First Ice. Friday 6th December
Ally and I headed up into Coire Lagan today with some mixed climbing in mind but found the crag on thearlaich far too dry. We headed back to the iceflows beside the path on the outflow from the lochan.
Ice is always a worrying medium to climb, particularly at the start of the season, so it was good to “break the duck”. Faith in the theory saw axes not ripping and crampons not slipping but forearms far too pumped; must relax more when climbing but, more importantly, start some pull-ups!
Cheeky conditions on Clach Glas
Chris and I snatched a Clach Glas crossing between the tropical rains of Tuesday and northern gales of Thursday but not without a fight. A mix of snow and dry rock allowed us to reach the summit without crampons but they were obligatory on the sketchy descent.
Sheltered sunny approach
The pics are a pretty true reflection of the weather, we only got hit by one heavy snow shower on the summit, but don’t do the wind any justice. Unpredictable gusts added spice and watering eyes knocked the concentration; we were certainly glad to be roped the whole way!
Ridge view
Down-climb early on
Summit view north
Summit view south
We happily dropped out of the maelstrom by the screes below the Putting Green and reached the car before darkness and the real storm arrived.
Winter begins :-)
Stars last night created a heady mix of anticipation for great things so Ally and I packed a full rack and ropes. Sadly we woke to a murky warm (7 degrees) morning and fought hard to keep up the enthusiasm. Adopting the “you can’t do it if you’re not there” philosophy is always best though and we got our just desserts.
Once in Coir’ a’ Bhasteir it was obvious that the thaw wrote off anything too technical so instead we opted for a traverse of Sgurr nan Gillean.
Tooth Chimney provided good sport and much amusement to gain the West Ridge.
Conditions were variable so we opted to stay roped up to the summit.
The sun stayed out for most of this rise and the mists rolled around providing tantalising glimpses of Am Basteir and Pinnacle Ridge.
Descending the “Tourist Route” we stuck to the crest of the ridge and down-climbing snow-clad grade 3 scrambling certainly tested us.
The only real rain eventually caught up with us but only for about 5 minutes. Payback was a full parting of the mists to reveal the autumn colours beautifully lit by evening sunshine and a pair of eagles rounded off the aesthetics nicely.
For me the first day out in winter is always double-edged; inevitable pain from carrying all the extra metal-work is countered by the thrills and wonderful beauty of our play area. I can confirm, and feel, both sides of the winter sword this evening!
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.
2 Classic rounds to finish September
I’ve been having far too much fun in the beautiful weather this week and it has been great to finish such a good season with 2 of the uber classic rounds.
Best known is the round of Coire Lagan which takes in the Cioch, Bad Step to Alasdair, King’s Chimney and climaxes with the In Pinn. Local enthusiast Gerry has explored quite a bit of the Cuillin alone but wants to explore further. Our super pure and fast (8.5hrs) round on Wednesday gave him plenty of tips and encouragement for the future and loads of enjoyment for both of us.-
Next day regular John Seal got unusually good weather for a man with a surname that invites dampness:-)
We started on Sgurr a Bhasteir (with a 20 year jump ambition finally put to bed for me across a certain intimidating step),
climbed Naismith’s Route on the Tooth (2nd time for John),
a new line up onto Am Basteir (not easier sadly), Lota Ledge onto Gillean and then a classic descent of Pinnacle Ridge to finish (8.5hrs as well).
Gallery here-
Am Basteir with Skye Guides on TV 28th October
Just a quickie to let you know there’ll be some footage of the Cuillin on 28th October at 7-30pm on Beeb 1- see below. It’s BBC Scotland so elsewhere in UK will possibly need to adjust your sets 🙂
Filming in the Cuillin is always a challenge trying to mix the usual challenges of weather with artistic content and improvisation. Working with Paul Murton who runs TimeLine Films was a pleasure. A keen mountaineer himself he understood his project very well, brought a fit and able crew of 3 others. Lou Reynolds was helping guide and we all reached Bealach a’Bhasteir in just 2.5hrs despite the big camera & sound equipment. This gave an hour before the predicted rain arrived and we nailed it just in time. Highly intrigued to see how it has all panned out……
Busy few weeks. 21 September
Apologies for not blogging so far this month; plenty going on but very little reliable broadband still!
There’s been a mixed bag of weather and a late surge from the midgies but the majority of missions have been accomplished with the use of cunning tactics and a great attitude by clients and guides alike. Monday last was only the fourth day this year that has been lost to the weather completely!
