have been awkward to say the least to have found myself reaching the end of the rope whilst swinging in space with a long drop to the ground). So discretion being the better part of valour we back-tracked to the Bealach a’ Bhasteir and took lunch in the sun.

Once refreshed we contoured round the north of Am Basteir and headed for the short steep climb to the Bealach nan Lice.

Bruach na Frithe from Am Basteir

There was still a lot of snow lying over this section and it wasn’t in great condition, requiring a good bit of work to kick steps – occasionally it broke through to crevassed areas between the rocks below. As I approached the bealach I sized up the tooth and was of the opinion that we could have abseiled off and saved the effort of slogging up to the bealach, but we were there anyway so it was a moot point.

The ascent to Bruach na Frithe was straight-forward - in keeping with its description as the most straight-forward of the Cuillin.

Neil approaching Bruach na Frithe

Bruach na Frithe

On arrival it started to rain so we didn’t hang around and headed back to the bealach before decending into Fionn Choire along a relatively well defind path; however at about the 600m contour we headed east over the broad shoulder of Meall Odhar. Continuing that line we picked up a path that descended along the Allt Dearg Beag eventually meeting the initial track from the Sligachan hotel.

After arriving back at the car we set off for Loch Slapin to attempt Bla Bheinn the next day. We found a nice flat pitch for the tent in a small depression near the river, ordinarily I wouldn’t pitch the tent in a depression, but it was a lovely sunny evening and in fact we had a fire and sat relaxing in the deck-chairs we had in the car.

Loch Slapin wild camp site

However, as the afternoon went on it started to rain a little and we retreated to the tent. As the night wore on we were hit by a dreadful rainstorm – I spent most of the night listening to the sound of the rain hammering on the tent, the wind doing its best to blow the tent away and the nearby river roaring as it went into spate.

Day 3 (27/05/2013)
Munros: Bla Bheinn
Time taken: 3.5 hours
Distance: 7.9 km
Ascent: 932m

A break in the rain prompted me to get up and get some breakfast – getting out of the tent was fun as the depression we had pitched it in had filled up, although the waterproof base of the tent done the job and we had stayed dry. No sooner had we packed everything in the car the rain returned with a vengeance and we were pretty much resigned to a day kicking our heels – maybe a trip to Portree.

However, after about an our a lighter shade of grey appeared on the horizon and the rain abated slightly, so we decided to go for it. We followed the normal route up to Coire Uaigneich along wet paths – the river was in spate and the waterfalls looked particularly impressive.

En route to Bla Bheinn

A lack of focus meant that we missed the start of the track out of Fionna-Choire that would have taken us up the eastern ridge to the summit and ended up climbing towards the south ridge. Once we realised this we decided to continue and take in the south summit as well. There was a nice little scramble down from there before continuing to the summit proper

Bla Bheinn

The weather was still pretty poor and we didn’t hang around and dropped down to take lunch. Whilst we rested a couple of walkers passed us on their way up and said that the weather was predicted to brighten later in the day and remain fine for the rest of the week. This certainly lightened our mood and we had high hopes for the rest of the Cuillin.

Indeed as we neared the car park the sun was already out and the temperature was rising. Neil and I took some time to spread our kit out like some back-street laundry to dry off before moving on.

Road-side laundry

The next part of the journey to take us to Glen Brittle, although Neil asked if we could make a quick detour to the Talisker distillery to collect some light refreshment 

The camp site was very inviting in the afternoon sun (particularly after the previous night).

Day 4 (28/05/2013)
Munros: Sgurr nan Eag, Sgurr Dubh Mor, Sgurr Alasdair, Sgurr Mhic Choinnich
Time taken: 8 hours
Distance: 12.9 km
Ascent: 1520m

The prediction for the weather turned out to be right and we woke to a clear days with little breeze. We packed the rope and harnesses in case we met any real difficulties, although we were hoping to by-pass anything too technical (such as the TD gap). The route to Sgurr nan Eag was pretty straight-forward with the track taking us to the climb into Choir’ a’ Ghrunnda, which was pretty impressive.

Coire Ghrunnda

I pressed on a little from Neil who was talking with another walker and as I neared the Coire Neil shouted up to remind me to cross round the south side of the loch. I did this and decided to climb a short distance up towards Sgurr nan Eag then when Neil came into sight I would wait for him to catch up. Checking back over my shoulder it took some time for Neil to appear, by which time I had gained a bit of height so I waved to indicate my position. Believing Neil had seen me I decided I may as well continue to the ridge and wait there. Many minutes later I heard Neil calling my name and when I turned I saw that he was still at the loch – he asked where I was and I shouted back until I was sure that he had seen me before continuing. The summit is a little way along the ridge and on arrival it offers the chance to look at the route ahead along the ridge proper. Some minutes later Neil arrived and wasn’t happy with the fact that I had pushed so far ahead, and he was right to feel that way – we were supposed to be working as a team and allowing such a big gap to open up between us meant we could no longer look out for one another, especially in an environment as treacherous as the Cuillin.

