Four days on Skye, including a Cuillin Ridge Traverse

The northern Munros of the Black Cuillin

It's certainly been a busy few weeks, hence the lack of postings here, but my feet have finally touched the ground, so to speak, for a short while at least!  Friday the 17th June saw an early start with a drive to the 'Misty Isle', or Skye as it's better known as, which in my mind, is one of the finest mountaineering playgrounds in the UK (see my book review on the new Skye Scrambles Guidebook, published by the SMC), and to meet up with Steve and shadow Mike along with his clients; Nick, Noel, Bob and Peter, with the intention of completing the three northern most Munros on the Black Cuillin; Sgurr Nan Gillean, Am Basteir and Bruach Na Frithe.  The circuit is very achievable in a day, and incorporates plenty of excitement, from the airy scramble along and back down the West Ridge of Sgurr Nan Gillean and a tricky down climb from the summit of Am Basteir, imaginatively called 'The Bad Step', to a spectacular abseil down the Knight's Cave Chimney, in between the summit of Am Basteir and Am Basteir's Tooth.  From here, it was a straight forward walk to the summit of the third Munro, Bruach Na Frithe, before descending back down Coire a'Bhasteir.  The weather took a turn for the worse as the day progressed, however despite the rain, the group had a great day.

Heading up the West Ridge of Sgurr Nan Gillean

Heading to the summit of Sgurr Nan Gillean

Saturday saw me working with Mike for Abacus Mountaineering and heading out with Anthony, Paul, James and Bryan for a warm up day up Pinnacle Ridge of Sgurr Nan Gillean, before a full Cuillin Ridge Traverse starting on Sunday.  In profile, Pinnacle Ridge, which we saw the previous day, looks quite spectacular and imposing, and whilst the journey is nothing short of spectacular, the actual route over the pinnacles is far less intimidating than first appearances may suggest.   The highlight must be the airy abseil from the third pinnacle, onto quite a narrow ledge, before down climbing to a much larger ledge below.  The ascent of the Knight's Peak involved some fantastic scrambling, before easing off leading up to the summit of Sgurr Nan Gillean.  From the summit, we heading back down the West Ridge and back down to Coire a'Bhasteir.  The weather held out nicely, and gave the team a taste of what was to follow over the next couple of days.

Loch Scavaig and Loch Coruisk

Anthony, Paul, James and Bryan

The team had opted to start the traverse by taking the boat from Elgol, across Loch Scavaig to the foot of Gars Bheinn, which I now think is possibly the best way to start the traverse due to not having to back track at all, never mind the adventurous feel to it all!  We made good progress up onto the ridge, and found ourselves at Sgurr Dubh Mor in good time.  Both Mike and I took our teams up the King's Chimney on Sgurr MhicConnich, before moving swiftly up An Stac and up and over the Inaccessible Pinnacle, where the weather took a slight dip, fortunately the difficulties for the day were done with. That evening we made it passed the Three Teeth of Sgurr Thormaid for a short bivi.  The following morning was another early start, however following the knife edge ridge of Sgurr a'Greadaidh and technical climbing of Sgurr a'Mhadiadh, I descended from the ridge at Bealach na Glaic Moire, with Bryan who was finding that his knees were giving him trouble.  It must have been a hard decision for him to make, and made all the more difficult by watching the rest of the team head off up Bidein Druim Nan Ramh.   Mike went on to complete the ridge with Anthony, Paul and James, despite less than ideal conditions, so a huge well done to them!

Descending the Inn Pinn

Tacking the knife edge ridge of Sgurr a'Ghreadaidh

That was my first substantial bit of work on Skye, and I'm not sure that guiding in the mountains gets much better, so fingers crossed it won't be long until I'm back on Skye! (All photos courtesy of Steve Holmes).

Last minute plan: Creag Dubh, Newtonmore

The original plan was for Jo (pronounced Yo, and short for Johann!), to spend a day taking me and one other scrambling in preparation for his MIA Assessment.  However, one other cancelled at the last minute, so instead of the two of us going scrambling, we made a last minute decision to 'just go cragging' and ventured over east (where the forecast was better) and to go to one of Scotland's premier roadside crags, Creag Dubh.

Creag Dubh is a fanastic crag, being steep, ten mins from the road and generally the rock is of good quality.  However, the crag has got a reputation for bold climbing due to the lack of gear placements, and perhaps not a place to 'push the grade'.  With that in mind, and given our time constraints and the risk of rain, we thought that a day of ticking off some of the easier routes would make for a good day, so first up was 'Strapadicktaemi E1 5a'. I led up the first pitch, and it was quite clear why the route had been given that grade.  The climbing was great and all on very positive jugs, however, with some long run outs, a fall was pretty much out of the question.  Jo then led through, up to an in-situ abseil point, although with abseiling being the only means of descent from the top of most routes here, I don't know why something more permanent could not be set-up to abseil from i.e. chains/cables rather than masses of unsightly tat.

The first pitch of Strapadicktaemi

Looking across 'The Great Wall' of Creag Dubh.

