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We've come up to Skye to get on to the Cuillin Ridge, but a last minute change of plan means that we set off earlier than expected, stop overnight in Tyndrum, and so arrive on Skye some hours before originally planned. So we make an immediate decision to do Bla Bheinn as a warm up for the morrow - it's one that neither of us has done.
The weather is just too brilliant to waste.
We make a quick stop at the cafe at Torrin to change and grab a cup of tea.
20160527. The forecasting stone wasn't calibrated correctly: we couldn't see any shadow on the ground, but it was definitely sunny. Maybe it wasn't plugged in...???
20160527_140903. East face of Bla Bheinn. From right to left: Bla Bheinn, Clach Glas, Garbh-bheinn and Belig. Tasty or what..?????
Although the front face looks very attractive, we really just want a warm-up for tomorrow in the Cuillins, so we decide the do a round, from Belig to Bla Bheinn, basically traversing the ridge as we can see it in this pic, if this is possible. Unfortunately we haven't checked out the possibilities in Skye Scrambles
, so we don't know how straightforward it is, or otherwise.
20160527_143625. Our route up to Belig follows the shoulder on the right hand side. It is baking hot, and it takes us an hour to get to the summit. The views on the way up are increasingly spectacular.
20160527_151220. Looking East.
20160527_151223. Looking North East.
20160527_151331. And looking North up towards Garbh-bheinn.
20160527_151502. Belig summit not too far now....
20160527_152419. First view of part of the Cuillin ridge, seen across the bealach between Garbh-bheinn and Belig: the wonderful Sgurr nan Gillean.
20160527_152431.
20160527_152746. Dr Frank on the summit of Belig.
Frank suddenly shouts and points upwards; and there, high, high above, is the first eagle I've seen... The day is getting better and better...
20160527_153640. View back down (East) towards Torrin from the summit of Belig.
20160527_154206. Looking North towards Glas-bheinn Mhor from the summit of Belig.
20160527_155251. What a view of the Cuillin Ridge!! Wow! That's where we plan to be tomorrow!
20160527_155458. And looking towards Bla Bheinn and Garbh-bheinn. It's sunny, and quite warm, but with a cooling breeze that makes conditions particularly pleasant.
20160527_155654. Easy walk down from Belig to Garbh-bheinn.
20160527_161433. Looking back towards Belig from the bealach.
20160527_163010. The same view, from the top of Garbh-bheinn.
20160527_164018. Looking East towards the West flank of Sgurr nan Each...
20160527_164014. ...and our first view of the amazing Clach Glas!!! Again - wow!
20160527_164602. The wonderful Cuillin Ridge again, from Garbh-bheinn (sorry, can't stop snapping this...)
20160527_164742. Looking towards Clach Glas and Bla Bheinn.
20160527_170627. A pretty straightforward descent from Garbh-bheinn.
20160527_171043. Clach Glas again, with some scrambling in the foreground to access it.
At this point time is running a bit short, given that we want to start very early tomorrow. We decide to take the decision on whether to go for Clach Glas when we get a bit nearer to it.
20160527_171342. Great scrambling and great views from notches on the way. This looking East again.
20160527_171357. And this looking West, towards some ridge that I don't quite recognize.....
20160527_172226. Dr Frank mid-way along the scrambling on the way to Clach Glas.
20160527_172429. This pic gives a good idea of the general terrain: lots of pretty easy scrambling, with the adrenaline-inducing sight of Clach Glas coming ever nearer....
20160527_171748. No caption necessary! Just wow! We now debate whether to go for it. Dr Frank would feel more comfortable with a rope, and we're running very short of time (rope = big increase in time), so we decide to give it a miss. It gives one a good reason (if one were necessary!) to return to Skye.
20160527_172924. Dr Frank scrambling. Fairly representative of conditions - ie beautiful!
20160527_173358
20160527_173238. Now we have to find a way to traverse around this.
20160527_173752. Not too difficult.
20160527_181045. But it takes a fair while to climb down the face and then up into the bealach between Clach Glas and Bla Bheinn. This is fairly typical of the down-climb.
And once at the bealach, the ascent to Bla Bheinn requires a bit of route-finding, and some Grade 2-3 scrambling.
20160527_183425. This is the start.
20160527_184103. Looking back along the ridge to Clach Glas.
20160527_185106. And the same from a bit further up the ascent to Bla Bheinn.
20160527_185111. Slightly tricky bit of ascent (crevasse to the LHS, and steeper than it looks on the pic).
20160527_191218. Immense views as we approach the summit of Bla Bheinn. This looking North back along the ridge we have traversed.
20160527_191328. On the summit at last!!!
20160527_191417. ....where the view West is just breathtaking.
20160527_192629. After drinking in the vistas, we set off back down the normal path, making as much speed as we can, given how far we are behind schedule.
20160527_195710. Fantastic views continue on the descent, this of the East face - definitely one for a dedicated day's scrambling.
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20160527_200646. And finally back where we started, 45 minutes after starting our descent.
Summary: an absolutely brilliant day's walking and scrambling. I just wish we'd had a bit more time, and read up a bit about the scrambling routes before we set off. But, as noted before, this means I'll have to return....
