Skye Winter Festival 2020
January 24th to 2nd February 2020; 10 days for our 10th Anniversary!!
An open invitation to climbers, walkers and any others with an active interest in the Skye mountains in winter.
It’s that time again for climbers to meet up, climb together and enjoy the post-match analysis. The Cuillin truly take on their Alpine status in winter and offer climbing and scenery like nowhere else in Britain. There is a whole lifetime of adventures to be had!!
2020- A full week in the Glen then to up to Skye Basecamp for the weekend and annual dinner.
7 days of stepping straight out of the door and into a Cuillin winter wonderland. This was how the festival started back in 2011! The Glen Brittle Memorial Hut is situated at the foot of the southern Cuillin with easy access to Coir’ a Ghreadaidh, Coir’ a’ Banachdaich, Coire Lagan and Coir’ a’ Ghrunnda.
After 7 nights in the Glen the festival moves to the big smoke and 2 nights in the luxury of Skye Basecamp.
Background information.
Over the past 9 years The Skye Winter Festival that has seen high levels of activity including over 60 new winter routes. The Cuillin offer massive challenges no matter how much or how little snow the gods decide to give us so there will be action every day.
The Skye Cuillin is an Alpine-style range offering mountaineering and climbing of the highest calibre that attracts real mountaineers but there is also a huge attraction for those who just enjoy being in amongst mountain scenery of such grandeur.
The festival is open to anyone between these 2 extremes and our only rule is that nobody gets left out! Come alone or with a climbing partner.
Guests come from far and wide as well as a strong local representation each year. The apres-climb is embraced wholeheartedly (interpret as you like); just choose a level that doesn’t stop the climbing! The festival has allowed us to meet some amazing people and hear about some incredible adventures.
The Climbing
Over the past 9 years we’ve well and truly blown the myth of the Cuillin being a poor option for winter climbing right out of the water. In 2018 Skye was the place to be with Traverses happening for over 8 weeks and multiple new routes. There is a whole mountain range of possibilities from hard-core mixed to truly alpine mountaineering.
It’s not all high-brow climbing with many parties enjoying the magnificence of the snow-clad Cuillin from the corries, easy peaks and the coast-line. There’s Neist or Elgol for rock climbing and we’ve got some dry tooling crags developed. Even skiing and boarding have been growing in popularity over the past few seasons.
What’s to do?
If you’re unfamiliar with what Skye has to offer check out any winter blog posts or an article on “The New Cuillin” for plenty of ideas. On the ground there are plenty of folk with good knowledge including the guy that wrote the guidebook…
Accommodation and Food
The meet will start in the newly refurbished Glen Brittle Memorial Hut right at the foot of the Cuillin.
Skye Basecamp will be our hosts for the following weekend.
Beds cost £20 per night in both venues.
The Memorial Hut and Basecamp both have good kitchens for self-catering.
The annual dinner is a big communal evening meal on Saturday 1st February at a cost of £10pp. Not sure what we’ll go for but local venison steaks, genuine French fondue and full roast dinners have been the norm. Please join us and let your hair down!
Booking
If you’re interested in joining us just e-mail mike@skyeguides.co.uk to reserve beds. We’ll send you a booking form to complete with your climbing grade, Cuillin experience, and details to help with lift sharing.
Bed reservations will need to be paid for but, if you are unsure if you can make it, we can also let you know how busy the different nights are looking.
Costs
Attending the festival is free. Accommodation costs £20 per night for a bed and Saturday evening meal will cost £10.
Evenings
This is very much a climbing event and the traditional banter associated with it. Wonderful characters and craic are the norm and over the years we’ve had illustrated talks on a variety of climbing trips and watched videos. Guests are welcome to bring anything from musical instruments to their own climbing snaps.
The Annual Festival dinner is cooked communally.
Social media
Please keep up to date through the Skye Winter Festival facebook page and retweet news using this shortened URL–#skyewinterfest. Add your own photos to the facebook page and make sure that privacy settings allow everyone to see them please.
FAQ
Got your own campervan– You’re still welcome to join us for climbing & socially.
Last minute climber– We’re quite used to this scenario and happy for you decide to join us last minute. Keep in touch about bed space.
Unsure? Don’t worry if you don’t know the Cuillin- many of the Winter Festival regulars know the Cuillin very well, especially those who work here as guides. We’ll be offering route advice and information on the ground but, on the whole, it’s a non-working meet for us and we’re here to play like everyone else.
A list of attendees is circulated before the meet with details of their experience & depth of Cuillin knowledge. Through the meet walking and climbing teams slot into place after making acquaintances.
Don’t be intimidated- if your ambitions are modest there will be somebody similar who knows any time on Skye is quality and happy to just rock back and enjoy!
Travel– Let us know where you’re coming from and whether you want to share lifts- there’s a part of the part of the booking form to help put you together with others offering/needing lifts
Alpine rock climbing. 14th April
Warm rock in the fingers with snow-reflected sun seeming to double the heat; we could have been on the south face of the Midi.
No Japanese tourists clapping our efforts here though, just a couple of friends taking it all in with eagles circling above them.
The sheer quality of the climb astounded me again, easily as good, if not better, than it’s classic neighbours. Clean rock, positive holds and great protection but no pushover. A positive effort was needed to avoid being drowned in the exposure, stay alert to what damage the harsh winter may have done or just suppress the temptation to jump for joy.