The work has varied from Ridge Traverses, stag dos and showing travel journalists the stunning Cuillin to stunt filming for a new Gaelic soap. Clients have come from as far away as New Zealand, Majorca and Colorado; ranged in age between 11 to 70 years old. Major achievements include Jenny Dunn climbing her last Munro, Laura climbing the Pinn for her first ever mountain in full “Scottish” conditions and Marcus completing his long-held dream of a Cuillin Traverse.
Basking sharks and Orcas, eagles Golden and White-tailed and the last of the alpine flowers like Devil’s Bit Scabbius have all added to the enjoyment.
Here are some images-
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-
Sensational Traverse conditions 8/9 July
Summer finaly reached Skye on Sunday; perfect timing to warm up and practice on Clach Glas & Bla Bheinn. No excuses not to head straight for our Traverse attempt next day.
AquaXplore ran us straight in on the RIB for a very humid but shady ascent to Gars-bheinn. The mists were our friend, keeping us cool all day as far as the TD Gap.
We climbed it in glorious sunshine but bivvied back just before it to take in the evening sun.
A 4am start, extended photofest and breakfast had us finally climbing onto Alasdair just after 5-30.
Slightly greasy as far as the Pinn then dry rock for the rest of the day. Bidean and Naismiths were day 2 highlights before popping out above the clouds to finish on Gillean with just the Pinn showing in the distance.
Pure magic- enjoy
Single Track road advice.
Just a quick bit of writing I’ve been meaning to do for ages. Advice on how to drive up here on the single track roads is sparse so here’s my go. No incident provoked it; just somebody asking if driving up here is different-
Single Track road advice
The biggest single driving issue in the Highlands is how to deal with the many sections of single track roads. Advice is not broadly publicised and misunderstandings can be the cause of “road rage Highland style”.
Passing places on single track roads are marked with white diamond signs and are generally frequent and well placed for a driver concentrating & anticipating well. When a car is coming in the opposite direction convention is to keep driving forward to the mutually central passing place then pull over to the left-hand side to allow the vehicle coming the other way to pass. Equally the other car may pull over for you first so you should carry on driving rather than also pulling over. It is not unusual to accidentally over-run the passing place and you should be happy and prepared to reverse back.
Passing places are also very important to allow following traffic to overtake. If a vehicle comes up behind you should pull over as soon as possible to allow this. Not doing so is a great source of frustration for local drivers in particular and they will not be slow to let you know by flashing their lights and honking their horn. Being followed in this situation is not pleasant, can be distracting and dangerous. Allowing passing immediately relieves this problem and allows you to carry on enjoying the journey and scenery.
UPDATE- Watch this very short video clip for a musical explanation- Passing Places
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
Play time. Central Route 30th May
Summer has been slow to arrive but the past 2 days have been fantastic. Having a day off from guiding it was too good an opportunity to miss. Iain is gathering multipitch climbs for his MIA logbook and was more than keen despite doing the Ridge 2 days ago and warming down on Pinnacle Ridge yesterday.
Iain admiring our target.
I’d never climbed on South Buttress so it was time to test out how accurately I’d written the descriptions for the guidebook. The obvious line of Central Route gets a 2 star recommendation and was very worthy indeed.
Pitch 1 is the crux pitch with a 5a technical grade; quite intimidating so early in the season I have to admit!
The rock was solid and holds positive straight off the ground. Things soon got steep with a thin finger crack giving both protection and holds while the feet smeared happily on the beautiful rough rock.
The steepest bulge showed signs of retreat but this was bypassed by a couple of delightful moves out right which then gave a puzzliing dilemma of whether to return to the crack or link a series of positive edges up the wall above. The crack option won and led to a luxury sunbathing spot to belay. This pitch was 45m not 20m as the guidebook says.
Iain led a long pitch above (4b)by a series of walls, slabs and chimneys to a shady belay at the foot of the prominent straight finishing chimney. This was every bit as good as it looks in the pictures with just enough holds and protection but not too easy.
As a warning to others it should be said that there is a lot of loose debris immediately above the chimney; caution should be exercised but didn’t cause us any problems.
We unroped and enjoyed a final 50m of scrambling (30m in the guidebook) before a small terrace led left to the waterworn slabs of the descent route. These proved to be so clean & delightful that it really added to the quality of the outing; probably a climbing first for me! One final bonus was that this cool shady line brought us back out right to where we had left the rucksack!