Sgurr nan Eag

We headed off towards our next objective Sgurr Dubh Mor which required some intricate route finding down to the Bealach a’ Garbh-choire, during which time a couple of guys caught us up and we moved around the eastern side of Caisteal a’ Garbh-coire before contouring towards the foot of Sgurr Dubh an Da Bhienn. It transpired that one of these two was from just outside Wrexham (Chris) only about 10 miles from where I live) and his walking partner was from just outside Chester. The two of them were planning on doing the entire ridge with an overnight bivvy en route.

We climbed up a scree ramp which should then have led to mixed scrambling to the ridge. I think Neil and i went a little off piste as there was no evidence that our route has seen much traffic and there were a few exposed moves, but it made things interesting and soon enough we were at the summit. We dropped our packs here and set off east for Sgurr Dubh Mor. Some nice hands on scrambling following a small guided group led us to the narrow summit. By now we were both hungry so we immediately headed back to our packs and enjoyed a bite to eat in the sun, whilst contemplating our next move. We could see the TD gap was quite busy, but we had already decided to by-pass this by taking a feint track below the south buttress of Sgurr Alasdair. By the time we finished lunch we could see that Chris and his guide were already nearing the TD gap.

Lunch with Sgurr Alasdair to the rear

Neil with Sgurr Alasdair to the rear

The by-pass route was still holding a bit of snow and we traversed around until we were beneath the bealach between Alasdair and Sgumain. When one reaches this point there is an obvious triangular cave that almost looks man-made – at this point traverse slightly up and right to reach an obvious chimney up towards the west ridge of Alasdair. Once out of the chimney there is continued scrambling which is pretty straight-forward although the drop below was pretty intimidating.

Neil approaching Alasdair

We reached the compact summit of Alasdair and took in the breath-taking views in all directions.

Views from Alasdair

Continued in next post

[snowdonia7]

We could see across to the remainder of our route immediately to our north – it looked as though there was a tricky drop between us, but it opened us as we headed towards Sgurr Thearlaich and transpired to be a simple scramble down to the bealach. To ascent Thearlaich meant firstly heading 20 metres down towards the TD gap before it is possible to start scrambling. The scramble to the summit of Thearlaich is steep and airy and Neil and I decided to rope up again for the trip to Mhic Choinnich.

Neil on Sgurr Thearlaich

We scrambled down the same line until arriving at something of a dead-end that would require a belay to continue, so we back-tracked about 30 metres and noticed a feint track dropping off the eastern side of the ridge. This required some careful footwork to move along towards Mhic Choinnich. At this point we met Chris and his guide who had just arrived after completing the TD gap, so on a busy day the by-pass route would appear to be quicker as well as less technical.

As we approached Mhic Choinnich we saw a couple of groups heading up Colly’s ledge which was evident as a lighter coloured band winding round the peak. Gaining the ledge required a tricky move, but once we were on it then the going was simple enough – although the drops beneath remind one that a slip would be a very bad idea - Neil was doing his best to maintain 23 points of contact with the rock

Neil on Colly's ledge

The ledge winds round climbing slightly as it does so. At the far side we dropped our packs and scrambled back to a tiny summit marked by a memorial plaque.

Mhic Choinnich

Neil on Mhic Choinnich

From here we descended NNW along the top of the Coireachan Ruadha crags allowing us to get a great view of the In Pinn that we would be tackling tomorrow. However, before we got that far we turned west and run down the An Stac scree – taking this momentum with us we raced back to Glen Brittle.

Day 5 (29/05/2013)
Munros: Inaccessible Pinnacle, Sgurr na Banachdich, Sgurr a'Ghreadaidh, Sgurr a'Mhadaidh
Time taken: 7 hours
Distance: 10.5 km
Ascent: 1431m

For our ascent of the In Pinn we had booked a guide (Tony from Climb Skye http://www.climbskye.co.uk/ )

Whilst we were confident moving over exposed ground together on a rope and rigging an abseil we agreed that it would be nice to have someone to guide us in case of poor weather - also this should prevent us wasting time trying to figure out the best/safest route. As it transpired the weather was great, and in retrospect the route was within our capabilities, but we agreed that it was a real benefit having Tony along for the reasons above, plus it gave us both someone else to talk to (I'm not the chattiest person and I imagine that after days sharing a tent with me Neil was probably developing cabin fever ).

Our day started at the Glen Brittle memorial hut and headed west for Sgurr Dearg (we had been joined by Mark who was finishing his Skye munros having been guided over the others by Tony). The weather was very hot and we had a few rest breaks on the way up (an interesting concept I’ll have to try it more often ) before eventually we rounded the crest and finally saw the In Pinn up close and personal.