South Crack I love you, and Peter had a Cheshire Cat grin even though he’s from Lancashire where smilin’ ain’t manly 😉
Would have been rude to have run away without climbing the East and West Ridges too and three routes were saluted by 3 Sea Eagles but this pic is of 2
St Kilda; Climbing on the edge of the world
Alan called me exactly a year ago with an outrageous request to be guided up Stac Lee on St Kilda in October or November 2015 “if there’s a settled period of weather”; ha, bloody ha. But no, he was serious as it was his last remaining Marilyn; a list of 1556 peaks over 500 feet high.
The full tale is long and full of plot & intrigue but, basically, the phone rang last Wednesday and I had to drop everything for the weekend ahead including all the rugby matches which was no small sacrifice!
We sailed to Harris Friday lunchtime and camped in an idylic spot just 10 minutes from Leverburgh where we would sail from at 6-30 next morning.
Beautiful skies at
Seamus and the crew of the Enchanted Isle had us all loaded and heading off 40 miles westward before the sun rose and I was soon catching up on Z’s but was woken by a shout of land ahoy. Not far ahead stood some impressive stacks, immediately recognisable from what little I’d managed to read. Distance was deceptive however andd it took more than another hour to finally reach St Kilda. Stunning light, dolphins and even a Minke whale kept us occupied along with a palpable tension of excitement & fear rising.
Stac Lee was the aim for the day and Alan and I were given the first ride ashore. The plan was for us to head up with Bob Kerr and his guide Tim following behind and rigging a static to help the less confident leaders behind and everything went pretty much exactly to plan. Conditions were better than the previous year’s assailants had encountered with bone dry rock and, more importantly, far drier and less deep guano from the gannets.
The route was effectively 3 pitches, never harder than V Diff in the conditions we had, and then a long easy scramble zig-zagging to the summit. The rock is gabbro; another super volcano that errupted at a similar time to the Cuillin volcanoes on Skye & Rum. The result is similar to what the Skye Cuillin would look like if sea-level rose to the level of Coire lagan or higher.
We made it to the top just before half 12 where Alan had to remind me it was his final Marylin top and a good celbration was in order. Michael Earnshaw also compleated and the others were alldelighted to get the highest & hardest “out of the way” 🙂
Ascent photos
Scorching sun & no wind added to the difficulties, not, as everyone gradually made it down for one big abseil descent and a safe return to the Enchanted Isle for tea & cake by about 4pm.
Descent pics
Speed was of an essence as we realised there was time to recce the next day’s objective, Stac an Armin. The swell was against us using last year’s landing so Tim & I rigged ropes on the East side. 35m of greasy slime covered rocks made us grateful for spikes & crampons but everything was set for a rapid ascent next day and return in time for the Scottish match on the ferry ride back from Tarbet……. if all went to plan. The swell nearly saw me in the drink as I abseiled onto the boat but, instead it was time to lap up the stunning light & scenery on the 20 minute ride to the old village on Hirta.
Boreray (right), Stac Lee (left) and Stac an Armin (centre)
The MOD base on Hirta is horribly out of keeping with the haunting beauty of the abandoned village but this didn’t detract from this, the largest island in the world heritage site, or the bouyant atmosphere as everyone settled down with good food, drink & banter & finally relaxing on what had been a high-octane day.
That’s all for now but I’ll complete with Sunday’s pictures asap.
Arch Buttress first ascent. 15th October
I was surprised to find the obvious buttress beside Prince Charlie’s Cave hadn’t had an ascent when I finally studied the guidebook last week.
Lucy’s half term visit gave a chance far sooner than I expected to have a closer look. Stakes in the heather above were essential for a belay and I was respectful enough to use them to pre-inspect the route; apologies to the more purist amongst you.
First note was not to finish too directly with 10ft of vertical peat and dead heather above the central line. Apart from this I only remember wishing I’d got half a dozen half sized cams for the numerous uniform horizontal breaks. I got to the foot of the climb without much more of an idea of what to expect than I’d had from looking from afar.
A bizarre conversation ensued; a mix of positivity about the lack of steepness and more negative “maybe there’s a reason it hasn’t been climbed before”.
I lived; an intense hour or so of delicacy, cleaning, clever gear placing, funky moves, disco-leg, crimp after crimp, recalculation, long run-outs and a wee bit of finger crossing finally found me with some attached heather in hand pulling over the top.
Retrospectively a really intense cleaning/gardening session would probably have made things a bit easier but I’m pretty sure Arch Buttress will remain quite an adventure for any suiters. E1 5a and definitely worth a star for those who enjoy their nerve being tested.
The wonderful artistic shots are credit to Lucy Spark while she waited for me to prussic back up for the rope; all good practice for this weekend’s adventure to Stac Lee……
September and something of an Indian Summer.
I did get comments after my last post that I mentioned the poor summer but the photos didn’t reflect it so here’s a couple of shots from the start of September showiing folk having fun despite the damp.
A cold looking team at the foot of the Pinn.
Sunday 6th was pretty grim with cold wind and heavy showers but we got our timing just right to catch an hour of less heavy precipitation. It poured down again shortly after we left the In Pinn but this day typified what we’ve been doing all summer, close scrutiny of forecasts allowing us to get ambitions achieved.