We then repeated 'Inbred HVS 5a', which I think is technically slightly harder than 'Strapadicktaemi', just with better protection, and finally 'King Bee (Direct Start) VS 5a', before calling it a day, and driving back to a wet Fort William.  It was nice to be out cragging after such a wet May.  Fingers crossed we get some more dry days soon!

Tranquility on the summit of Ben Nevis... for an hour at least!

Today, Max, Jamie B, Isi and myself were all working for Jagged Globe, marshalling various checkpoints on the mountain track up Ben Nevis, as part of a 3 Peak Challenge, this time for 'Action for Charity'.

Max and I were marshalling on the summit of the mountain, me at the top of Gardyloo Gully, where the mountain track makes a dog-leg, and Max at the summit itself, which given the forecast, was definitely the most scenic place to be.  In order to ensure that we were in position before the 36 teams (made up from 180 participants) arrived at the summit, we left the Glen Nevis Visitors Centre at 3am, and made quick progress to arrive at the summit just after 5am.  The teams didn't leave until 4am, so that allowed Max and I to enjoy a very tranquil hour and a half on the summit, above a cloud inversion, with some stunning views over towards Tower Ridge, Carn Dearg and Carn Mor Dearg. 

The top of Gardyloo Gully and the summit of Ben Nevis to the right.

Once the first team arrived, the other teams followed in hot pursuit, with the final team making the summit at 8:30am.  We followed the final team down, and reached the glen at about 11:30am.  For us, that was the end of a day's work, for the 36 teams, it was time to drive down to the Lakes, and Scafell for the second of their three peaks.

The final summit of the Three Peaks: Ben Nevis

Completing the 'Three Peaks' (reaching the summits of Snowdon, Scafell and Ben Nevis) is quite an achievement for many hillwalkers, so for a small group of Year 8s from S. Anslem's Prep School in Derbyshire to complete this undertaking is a fantastic achievement!

I was working for West Coast Mountain Guides, and along with teachers John and Helen, we accompanied an enthusiastic team of 8 up Ben Nevis, and in very good time too, 7 hours up and down, which is quicker than many adult teams!  We encountered a reasonable amount of fresh snow towards the summit, and in places it was mid-calf deep!  We were lucky to have the summit cairn to ourselves, despite probably close to 70 people milling about the summit ruins.  It certainly wasn't a day to hang about on the summit, so after a quick congratulations, photo and bite to eat, we swiftly descended back down to Glen Nevis.  A very impressive achievement for the 8 young mountaineers from S. Anslem's Prep School, let's hope that they've caught the mountaineering bug, and find their way back up the Highlands again soon!

S. Anslem's Prep School on the roof of the UK

Two rounds of the Inn Pinn, Black Cuillin, Skye

The Black Cuillin of Skye has to be one of the finest mountaineering playgrounds in the UK, if not the best, so I jumped at the opportunity to guide the most technical of all the Munros, The Inaccessible Pinnacle, or the Inn Pinn for short.  I was working for Martin Moran, and guiding Craig, Mike, Anona and Steve.  Mike and Steve had climbed a bit in the past, whereas for Craig and Anona it was their first real experience of climbing outdoors, what a fantastic place to start!

Mike and Steve surrounded by clouds on the final pitch

We started out from the BMC Hut at Glen Brittle, and made our way up the scree slopes of Sron Dearg and onto Sgurr Dearg.  The weather throughout the ascent was very changable, with strong gusts and rain coming through regularly.  As we approached the summit of Sgurr Dearg, the clouds rolled in, obscuring views in every direction.  Due to the low visibility, it was only when standing on Sgurr Dearg, that the incredible Inn Pinn could be seen, and for first timers, it is an exhilarating sight, as the knife blade of basalt, which is only meters thick at it's base rears up from the gabbro mountain.

Anona and Craigon the summit of the Inn Pinn

Mike and Steve opted to be guided first, so we roped up and made our way down the loose ground to the base of the East Ridge.  From here, it is a moderate rock climb to reach the summit, requiring two or three pitches, particularly when the rock is damp, which it was for Mike and Steve's ascent.  We soon gained the summit, before abseiling off the west face, which can be done in a 20m abseil off an in-situ steel cable.  With a quick turnaround, I was back up the Inn Pinn with Craig and Anona, both of whom, considering their limited climbing experiences, did very well, and as we reached the summit, the clouds lifted, giving us fantastic panoramic views of the surrounding area, which was impressive to say the least.

Anona abseiling off the Inn Pinn

Looking at the west face of the Inn Pinn,
with Sgurr Mhic Choinnich in the background

We then descended back down the way we had come, everyone immensely satisfied having reached the summit of the 'mountaineer's Munro'.