Neil and Mark approaching the In Pinn

We left our packs on the ridge with Mark (and gave him our cameras) before heading for the base. Tony said that he felt Neil and I could solo the Pinn and asked if we would like to give it a go. I was keen to do so – not sure Neil was, but as we were by now stood at the base of the climb I think he didn't feel he could say no so we set off without ropes, with Neil following Tony and me bringing up the rear. There was hardly any breeze and the rock was dry so the climb was simple enough and really enjoyable - I felt stable enough to stand up and take in the views whilst waiting for Neil and Tony to move up.

In Pinn (I'm visible standing on the right hand side)

Tony rigged the abseil from the chain that is permanently fixed around the anchor rock and down we went (my camera malfunctioned at this point - typical - but I'm hoping Neil has some images of me on the rope).

Neil abseiling the Pinn I'm watching from above)

The route to Sgurr na Banachdich is fairly straightforward (well in clear conditions it is), but Tony ensured it was more interesting by taking us over the direct line up every piece of rock.

En route to Banachdich

Scrambling to Banachdich

Banachdich

The section to Sgurr a'Ghreadaidh is shorter, but significantly more exposed, so it certainly focused the mind.

Mark showing a clean pair of heels

Sgurr a' Ghreadaidh

We then passed over An Dorus before dropping our packs for the short climb to Sgurr a'Mhadaidh.

Sgurr a'Mhadaidh

View from Sgurr a'Mhadaidh

With our final Skye munro under our belt we headed back to the gap at An Dorus and headed down , initially on scree then a more substantial path. Later the path came along the side of the Allt passing crystal clear inviting looking pools and waterfalls, but once again we were up against the clock as we wanted to get over to Morvich that afternoon and put in some miles of walking to reduce our trip for the next few days.

So we left Skye behind and drove to the minor road near the outdoor centre at Morvich. We cooked up some food and then set off along the Abhainn Chonnaig with heavy packs to last us for the next 3 days. The weather was still very warm and our legs still weary from the last few days and I found the going really tough. It was about 9.30 before we found a suitable pitch for the tent at about 300m (and not too far from the Bealach an Sgairne where we were to visit the next day, although I wasn't aware of that at the time).

Day 6 (30/05/2013)
Munros: Beinn Fhada, Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan, A' Ghlas-bheinn
Time taken: 11 hours
Distance: 26.4 km
Ascent: 2537m

A strange circuit you might think, and I’d agree as this wasn’t our original plan; which had been to do Beinn Fhada then the Mullardoch round over 3 days. However, setting off from our campsite in baking heat at 8am carrying a huge load on my back I knew early on that this was another of my over-ambitious routes. Usually I take my proposed routes to Neil who will knock of 10% for each decade since we were 18 and arrive at a more manageable plan, but on this occasion he had just accepted my opening bid .

We woke to the sun rising directly in front of the tent (well it had already risen, but it was in that general direction) and set off before fixing breakfast (primarily as we had no water). After climbing for about 30 minutes we reached a coire at around 600m with a few water sources and stopped for a bite to eat, drink and wash. Perhaps because we broke the climb up like this it didn't feel too bad, although even this early in the day the sweat was streaming off me. The route to Fhada followed a zig-zag path that reduced some of the steepness and before long we were approaching the lip at about 900m.

Approaching Beinn Fadha

At this point we left the clear path and headed roughly SE for the summit proper.

Beinn Fhada

View from Fhada

The prospect of the descent with all that weight on my weary legs was not appealing. Indeed, the descent was wet and slippy underfoot and took well over an hour before we were able to take an early lunch beside the Allt Cnoc na Cuaille. Whilst we were eating I told Neil that I wasn’t feeling confident about being able to complete our planned route, but he said that he was quite positive and I shouldn’t let my head drop - he suggested that we climb to Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan then re-assess .

The climb up the lower slopes of Sgurr Gaorsaic was cruel, steep and without any path and it certainly didn’t make me feel any more positive about what lay ahead. We then climbed towards a bealach at just under 900m where we could rest before heading for the summit.

We trudged on in silence before Neil uttered ten words that were music to my ears “I think we’ve bitten off more than we can chew”. Before he had time to reconsider I suggested an alternate plan – head back to the car after Ceathreamhnan then drive down to Glen Coe – get a proper camp site and go for a pint (if he hadn't accepted that I'd have offered to buy him a bottle of whiskey if necessary!). However, he thought about it for a moment before saying that he would go for it if we also did A' Ghlas-bheinn before heading back.