Karen & Mo were up for a week of shadowing and had been briefed to bring sunshine with them from Plas y Brenin which they promised but it couldn’t keep up with Mo’s driving 🙂
Kevin & Fiona enjoying the brief lull & dry rock.
The sun finally arrived on Monday with a stunning cloud inversion that I sadly missed but our guides and clients all raved about.
Karen watching the mists burn off Lochan a’ Ghrunnda
I had a great day at Neist on Tuesday with regular Jane Parfitt. A particular highlight was climbing Man of Straw, the cover shot of Jane’s coveted Seacliffs guidebook.
Jane loving the sea & sun on Man of Straw, VS.
With the exception of Cioch and In Pinn ascents, in various degrees of poor weather, this season has been just too wet and cold for Cuillin rock climbing.
On Wednesday 9th I finally managed my first major Cuillin rock climb of the year and even managed to combine it with a glorious days work. We opted for Pinnacle Ridge as Robert (76) had never climbed it in his previous 8 rounds of Munros. Incidentally he has now completed the 9th round and is back on Skye starting his 10th which should be done before he reaches 80! Meanwhile modest old Brett (21) was happy to take the scenic route to Am Basteir on such a lovely day; for the record he has only Ben More on Mull to climb to compleat his 1st round of Munros.
I particularly like this shot of us on the exciting Traverse on Knight’s Peak where Robert appears to be levitating along a light-beam from Mo; perhaps that’s how he does it!
Mo and I left the others to descend to Sligachan while we headed for a line on the Bhasteir Face of Gillean. Some debris littered the ledges but 3 pitches of good climbing gave us Indian Buttress, HVS 5a.
Probably no stars until someone takes a sweeping brush to it but a good adventure in the sun.
Well enough of the tales; please enjoy some sunny pictures as much as we enjoyed being out there. The rest of September was largely warmer & sunnier than any point in the past 10 months.
Alan & Tina; his first ever mountain day!!
Rainbow over Glamaig
Helen in heaven on her first day of climbing
Brokn Spectre from high on Western Buttress looking down on Coire Lagan and across to the In Pinn.
Wonderful light on a reverse round of Coir’ a’ Bhasteir
Ridge from the Bridge, last day of September 2015
August update
No, Skye hasn’t drowned and all guiding stopped. In fact the island has been busier than ever before and, as we rapidly approach September, bed space is still very hard to find.
The Skye Guides team has been flat out and, despite the worst summer in living memory, we’ve succeeded in getting the majority of ambitions achieved. Feedback from clients has been superb as people realise quite how skilled and knowledgeable our guides are. Equally the guides have been loving the challenges of choosing the right weather windows for Traverses, ingenious ropework to safeguard slippy terrain, keeping everyone focussed and finding the right way in near zero visibility. There is a feeling of immense satisfaction when it all comes together against the odds, some well earned beers, long hot baths and very solid sleep!
Many thanks to Andy Moles and Neville McBain for the superb images on this page from their successful Traverse on 18 & 19th August.
The gallery below has a mixture of the best shots from the period; click the pic to view more.
Happy days!
Aussie sun fun @ Elgol
Steff and Sarah did us proud today by bringing cloudless blue skies; in exchange I chose Suidhe Biorach & some spectacular routes for them to climb. Both ladies have climbed at home for a while so only a short session was needed on the practice slab before we got stuck into a progression of Elgol classics.
Giving the toes some space
Fertility Right is one of the finest single pitch Severe’s I know; Jamie Jampot VS is better quality still; Hairy Mary VS I find growing on me after initially thinking it a bit contrived. The grade of Angel of Sharkness is much debated but the quality is without doubt as both aussies confirmed. The guidebook gives E1, 5b but it’s only HVS 5a to me. Interestingly the ladies thought it about Oz grade 17 which would put it in the lower grade by the comparison table on UKC
Steff working out the crux of Veritous Splendour, E2 5b
For its position alone Veritous Splendour deserves 3 stars but the climbing is quality too, with a dizzying crescendo as you layback the perfect arete to a gigantic jug at the top. The direct start is far easier than the original and makes it a stunning route that requires more by way of cunning and calmness than the usual Elgol thuggery.
Sarah loving the position
Shining happy people having fun; April 2015
It’s been a busy beautiful time since Easter. Below are a selection of pictures of folk just having fun in the sun. Thanks to you all for bringing it and sharing some quality times. If anyone has shots from those days I forgot the camera please feel free to send them for me to add in.
Sugar & Spice & all things nice. March 2015
March has been a hectic period as admin for the summer starts to dominate; very hard after such a fun winter. The wild conditions have continued pretty much identically to the past 3 months with plenty of good climbing conditions formed by bonkers winds, loads of snow, the odd thaw and repeat….. There’s snow settling at sea-level tonight and that’s not an April fool. Still basking in the glory of the In Pinn spoof in 2013; had folk who believed it well over a year later-
In fact I’ve bottled out of trying to catch you out this year so relax & enjoy a few pics from the past month or so.
Storr, 1st March. Driving there was scary enough! These guys had the harshest 3 days of the winter but still got out each day.
Sheltering under the Old Man of Storr
Sunshine; yey!
Neist. Friday 13th, not unlucky at all. First day of hot rock with Iain and Ally
Iain on Green Lady
Spring Tide excitement
Man of Straw, VS 4c
Bruton party, 14th. A great day with miles of perfect snow to practice crampon & axe work.