The knife blade of rock that is the Inn Pinn

Looking back to Sgurr Na Banachdich

A fine day on Curved Ridge, Glencoe

Today I was working for West Coast Mountain Guides.  I was out with Bill and Mike who were keen to either climb Tower Ridge on Ben Nevis or Curved Ridge on Buachaille Etive Mor in Glencoe.  With the weather not looking fantastic, the decision was made to head to Glencoe and climb the classic Curved Ridge.  As we pulled into the lay-by by the SMC's Lagangarbh Hut, it was steadily raining, so donning waterproofs, we headed up towards Coire Na Tulaich, before veering off eastwards and round towards Rannoch Wall and Curved Ridge.

Not long into the approach, the rain eased, and despite weather forecasts, failed to materialise for the remainder of the day.  The scrambling on Curved ridge is great, with good, continuous clean rock and plenty of opportunity to build quick belays, either by placing gear or by using one of the numerous spikes on the route.  As we drew level with the base of the impressive Rannoch Wall, we chatted briefly to a team, about to start up the classic VDiff, Agag's Groove.

We reached the top of Curved Ridge, and the summit of Stob Dearg (the first of the Buachaille Etive Mor summits) in good time, before making our way round to the top of Coire Na Tualaich, and descending via the screes and broken ground down into the coire.  Bill and Mike were also keen to learn a few key scrambling skills such as building quick yet safe belays, using both natural anchors such as spikes and threads, and with placed protection such as cams and nuts, so we ventured off the descent path to one of the many outcrops that scatter the coire.  On the final leg of our descent, we heard the distant rumble of thunder, and again the rain fell, hopefully after the team on Agag's Groove had topped out!

Bill and Mike on Curved Ridge, with Rannoch Wall on the left

Summer Mountain Leader Training: Lochaber

It's been a busy few days and following on from my climbing trip to the Cairngorms, I was straight into observing a 6 day Summer Mountain Leader Training Course, run by Mike Pescod of Abacus Mountaineering.  Although the training course isn't compulsory for those looking to become a Mountain Leader (you can apply for exemption), it is certainly highly recommended as it cover the syllabus set out by the MLTUK, following which a consolidation period will allow potential Mountain Leaders to practise the various techniques and skills before putting themselves forward for assessment.

Day 1 was spent focusing on introducing the role of a Mountain Leader and core navigation skills, and we headed up to the hills bound to the east by the River Lochy and north  by Glen Loy.  Due to the fantastic high pressure we had sitting over the UK, we were treated to some great views towards Ben Nevis.  With such good visibility, compasses remained in the rucksack, and just the map used to pick out various features, as we covered ground up towards Stob a' Ghrianain before descending into Coire an Lightuinn.

Navigating on the flanks of Stob a' Ghrianain,
with Ben Nevis in the background

Day 2 saw the team heading up the North Ridge of Stob Ban, in the Mamores, with an emphasis on group management and leadership, particularly on steeper and more rocky terrain.  The day highlighted the need for dynamic leadership, using a variety of leadership styles to safely and efficiently cover tricky ground, whilst still allowing a healthy degree of freedom for the group, who certainly wouldn't want to be 'in-tow' all day.  Again, we had great weather, and views up Glen Nevis and across to Carn Dearg and the southern slopes of Ben Nevis.

Negotiating steeper ground, just off the North Ridge of Stob Ban

Using the rope in the event of an emergency,
looking out to Ballachulish

Day 3 was another steep ground day, but on ground that as a Mountain Leader, you wouldn't intentionally encounter.  In other words, ground that as an ML, you would only be required to ascend, or more likely descend, in the event of an emergency or as an escape route.  We ventured into Glen a' Chaolais, by Ballachulish.  The various granite outcrops allowed the team to learn and practise safeguarding both a group and themselves by means of a rope (and nothing else!), by building belays, setting up simple top ropes using waist belays and abseiling using 'classic' methods.





Day 4 was based in Glen Nevis, looking at various methods to evacuate a casualty from the hills using improvised stretchers and other carrying methods before practising river crossings, both with and without a rope.  There were plenty of others in Glen Nevis, enjoying the sunshine (before the midges start attacking!)  The evening was spent route planning for an overnight expedition.

Practising river crossings in Glen Nevis

Days 5 & 6 were spent on an overnight expedition, with a strong emphasis on navigation and, of course, walking in amongst some fantastic mountain scenery.  We started in Glenfinnan, west of Fort William, and headed up onto Streap, which despite not quite attaining Munro status (3000 ft or 914m), still feels very mountainous, and has a narrow, airy ridge leading up to it's summit.  The weather did finally close in, which enabled the group to practise navigating in poorer visibility.   Another big aspect of becoming a Mountain Leader is the ability to navigate in any conditions, so part of the evening was spent navigating in the dark, relying on pacings, bearings and reading the steepness and aspects of the ground beneath their feet.  On day two, the weather cleared again, and we walked up Na h-Uamhachan, a broad ridge at 691m, and then descended back into Gleann Dubh Lighe.

Day 2 of the expedition, heading back down to Gleann Dubh Lighe,
with Loch Sheil in the distance

All the trainees took the course in their strides and are well on their way to becoming Summer Mountain Leaders, and for me, I found it very useful to recap the delivery of all the aspects of a Summer ML Training course (I did mine back in 2003), and enjoyed a productive week.