This made sense as we would not have to return to Morvich, so tired as I was I agreed, which seemed to lighten both of our spirits. We dropped our packs at the bealach and had a brew where we spoke to a couple who were heading our way from the direction of Bienn an t-Socaich. They were camping near the YHA and also heading up Ceathreamhnan, so we followed them up, but with our new found energy we soon overtook them and pressed on for the summit.

Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan

We sat for a while and discussed options for a future route around Mullardoch and how we might be able to do it without having to visit Ceathreamhnan again, but without having to lose unnecessary height. Then it was back to our packs and head down countouring round Sgurr Gaorsaic as we descended aiming for the south side of Locah a’ Bealaich where we picked up a path to the Bealach an Sgairne. At this point we were able to once again drop our packs and head for A' Ghlas-bheinn. This was a surprising and frustrating little walk with a number of false summits before we arrived at our destination. There were piles of pink rubble along the way that looked like crushed up house bricks.

A' Ghlas-bheinn

View from A' Ghlas-bheinn

We spoke to a chap at the summit who used some industrial language when we described our route . We raced back to our packs- the route out and back had taken an hour and twenty minutes, but this pace soon slowed once we heaved our packs back on for the long walk back to Morvich and although it was later in the day it seemed even hotter!

Back at the car I sat down on a bench and could easily have just gone to sleep, but time was moving on, so off we set for Glen Coe arriving at the car park at the foot of Buachaille Etive Mor in the late afternoon sun and found a pitch for our tent.

Buachaille Etive Mor sunset

Day 7 (31/05/2013)
Munros: Stob Dearg (Buachaille Etive Mor), Stob na Broige (Buachaille Etive Mor)
Time taken: 4.5 hours
Distance: 13 km
Ascent: 1110m

We awoke on our final day to a misty and damp outlook, which was a shame as I had always hoped for good views on the Buachaille, but you take the rough with the smooth in the hills and we had certainly had plenty of smooth on Skye.

We followed the normal route into Coire na Tulaich, and although it was easier without the heavy packs of the day before by now my legs were fatigued and I found it more of a slog than it should have been. I was relieved to reach the bealach at 900m and take a quick breather before heading for the summit of Stob Dearg.

Buachaille Etive Mor

In the absence of views we didn’t hang around and set out for Stob na Broige – the route involves some up and down along the way and actually took us the best part of two hours. I was surprised that we didn't see a single soul on the hill, although maybe the weather played a part in that.

Stob na Broige

After lunch in the summit shelter we headed back on ourselves until we reached the descent into Coire Altruim, where we picked up a well-defined track down to the Lairig Gartain and back to the car before driving back to north Wales.

A busy and exhausting week come to a close with another 18 munros added to the tally Plus when I weighed myself at home I'd lost about 4 pounds - bonus! 

[Fife Flyer]

Wow - fantastic report & some superb photo's, had to return & check out the blue sky in some of the photo's.
Love the ones of the Inn Pin
You certainly brought the weather with you

[PeteR]

Wow, that was some week you had there Super weather for Skye, that's for sure Have to say your photos make it look stunning (which it is of course ). Can't wait to open my account there, but at the same time I'm a little bit apprehensive too.

Shame Glen Coe didn't deliver the same sunshine for you, but all in all looks like a great few days was had

[mrssanta]

Sooperb, that was a really enjoyable read and a memorable way to pass your halfway mark.

[Meatball]

Not a bad wee trip then?
Hehe

[andyroog]

What a FANTASTIC report and some of the best pics on this site well done

[snowdonia7]

Wow - fantastic report & some superb photo's, had to return & check out the blue sky in some of the photo's.
Love the ones of the Inn Pin
You certainly brought the weather with you

Thanks - I couldn't have asked for a better day to do the Pinn - and for once my photos do appear to capture how glorious a day that was - the biggest challenge was actually remembering that I had a camera with me!

[snowdonia7]

Wow, that was some week you had there Super weather for Skye, that's for sure Have to say your photos make it look stunning (which it is of course ). Can't wait to open my account there, but at the same time I'm a little bit apprehensive too.

Shame Glen Coe didn't deliver the same sunshine for you, but all in all looks like a great few days was had

Thanks Pete - I guess that even for many who live in Scotland it's still a bit of a trek to get to Skye and so not something you can just do on a whim. I have to book my holidays from work well in advance and then I'm stuck with whatever weather I get, but we fell luck this time.

[snowdonia7]

Sooperb, that was a really enjoyable read and a memorable way to pass your halfway mark.

Thanks - next major milestone will be less than 100 to go, although I think that will be in 2014 now.

Not a bad wee trip then?
Hehe

Thanks - just need a holiday to recover now

What a FANTASTIC report and some of the best pics on this site well done

Thanks - I'm often too engrossed (or tired or cold) to take out my camera, and as I don't have an expensive camera or an eye for a good photo they usually disappoint, but it was hard to fail to get a good shot of the Cuillin in the sun