Broad Gully, grade I, seen on descent
Tooth taken by Lucy that day
Perfect snow all day; here heading to Bruach na Frithe
Bla Bheinn with Lucy, Sunday 15th. Another immaculate day
Alpine conditions on approach.
Not a cloud to ruin the view.
Can’t beat that view out to Rum
Serious graft for the Skye MRT taking the radio relay down for fixing, all 200kg of it!
Lucy on the crux of South Buttress Gully, III.
South Buttress Gully- A mix of sugary snow, plenty of spice & god it was nice!
Eilidh & Matt. A magical day with the mists burning off and rock drying front of our eyes on Sgurr an Fheadian, 21st
The Spur of Sgurr an Fheadain
Smiles of delight?
Nah, pure relief eh Eilidh!
Action Man
And that’s why she’s allowed to be happy!
Magical mists
Orion Face Direct, Wednesday 25th. Winter looked to be washed out very soon so Icky & I made a dash for the last route of the season. Spoilt for choice we chose Orion which I’d been on but never done in it entirity. Definitely didn’t disappoint and the legs really knew about it. Luckily the descent on a cushion of powder right to the door of the hut was as good as it gets; “If Carling made descents”.
Icky heading towards the exit chimneys that gave a superb steep finish to the 8 pitch day.
Position
Mega Ice
Dodgy belay on the exit slopes.
31st March. Video work on Human Geography with Phillip from Canada was quite some challenge in the mega-gusts we had but the stinging showers mostly left us alone until the very end of the day. I’m not sure quite how it works but the project is based on Munro Bagging and he’s off to interview Chris Townsend next. Looking forward to seeing the results.
The Eastern Black Cuillin looking wintery. We went to the right hand of the 2 obvious cols
Clac Glas from the shelter of a welcome overhang.
Definitely winter.
Main Cuillin Ridge laid out in front of us
Clac Glas, the Matterhorn of Skye and a fiercesome barrier to reaching Bla Bheinn
Wild ‘n windy. 15th Feb
Too wild for the mountains today (Sunday) so went for a bit of gentle climbing at the seaside
🙂
Cioch West 15th July
Simon saw the Cioch on Coast last year and wanted a bit of that action. Closer investigation revealed a serious sense of adventure so I suggested some fast-tracking into a rock climbing career; “if Cioch West doesn’t float your boat nothing will!”
Classic Misty Isle weather just now and the Cioch loomed out above our heads just to add to Simon’s “experience”.
Yesterday’s heavy rain left some damp streaks but nothing to worry us and it was good to see Simon’s brain grasp all of the technicalities needed to follow without getting tangled or stuck 🙂
Out onto Arrow Route was a no-brainer with 200 foot of beautiful dry slab.
The obligatory Sean Connery-style sword fight (new swords this week, who does take them away?)out on the Cioch rounded off the ascent before my favoured descent down Eastern Gully.
Simon floating downhill on his Cioch experience
Let the good times rock….. new climb, Kilt & Girdle Traverse
A great few days of rock climbing recently with my good friend Lucy back again to add any keenness I may be lacking!
Thursday started with a sunny walk up into Coire Lagan with the students of Landmark College.
Coire Lagan
After cooling the feet back in Loch Brittle we set back off up and one of the hottest walk-ins that I can ever remember. The target was a direct finish to Techno Snob– that Malcy & I climbed in 2012.
Heart Buttress
All the effort was worthwhile as we were rewarded with an evening of climbing on glorious clean hot rock. The Oldest Raver on Skye finish was even good enough to be considerably easier (E1 5b) than the parent route with the crux being the stiff rockover move off the ground. A word of warning to aspirants is that the best gear on this move is very high, too high for me, so Lucy stood on my shoulders to place it!
Oldest Raver???
On Friday three Mikes and a Lucy headed to Kilt rock and a race to climb as much as possible before the rain arrived. Clandestine (VS) and Secret Service (HVS) were topped off with ascents of the uber classic Grey Panther. With a full ropelength of superb climbing on a plumb vertical fault this is a strong contender for the best E1 in the UK.
Saturday was as wet as predicted but Sunday was forecast as wall to wall sunshine. The 2 Mikes had been reading up on the Girdle Traverse of Sron na Ciche in the guidebook and Lucy and I agreed it would make a great team climb. 3 years ago we’d taken 5 hours in perfect conditions but JEB Wright, a guide back in the 1920’s recorded climbing it with parties of 4, 5 and 6 in all sorts of conditions and never in more than 6 hours.
Starting out in the mist
The clear tops sank back into the mist as we arrived and a cold wind nipped at the fingers as we geared up. 2nd time around and with a quality team we made good progress to the Serpentine Chimney. Lucy & I felt we had cheated last time by abseiling the downclimbs but our attempt to mirror them failed at the first hurdle with a long damp move at the foot of the climb.
Eastern Gully delicate pitch
Things warmed up after Eastern Gully as we sped past a continuous series of old classic routes; the Cioch, down to the Terrace and Doom Walls, another abseil, over the Hexagon Block and across Amphitheatre Arete. Gaining entry to Trap Face Route once again proved awkward and needed a few runners to keep us safe before following the trap right out to overlook Western Gully and some welcome sunshine and lunch.
