malrobb wrote:Don't mean to hijack this thread but I still have to do the Cuillins and as it is quite tricky terrain I would be keen to use a guide but don't have a good understanding of what a guide actually does. I guess he will know the routes inside out but how do they help you on the technical stuff? Do they top rope you on dicey stages so if you fall it is not terminal?
Hi Mal.
Many years ago when we'd barely been up a hill we decided a week guided in the Cuilin sounded like a good idea. The only times the rope came out were up & down the Inn Pinn and ascending Nicholsons Chimney on Gillean. At the time I was never convinced I'd find my way round without a guide, they seemed to know the area intimately with all the little tricks to bypass and reappear where it got tricky.
Winding on many years, several ascents of the ridge and a lot of rock climbing experience and I still find the navigation "interesting" at times.My plan A is to stick to the crest. Plan B is if it looks hard then its the wrong way and back track.
So I'd say its the security on steep ground you gain and that local knowledge which has been built up over years on the ridge which you'll gain from a guide.