The forecast for the whole 5 days we are here has room for improvement 
The 5 participants in this adventure are myself (obviously), Simon (simon-b), Karen (kmai1961), Jimmy (jamesjones) and Andy (AJNicholls), we are staying in various different accomodation/s
I suggested a cunning plan in respect of WR's, as we are here for 5 days rather than me do lots of boring reports why don't we have a day each
The plan was to meet our guide (Paddy) for the first of the fun five days at Glen Brittle Hostel at 9am, was a great plan apart from a slight navigational malfunction. Andy and I went in completely the wrong direction, I had earlier seen a sign posted Glen Brittle (near Sligachan), which was the footpath. So after checking the OS map we hurriedly set off in the right direction at warp factor 5 and were only about 15 minutes late - sorry guys
The weather was dry, a tad windy and Paddy advised us that if the conditions were as bad as forecast we would probably be turning back. We were all given helmets and a carabiner, a sign of what lay in store
By 9.30am we were on our way following Paddy along the nice path which was rising gradually. As we headed up Coire a'Ghreadaidh the rather steeper terrain could be seen in the distance, at no time did we ever see any of the peaks or summits we were heading towards - a bit ominous.
DSCF1651 by Martin Beswick, Water feature, take one
DSCF1652 by Martin Beswick, Follow the leader and stay in step 
DSCF1655 by Martin Beswick, Good path initially, note the cloud in the background
DSCF1658 by Martin Beswick, First brief stop
DSCF1661 by Martin Beswick, the shape of things to come, except bigger and scarier
DSCF1662 by Martin Beswick, Impressive or what
DSCF1667 by Martin Beswick, I think we were going round to the right!Once we hit the scree slopes things started to get a bit trickier, we had spotted a large group ahead of us in the distance, which we later discovered were teenagers with a number of adults. Whether it was a good idea safety wise to take such a large group, bearing in mind the forecast and conditions that is open to debate.
DSCF1669 by Martin Beswick, large party starting the ascent
DSCF1670 by Martin Beswick, similar shot, zoomed
DSCF1672 by Martin Beswick, Smile we are having fun
DSCF1673 by Martin Beswick, Substitute me for AndyWe started the climb up a gully and Paddy decided it was time to don helmets etc, so it was off with the rucksacks and Paddy's next plan was to leave the rucksacks there to be reunited with us after completing the first summit.
No sooner had we put our helmets on and we heard a warning shout from above, we all looked up and saw a rock bigger than a football heading towards us. We all took avoiding action and by pure chance no one was struck. Paddy was obviously not impressed and shouted up to what looked like 3 persons on a ridge above us, not to move until we were safely out of harms way.
If there is one thing that gets the adrenaline pumping I can guarantee it is seeing a rock hurtling towards you, we were all shocked and it was a very early warning call as to how dangerous the hills on Skye can be
DSCF1675 by Martin Beswick, Karen having fun
DSCF1676 by Martin Beswick, Andy clinging on with Jimmy supervising
DSCF1677 by Martin Beswick, Apologies for the lack of action shots, but after the first summit the conditions got worse, unless you like strong gusty wind which contains a mixture of hail and rain, and as a result the camera was packed in my rucksack as it isn't very fond of rain. I took my camera to the summit but I must have either been in shock or the sheer excitement of reaching the summit, forgot to take any photo's
I only took just over 30 photo's which is only a fraction of what I would normally take 
DSCF1678 by Martin Beswick, Andy pretending to smile
DSCF1679 by Martin Beswick, Discussion time
DSCF1681 by Martin Beswick, 
DSCF1683 by Martin Beswick, Concentration
DSCF1684 by Martin Beswick, Simon contemplatingIt didn't seem to take very long to reach the first summit and we didn't linger very long as the views were non existent and the conditions weren't exactly friendly and welcoming
Now our thoughts turned to the even scarier part, the descent. As a group we were probably more aware and concerned about dislodging any loose stones and especially rocks, so great care was taken. One huge advantage was travelling light the lack of a rucksack on your back certainly gives more mobility and freedom.Once we were back at the rucksacks it was decision time, Paddy asked us if we were happy to tackle Sgurr na Banachdich, not his exact words, he basically said the 2nd Munro and to a man/woman we were of the mindset that we couldn't get much wetter and if Paddy was happy then let's go for it
No sooner had we left the rucksacks, we headed up the scree chute and then the fun really began
Paddy romped up the sheer rock face and hitched the rope round a huge rock and we then took it in turns to hook ourselves on and climb up using the foot and hand holds. Once at the top it was a matter of unhooking yourself, scrambling round a ledge that one can only assume was very exposed and waiting for everyone else.
The rest of the walk/scramble to the summit was OK, but as before great care had to be taken due to the wet surface and especially on exposed sections as the wind was very gusty. Every one of us was now suffering from soaking wet gloves and you couldn't take them off to wring them out because you probably wouldn't get them back on again.
Eventually we reached the 2nd summit and once again we didn't hang around, it was basically brief congratulations now let's get off here
By this time we were all literally soaked from head to toe, my feet were sloshing round in my boots, both my gaiter straps underneath had snapped (again), but gaiters were useless in those conditions.We were all kind of dreading the descent using the rope, but we knew we had to do it and as it turned out, I found it harder waiting for my turn as I was at the back of the queue, mainly because I was getting cold and chittery.
The 3 walkers we saw earlier were intending to descent by a different route but then opted to join the queue behind us, sorry I didn't catch your names and good luck on Knoydart
I found the rope descent much easier than I was expecting and then it was a matter of being re-united with the rucksacks, having a quick drink and get down as soon as we could.
The descent down the scree wasn't exactly pleasant but you get used to it and quite good progress was made. I did comment to Karen on more than one occasion, that I had never seen her descend so quickly and it was impressive
Once we reached the bottom of the scree, the next problem was the amount of water that was running off the hills, a small burn that we crossed with ease earlier was now a raging torrent. So Paddy led us slightly uphill where the burn split into about 4 bits and we just went for it, drying to keep your boots/feet dry wasn't an option
I daresay time wise that is probably one of the quickest descents on record and once the vehicles came into view there was sheer relief.
Once I dumped my rucksack in the car I had to run back up the hill to take a photo of the burn just to demonstrate the change in the amount of water that was flowing, I apologise that the photo isn't very clear but I was facing into the elements
DSCF1685 by Martin Beswick, Water feature take 2, horrendous or what?That concludes day one of the Skye Trip, I can now sit back and enjoy the 'ride' as Jimmy has volunteered to compose what was todays walk - so it's over to you Jimmy
Let's hope the weather improves for you all during the remaining days of your collective adventure.