In the Trap Dyke
We’d made it in under 4 hours this time and Mr JEB Wright now seems a little less superhuman. His first effort took only 2.5 hours though so we’ve a way to go to still!
My first ever Cuillin fawn
Classic Scottish Sandstone tour- 22-28th June 2014
The Kings Martin & Deidrie took me off for a great road tour around the north of Scotland last week and the weather treated us handsomely. The Old Men of Hoy & Stoer were major highlights supplemented by Vlad the Impaler on Stac Pollaidh and Sword of Gideon near Applecross. Fantastic trip thanks guys; superbly climbed and great company too.
Dry rock at Duncraig, 16th May
Silly steep start to the day!
Francis inspired Lou and me to join him and explore what the guidebook calls “terrain adventure, steep & exciting” on the upper cliff at Duncraig, just across the water near Plockton. The book took a bit of deciphering but we were rewarded with 3 pitches of really good climbing. Our “combo” had Francis warm us up rapidly on Brigadier Braggart’s Little Secret, E3 5c. The obvious line above was eventually identified as Easy Rider, HVS 5a. This gave Lou a great curving crack pitch and then a very adventurous finish for me with route finding and vegetation adding extra spice to the high quality climbing.
Brigadier Braggart’s Little Secret, E3 5c
Francis eyeing up the crux
Lou high on the first pitch of Easy Rider, HVS 5a
Off for an adventure, pitch 3
Set above Plockton bay with the Torridonian sandstone mountains behind the crag really is in a phenomenal position. Our adventure ended with yet more exploration as we took faith in the guidebook and abseiled back over the edge from the trees. The heavy rain had arrived but we really didn’t mind one bit.
Descending through the blueballs and bracken back to the car
Set above Plockton bay with the Torridonian sandstone mountains behind the crag really is in a phenomenal position.
Filming on the Cioch for Travel App, 13th May
Climbers laying it on for the cameras
Had a fun & exciting day out with Elaine & Kerrin in the sun on Tuesday. They’re making high quality travel apps which is a hightec Lonely Planet using videos for those struggling to suss what that means. See this link to Humanity TV for a fantastic trailer featuring Iceland. Scotland was high on their list to cover in the next issue and I was recommended to them by the Skye based artist Julie Brook
The guys were a pleasure to work with, filming didn’t interfere with the climbing, the weather was perfect, eagles came out to play and both Elaine & Kerrin had monstrous grins as they revelled in the excitement of climbing the Cioch. Good luck with the enterprise!
Full day out; Coire Lagan & Temerity, 2nd May
In Pinn abseil
With our wonderful weather due to break over the weekend I was keen to get another Cuillin rock route done. Francis is right in the groove just now so we agreed to meet up once I’d finished guiding Colin on a round of Coire Lagan.
Overnight frost made things cool but perfect for scrambling and the rocks were bone dry as Colin and I zoomed around from the Pinn to Alasdair and down to the lochan in about 7 hours. Francis was waiting at the loch and we discussed the cold and lack of sunshine but decided to stick to our original ambition.
Temerity gains then tackles a wonderful looking arete hgh above Eastern Gully. I’d eyed it up for years but was beaten to it by Ian Taylor & Tess Fryer in 2009 who gave it a grade of E4 6a. More intimidating for me was mention of a “long” move on the first pitch whcih I was happy to leave for Francis 🙂
Finishing the day on Temerity, E4 6a
With just a couple of micros and a shallow rock 6 placement Francis justifiably took his time working out the “long” move. Climbing back down and balancing out left he got a bomb-proof nut that I could tell was going to be great fun for me to retrieve! Another good nut appeared in a horizontal break and suddenly Francis made the long move with apparent ease. I could see the holds he’d reached were big but didn’t appreciate quite how steep the wall below was. Mr Muscle hung in for ages arranging 2 big cams before finally moving out to the arete. Around the corner the ancient rusting peg had disappeared and the small friend placement didn’t inspire so Francis continued boldly up the arete to finally reach a decent anchor 20m higher.
Contemplating last move out to the arete
No amount of arm-swinging or thrusting hands into pockets could bring my frozen fingers back to life so my climbing involved a scary approach into the groove followed by blatent hauling and hanging on the gear. A few tears were shed as my fingers pulsated back into life on the belay. I was finally able to appreciate the position & enjoy the final 20m of delicate slabby climbing as the sunlight reflected off the Minch. Temerity (def. reckless with a disregard for safety) is a very fine climb but I’ll wait for a warmer day to have another go!
Sunset over the Minch and South Uist.
T-shirt weather for Cuillin cragging, 28th April
Dry rock and a warm breeze is too good to ignore so Paul & I dropped work plans and headed off to An Stac in search of some adventure.
What’s in that shadowy corner?
A steep curving fault line just below the summit had attracted my eye for a few years but it was hard to tell what angle the climbing would actually be. Perhaps just an exposed scramble or just plain impossible?
80m of great exposed scrambling, easy in our rock shoes, led us up to the start of the overlap and a wee struggle to find much of an anchor. Paul led up the next 20m and the theme of delicacy and carefully choosing which rock to place protection in continued. Above this slabby ledge the corner itself looked crumbling and hard, out right looked more solid but definitely avoiding the line of the challenge so I choose a faint groove heading straight up.
