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On our third and last day in the Cuillin, Euan, Gayle and I went on a lovely scramble up Mhadaidh, whilst John and Andy went off to re-enact Braveheart in the Cioch. For me the only re-enactment I was to experience that day was not cinematographical but it was as a second ascent of Mhadaidh, which Alan, his colleague Denis and I had undertaken successfully in glorious weather one June day, 4 years earlier. On that particular occasion, I remember that Denis had a moment of panic on the ridge whilst Alan, who had been in the Cuillin for a few days and had adjusted very nicely to the headiness and exposure of the conditions and was also that bit mountain fitter than us brought his own special kind of quiet confidence to keep emotions under control. Apparently, when Denis was told I was going back up the Cuillin, his recollection of events had been inexplicably transformed to his advantage, and it seems I was the one who had freaked out. Not so. Whilst we waited for Alan who had gone on ahead to ascertain that the airy scramble which lay ahead of us was indeed part of the route of ascent and was reasonably safe, he got very restless and started to climb back down to the bealach, heading for An Dorus I think, forcing me to deploy my most authoritative tone of voice to ask him please to get back here this instant and stop infecting me with his panic!
There was to be no panicking on this occasion but a swift, confident and most elegant ascent of Badass (my coinage! Of course I do know that the Mh is pronounced V…)
. We walked speedily deep into Choire a’Ghreadaidh and then Coir’ a’ Mhadaidh but rather than follow the hillwalkers’ route up the stone chute to the An Dorus col, we headed north west to the bealach which separates Badass from Sgurr Thuilm, the latter sitting at the end of a razor sharp and serrated but not particularly intimidating slope. This is in contrast to the ridge that goes up to Badass, which close up is fairly complex, exposed and involves some grade 2/3 scrambling.
Four years previously, unencumbered by climbing equipment and therefore free to tumble all the way down to Loch Coruisk, we had stayed low on the south side of the ridge for as long as possible, momentarily seeking shelter from the exposure at the foot of a horizontal chimney, until we could no longer avoid moving in a vertical direction. I remember that we were talking about our respective first aid kits as we ascended. We obviously felt super confident! And then we reached the moment of reckoning…
But today, we didn’t hold back. We climbed straight up and around the buttress, occasionally throwing a glance towards Sgurr nan Gillean to the north east and Sgurr Alasdair to the south. It was warm, there was no wind and in fact the weather conditions, in complete contrast to those we had encountered in the previous two days, seemed at first very similar to those I had enjoyed in June 2010, although today the sky was more of a milky blue grey than the pure cobalt blue of that June day. The first scramble is very exposed and steep, and I didn’t find it particularly difficult after the steep learning curve of the previous two days. Then the terrain levels out to easier scrambling, albeit still very exposed. The ridge from this point is like the apex of a roof with slabs which can be crossed by wedging one’s boots in the horizontal breach in the slab and shuffle along, whilst holding on to the apex of the ridge. More confident than me, Euan and Gayle seemed to be able to stand upright. The small summit cairn lies somewhere on this rooftop. We sat there, for a while considering the bivvy area that the party that did the traverse last June used to rest their no doubt weary bodies half way along their progress. But the best bit was to enjoy the 360 degree views in the clear air, notably of the In Pinn sharply etched out against the sky, Sgurr nan Gillean, the majestic Blaven due east and ahead of us, and Loch Coruisk scintillating at our feet. Superb. The humid warmth and the greying of the clouds signaled that a change in the weather was on the way and we knew that later we would be thankful for this brief interlude in the temperamental weather which no doubt was the real change in the seasons, signaling the end of the indian summer which had graced September.
After lingering for a while to drink in the panorama, we started our descent towards the An Dorus col. We met one of the other guests who had stayed at the Youth Hostel with us who was only minutes from his first summit of the day. I remember the climb from the col down the chute as comparatively straightforward and so it proved. We zigzagged easily down the scree for 15 minutes and, where the slopes of the Coire ease up to a path we struck to the side for a lunch. By then the sky had turned to milky grey and it was time to head back to the hostel. Nigel, Alex and Norrie would no doubt be waiting for us after their walk up Sgurr na Banachdich and who knew where John and Andy had got to on the Cioch. The plan was to set off back to Falkirk at 2pm so that was our target. For once I wasn’t last back at the rendez vous, Gayle and I chatting gaily as we motored down the easy path along the gorge into which the allt a’Choire Ghreadaidh was tumbling.
One last reminiscence – four years ago in the heat of that June day, we decided to freshen up in the natural pool fed by the last waterfall of the Allt before it disappears under the road and reappears by the Youth Hostel. Denis, unfettered by modesty, stripped off and went right in. As the only woman in the party, although not particularly encumbered by conventions, I went as far as removing my walking trousers and waded in up to my knickers. In contrast, Alan ventured up to his calves, each one of us representing a different point on a continuum between Presbyterian self-containment and rash abandon! Today I slowed imperceptibly on the path overlooking the pool, and had a wee chuckle at the memory of that scene. We crossed the road to find our three walkers waiting for us.
We had left at 8.15 and were back at the starting point 5h30 hours later! We sorted the gear, gathered all our belongings and sat down to eat whilst waiting for the freedom fighters. We soon spotted the van coming down the road and Andy and John jumped out already in their civvies. After getting changed, we all piled into the van, stopped in Broadford for ice cream and tea, and then after we had crossed the Skye Bridge we soon drove into the rain which never really let up until Crianlarich.
This had been another excellent day and this completes my account of the trip to the Cuillin. I can’t wait to go back and not just complete the Skye Munros but also do more scrambling and climbing in the process. I am laying the groundwork for my post-compleation mountaineering…
2014-09-28 08.49.05 by
emmanuelletulle, on Flickr
2014-09-28 10.04.04 by
emmanuelletulle, on Flickr
Loch Coruisk and its headwaters by
emmanuelletulle, on Flickr
Blaven by
emmanuelletulle, on Flickr
Euan bedecked with climbing paraphernalia by
emmanuelletulle, on Flickr
Gayle the fearless by
emmanuelletulle, on Flickr
2014-09-28 11.31.18 by
emmanuelletulle, on Flickr
A nice glimpse of the sharp apex of the ridge by
emmanuelletulle, on Flickr
In Pinn by
emmanuelletulle, on Flickr
Looking south, towards Sgurr Alasdair by
emmanuelletulle, on Flickr
2014-09-28 11.42.42 by
emmanuelletulle, on Flickr
On the summit by
emmanuelletulle, on Flickr
2014-09-28 11.43.35 by
emmanuelletulle, on Flickr
2014-09-28 13.04.49 by
emmanuelletulle, on Flickr
2014-09-28 13.08.31 by
emmanuelletulle, on Flickr
2014-09-28 13.08.41 by
emmanuelletulle, on Flickr
2014-09-28 13.40.37 by
emmanuelletulle, on Flickr
2014-09-28 14.04.00 by
emmanuelletulle, on Flickr
2014-09-28 14.04.47 by
emmanuelletulle, on Flickr