Mike’s Ridge report, 2/3 June.
Particularly chuffed with this success because it looked like the weather was conspiring against us with thick wet mist blowing in off the Atlantic on Thursday morning. All gloom lifted on reaching Sligachan however with the north end clearly dry & nearly cloud free. Plans for a long damp approach to the south end were binned and starting by Pinnacle Ridge (which I had never done for a Traverse) was the highly attractive alternative.
North End at 10am Thursday
Taking it all in from the top of Gillean
We traversed over to the Bhasteir Tooth where we found Gillian with her clients, Kate & John Forbes, abseiling out of King’s Cave Chimney
Kate gets ready to go….
….down there!
After borrowing their ropes we headed south over Bruach na Frithe with the mist lifting off the Ridge just ahead of us all the time. Odd damp corners made some of the climbing (out of Tairnilear & onto Bidean) interesting but there was no urgency.
The rest of the Ridge was finally clear by about 5-30pm
A very happy Beck.
We collected 10 litres of water from a tiny but flowing source in An Dorus using the syphon from a Platypus before making one final long hard rise to a popular bivvy ledge on the top of Sgurr a Ghreadaidh.
Collecting water for overnight and next day.
Dinner of Thai chicken & beef curry was accompanied by some of the most magnificent light effects and views you could ever hope for.
Sunset with Sgurr Thuilm foreground.
Dawn was glorious but sadly the mists rolled in just as we left the bivvy at 7-30am next morning.
Beck sleeping soundly through the sunny dawn
It never rained and there was only a touch of dampness but I was glad to know the way in the pea-souper. On a positive side it meant no queuing for the Pinn and little need for water. In fact the first views we got all day were in the final 20 seconds before reaching the southern most peak of Gars-bheinn.
From here we headed down the East Ridge directly to catch the last boat out of Loch Scavaig and a celebratory Talisker. Slainte!!!