Scrambling approach
A cam buried deeply into hollow sounding rock was soon matched on the other rope with an RP2 – times are a bit tough when I resort to placing micro-nuts in gabbro! Time to climb…. Avoiding some obvious lose flakes I found most of the holds solid enough as I tiptoed upward on the wonderful sticky gabbro. 5m up a large offset cam fitted nicely into a hole where the basalt had separated from the face. It seemed solid to touch but you can never be too sure and I was grateful to be able to “strengthen” this by using a screamer; clever type of extender that absorbs 4kN if it’s shock-loaded. Doesn’t sound much but that’s the equivilant to removing the effect of a 400kg weight hanging from it!
Nearing the top
All good preparation for what was clearly, even for an optimist like me, going to be quite a run-out. The climbing that followed was beautiful, all in the feet but just the right number of positive and solid holds and the loose sections weren’t too hard to avoid. I discovered I was now climbing the surface of a basalt layer and surmounting this gave a good footstep rest.
I got tempted into the corner next in an attempt to find protection, regretted it pretty instantly and escaped up and back right to the basalt ladder. Pulling hard on your arms on this stuff always begs the question of how good the glue is, 60 million years after these layers were stuck together. Fortunately I’ve always (touch wood) found it to be good enough for my bodyweight.
Another reasonable large cam kept things under control before flowing moves led to the top and a predictably difficult search for a solid belay. Paul romped up stylishly then ran the ropes out to the sunny summit of An Stac itself. Good endorphine rush! Quite a serious proposition but technically not too hard The Hanging Slab is about E1 5a.
The In Pinn stood gleaming in the evening sunshine and it would have been rude not to climb it. Paul led the 4 star Hard V Diff South Crack on delightful warm rock.
Sunlit South Crack
Francis popped up behind us with brothers Steve & Piers on their Traverse; hot work but all of them were “steadying away”.
After an overnight bivvy near An Dorus the guys finished on Sgurr nan Gillean at about 2pm today; congratulations are deserved all around!
The Hanging Slab-
South Crack & Pinn-
Overhang overdosing, 21st April
Francis on the crux of Veritas Splendour; it certainly is!
Had a great work out on Tuesday following Francis through the overhangs on Veritas Splendour, E3 5c and then the even huger ones on Mother’s Pride, E4 5c.
The fine finishing arete of Veritas Splendour
For my lead I choose Ogmorian, one of the few routes here I hadn’t climbed before. Being pretty dirty I didn’t feel it really deserved the 1 star recommendation when there are so many other quality routes on the crag, but others may think differently.
Mother’s Pride, by contrast, is an uber-classic pitch that follows a crack splitting 2 massive overhangs. If you lower off the 25m route from the top you land 15m away from the foot of the climb!
It’s also really hard to grade with absolutely enormous holds all the way. Although generally considered low in the E4 grade the position is uttelry wild. Samurai Groove is another wildly overhanging route on big holds in North Wales and graded E3 5c. I’d climbed it probably only 3 years before my first time on Mother’s Pride and remember clocking the Elgol route as distinctly more outrageous. If you are feeling very strong and are good at placing your gear you should certainly give it a whirl!
Francis is very strong just now; not only did he pose for a pic at the top but he also climbed back down the final few metres for an in situ wire once I’d sweated my own way up pumped out of my mind.
Dolphin display at Elgol on 19th April
Mother & calf passing by
Abi, Ivan, myself & Ally were treated to an incredible dolphin display as we finished our climbing last Saturday. For more than half an hour a huge pod of bottle-nose dolphins headed around the bay, right under the cliffs and around into the jetty at Elgol. Sharp boat operators were rapidly reopening & filling up with tourists to head out & look as we got back there.
Dolphins (bottom left) headign towards the jetty
Estimating numbers was hard, we had to leave before all of them had passed, but I’d guess at over 40 including mothers with calves all breaking the surface every 10 or 20 seconds. They appeared to be hugging the kelp beds feeding happily and our lofty position meant we could see them rolling around and playing even while they were underwater :-)))
Underwater action
This is the first time I’ve seen them close up to the cliffs in many years and a real privilege. I expect we’ll just have to cope with the normal otters, basking sharks and occasional minke whales for the rest of the season but you never know.
Abi way up there on Jamie Jampot, VS
Ivan & Abi had only done a small amount of outdoor climbing before but progressed rapidly with a grand finale on Jamie Jampot.
Ivan in post-match analysis
The weather has been treating us all fantastically right through Easter and looks set to continue.
Blog Backlog & Bla Bheinn footpath funding success.
Sorry about the radio silence but blogging is the lowest priority when life gets hectic I’m afraid. Last week the weather improved drastically and I enjoyed getting out 7 days out of 8.
Back to hot rock fun at Elgol; ye ha!
They were all great outings but highlights included finally placing an icescrew (1st time in the Cuillin this winter), meeting a couple of Italian guides at the Pinn who were up as guests of Al Todd (who skied the Great Stone Shoot this year) and a couple of hot days on the wonderful cliffs at Elgol (see videos on the Skye Guides Mountaineering Face Book page- I’ve put a selection of galleries below from most days.
Italian joy on the Pinn
Conditions have warmed up considerably but you’ll see great quantities of snow on the northern Cuillin (Pinnacle Ridge gallery below) which I would guess will be with us until about late May. Elsewhere the only serious quantities are leading up to An Dorus and a small amount left in the Great Stone Shoot (pic in Italian invasion gallery).
Biggest news of the week was the successful campaign to win £24k of funding to help with the much needed improvements to the Bla Bheinn (Blaven) footpath. Considerd by many as having the finest views in Scotland Bla Bheinn probably attracts more visitors than any other peak in the Black Cuillin.
Skye’s Bla Bheinn path repair project has won EOCA’s Alpine category – securing us £24k funding for path repairs! Huge thanks to all who voted.
In the office enquiries and bookings flooded in as folk realised that Easter and Spring holidays are fast approaching.
Elgol Day 1-
The annual Belgian student outing around Coire na Creiche & Glen Brittle beach-
4/5 Gully approach to Pinnacle Ridge- spot the ice screw pic!-
Italian invasion at the Pinn-
Even hotter day at Elgol-
Harvey’s Cuillin map updates 2014.
Anyone unfamiliar with the Harvey SKYE THE CUILLIN map should treat themselves to a copy this xmas. The 1:25,000 scale map covers a huge area from Broadford, up to Sligachan, Carbost, Glen Brittle and right across to Elgol. But it is the 1:12,500 enlargement of the Main Ridge makes it the only map of any real use to climbers and walkers wanting to explore the Ridge.
It’s been an enjoyable task this week helping Peter Child at Harvey Maps with updates for the reprint in January. The project has been ongoing for quite a few years now; they reprint just about annually so map corrections can be easily added.
Paths
This year I suggested that some of the larger trails higher in the Cuillin could justify being added becuase they are comparatively easy to follow in good visibility. Pete was then able to double-check the ideas with aerial shots and produce an accurate end result that should aid a huge number of visitors.
Sgurr na Banachdaich is well recognised as the easiest Cuillin Munro to attain and the route has become well enough pronounced on the ground to mark it nearly to the summit.
Cliff numbering correlation with the SMC Guidebook
Correlating the SMC “SKYE THE CUILLIN” guidebook with the “SKYE THE CUILLIN” map has been the other major task.
Photodiagram of the northern Cuillin seen from Sligachan; crags in red circles.
The 1:12,500 enlargement orientated for viewing the northern Cuillin from Sligachan; crag numbers in red.
There are a total of 98 different crags from the book now all marked as close to the start of the climbing as possible. Previous editions of the map have, since 2004, had 55 crags marked; don’t worry these are all in the right place and match the map index. Fifty-five was the number of crags I thought the Cuillin had at the early stages of writing the guidebook. It was another 7 years before we went to print but the end result, particularly with these latest Harveys updates, means that climbers have a hugely increased chance of identifying and navigating to the cliffs they want to climb.
Signed copies of the Cuillin Guidebook can still be bought direct from us if you want another Christmas present!
Skye Trail
The most noticeable change on the 1:25,000 side is the addition of a section of The Skye Trail. Harveys also sell a map specific to the Skye Trail.
2 variations are marked in the Cuillin section for the more adventurous including a traverse of Bla Bheinn down to Camasunary and a detour into Coruisk via the Bad Step.
New materials
The 2014 map will also be the first made of the new generation of tough polyethylene that is both more waterproof but also far more resistant to tearing. Great news for all, including our guides who carry their valuable copies every day through all sorts of weather.
Finally I’d recommend browsing the Harvey maps website for a fascinating insight into how modern, high quality mapping is being done. Enjoy:-)
Harmony in Namibia
I was treated to some cragging near Windhoek today by Richard Ford of the Namibian MCSA branch. I had given a wee talk on the Cuillin to some of their members last night and Richard managed to wangle an afternoon off work. Access is a big issue over here so I can’t report on the exact location (had to be blindfolded for the journey;).
The crag is in a beautiful dry river bed where a waterfall forms in the rainy season. The rock is a metamorphosed sandstone with horizontal bedding that forms great holds, very reminiscent of climbing at Elgol but without the sea below.
All the lines have been bolted sadly but Richard was keen for me to lead the routes on my trad rack as a side of climbing he really wants to get into more.
The cliffs are about 15m high and we had time for 2 routes. Both gave great moves on steep ground.
Graded 17 on the South African scale I would give them HS or VS The rock was solid and yielded plenty of gear on the 2 lines we climbed. There was much talk of exchanges with Namibian climbers coming to Skye for snow and ice and the potential for UK climbers out here.
Last week I camped at Spitzkoppe, Namibia’s most famous centre of climbing.
Slabby granite with its huge crystals characterises the routes. I was limited to clipping a few bolts on one of the smaller areas but can’t wait to get back to tackle the peak itself and some of the huge long routes.
Hopefully Richard and I will manage to get something arranged over the coming months; anyone interested drop me an e-mail.
Broken Windows- new routing 28 Aug
Great day exploring Window Buttress with Simon yesterday. Cool but dry and midge free we started with 4 pitches on the original route. Simon was keen for more so the beautiful soaring corner of Widow’s Eye on the middle tier was next; it really is a quality pitch, thoroughly deserving its 2 stars.
Above again I’d never climbed “Upper Window Buttress” and the description was ambiguous. We took the most obvious line of weakness in 3 pitches. Can’t recommend anyone follows us as “Broken Windows” (VS 4b) had a bit too much on the worrying rock front. Caution got us up safely and with plenty of adrenalin dished out.
International week.
Looking out to Loch Harport past Sgurr Thuilm from Mhadaidh.
Great fun this week with guests from Northern Ireland, Canada, France, Germany and England all having great climbing adventures. Camera issues mean a lack of shots of the rock climbing at Elgol and Neist but a few to whet the appetite below.
German fireman Alex coping well on his first ever climb Cioch West
The line of Cioch West showing beautifully as the mists clear.
Tom making the final abseil after traversing Sgurr a Mhadaidh
Misty old week; Cioch, Flamingos & Sunsets
It’s been a funny old week but plenty of action still going on. Guy squeezed in a Traverse with Pete & Andy, Andy guided Chris & Anna across some classic Cuillin scrambles including Pinnacle ridge and the In Pinn.
My week was very varied and admittedly a bit of a blur but celebrating with Schnapps on Sgurr an Fheadian, descending Pinnacle Ridge in the pouring rain and lovely dry rock across the knife-edge top of Ghreadaidh twice in 3 days are highlights.
Enjoy the selection of pics below-
Warm week again as summer continues; End July 2013
Only a couple of the threatened heavy showers reached Skye this week so a lot of happy climbers. Humidity and heat were a feature so a lot of slimmed down climbers too:)
There were some cracking days on the peaks and a climbing day at Neist where the wildlife stole the show.
Thanks to Guy Andy & Gillian for keeping their clients happy and well throughout the week too.
Here’s a small selection-
Road trip mindblower 15th July
With the weather breaking in the west Lucy and I decided to hit the road for the final couple of days of her week. King Bee on Creag Dubh at Newtonmore gave us our fix of 3 star climbing on the journey across but we were saving energy for what looked likely to be a massive day next day; and so it proved!
The Needle on the Shelterstone Crag is a classic route cleverly weaving its way up the enormous clean face to reach Needle Crack and finally thread the eye to reach the top. With alternating pitches of 4b, 5b, 4b, 5b, 4c, 5a, 4b, 5a, 4b it looked like we could alternate leads to give a perfect culmination in a week where Lucy’s leading has shot up from V Diff to confident VS.
The day was a long one, the tale even longer but culminated with Lucy leading the Needle Crack in superb style while I followed in a more agricultural fashion on the fantastic lay-back holds. All the routes open to her now dawned upon Lucy as she browsed Scottish Selected Rock Climbs over breakfast!
Enjoy the gallery-
Routefest 11/12 July
Phenomenal 2 days of climbing with Lucy and Guy. A beautiful night out and a very tired body.We managed 4 new routes, all with very different characters.
Lucy made her first VS lead and her first new route with the delightful Jacobite, VS 4c.
We then headed over to the Garbh Casteil where Diamondhead gave an improbably superb outing. Definite 3 star recommendation but I’m finding it hard to grade. A 40m vertical wall covered in huge holds but requiring caution and a steady head for the final 30ft run-out to the top. V Diff or VS? Severe 4a is probably the right result but can’t wait to hear other opinions.
Guy came up to join us next morning. Too Hard for the Old Man (E2 5b) takes a very steep line up the south side of Sgumain’s Final Tower- the Old Man’s face can be seen in the gallery below but you can guess about the cheeky whippersnapper’s naming process…..
After lunch we headed to the Stone Shoot for a return battle with Deliverance that Guy had led this winter. My lead this time & the climb proved just as steep in summer conditions and also E2 5b.
Time for a pint of Cuillin Beast 🙂
Enjoy the gallery-
Broadband Problems May June 2013
Moody In Pinn, photo by Cameron
Quick update while BB is running; hopefully long enough to let me upload. Apologies to anyone missing a blog about their days out or updates on Skye weather. Investing in Highland Wifi is looking likely:-(
Sword fighting on the Cioch
It has been incredibly busy with 7 Skye Guides out working pretty much constantly for the past 5 week; a massive thank you to Gillian, Scott, Andy, Lou, John and Francis. Thanks also to Cameron and Nathan who both added help, enthusiasm and youth on their work placements from the UHI Outdoor course in Broadford.
2 weeks of great weather has kept everyone happy with guides burning the candle at both ends by climbing at every opportunity; the real reason why we all do the job!
“Just a short note to say you have one very happy client after my trip up Gillean and Bhastair with Lou. It was just a brilliant, brilliant day. Lou was excellent and we all got something out of it, which as we all had different experience and capabilities was a great testament to her and the Ridge! “
“Both Scott and John were excellent guides. Personally, I was very challenged by some of the terrain, but they were a great help; ten Munros bagged, incl. the In Pinn!”
After work Afterburn; 31st May
After work today Francis, Lou, Nathan & I all sneaked in some final climbs for May in the beautiful light at Elgol. I’ve never rated School-house Buttress much compared to the the main cliffs at Suidhe Biorach but have changed my mind now.
Lou & Francis were in action on Beekeepers Bother as Nathan and I arrived. Somehow I’d managed to avoid this, the best looking line on the crag. Their raving was enough to inspire me and their presence was enough to stop me wimping out when it got hard. A little hollow in places but superb climbing. Nathan followed in fine style and finished his week of work placement with his second E1 of the week.
I recommended an unlikely looking E2 behind the holiday cottage; bit of a sandbag it turns out as it is now given E3. Francis hung in well and enjoyed the surprisingly complex route finding for long enough for me to run around and take a fine selection of shots. Enjoy the gallery