Dubh Ridge Delight, 24th May
After 2 mad stormy days everyone was glad the forecast for a settled sunny day turned out to be correct. Robert took my recommendation from last year to bag his last Skye Munro by the classic Dubh Ridge.
AquaXplore ran us in to Coruisk at high speed with just enough time to admire the basking seals. The nature continued with a new plant for me on the approach route that looks like a minature Cuillin red cabbage- any identification help much appreciated-
Cuillin Red Cabbage?
Cameron has been on his work placement with me all week and climaxed with an ascent of this classic route, here giving a perfect example of how to tackle the delightful clean slabs-
The cloud base lifted for lunchtime and sunburn kicked in as the sun reflected off the rapidly thawing snow.
There was enough snow to slow us a bit but not need crampons as we reached the summit of Dubh na Da Bheinn 5 hours after leaving the boat. Fortunately we had bypassed the summit of Dubh Beag and the awkward abseil to save time.
Happily I found my best ever line of descent down the Garbh (rough) corrie from the castle taking exactly 2 hours to reach the jetty with 5 minutes to spare before David whisked us home.
Update, May 20th
Apologies for little blogging; broadband down & working hard. All 6 guides have been out over the past couple of days and finally enjoying some degree of Spring kicking in; yeha!
Big difference from the blizzards just last Thursday in the selection below-
Fast track at Elgol 11th May
Lou is off for her first trip to the Alps this summer and wants to get up to speed on the rock-climbing front.
An intense first day culminated in a fine clean second of Angel of Sharkness E1 5b; not bad for a first venture outdoors:-)
Pinn snatched just in time; 10th May.
The stunning sunset last night was followed up with a beautiful dawn too.
Picture Lou Reynolds
Rain was forecast for the afternoon so we set off for the Pinn at 8am. Roger’s gang are a fit bunch and no slouches on the scrambling too; a good job as the weather deteriated just as we reached the foot.
A strange mixture of an orange caped man and fixed ropes greeted us. Francis Lou & I braced ourselves for a long cold wait but, to be fair, the “Everest” tactics worked well and the team ahead hardly slowed us at all. Snow flakes flew past us but the rocks seemed friendly today and everyone shot up without any hesitation.
After fun on the abseil descent conditions deteriated far more so we warmed up by heading rapidly over to Sgurr na Banachdaich and down for an early bath.
Birthday Groove/Virgo, 8th May
Birthday Groove is on the South Buttress of Blaven; The sun didn’t shine on us but Antoni and I enjoyed another classic Cuillin rock route.
2 big pitches (70m & 50m) up Birthday Groove gave us some great traditional climbing, largely on dry rock. We’d carried our sacks to avoid a painful descent but I really didn’t fancy the squeezed final pitch so dodged right into the final, and best, pitch of Virgo which takes a parallel fault line.
Antoni made a fine job of leading this sustained long pitch which is distinctly undergraded in the guidebook at Difficult.
We continued to the top for a magnificent view of the Ridge; Antoni’s first view despite having been there 3 times before!
What a difference in just 5 days; here’s Kenny, Gerry & Lou at the Pinn last Friday 3rd May-
Summer is here at last. White Slab 7th May.
Heavy warm rain over the past 2 days has finally washed the majority of snow away and today temperatures reached a balmy 18 centigrade.
Antoni, Lou and I headed for the sunny slabs in Coire a Ghrunnda for the first multipitch rock climb of the season.
Early dampness evaporated once the sun appeared and left no excuse to avoid the White Slab itself. This classic pitch is not technically difficult (4b) but gives a delicate space walk that tests the nerves.
Above the Pinnacle Rake we took the most obvious steep corner which gave a superb finale with incut holds and plenty of protection (V Diff.)
There is a lot more snow lying in north facing corries but should continue to disappear if the temperatures will stay in double figures.
Clach Glas Bla bheinn Traverse 30th April
In sharp contrast to yesterday Alan and I did this classic traverse with no need for crampons and glorious sunshine throughout the afternoon.
Early showers were a bit fierce but the only negative effect was hailstones on the holds of the final chimney onto Blaven.
Stunning views of the Main Ridge-
Enjoy the gallery-
Full winter ridge. 29th April
Alan had thought about doing a winter course with us this year and accidentaly got a quality winter day at the end of April!
After an hour being blown up into Coire lagan by a blizzard we cramponed up at the first narrows in the Great Stone Shoot, climbed Bomb Alley to Bealach MhicCoinnich then climbed Thearlaich by the Coruisk side.
A 20m abseil took us into the head of the Stone Shoot from where we climbed Alasdair. Tantalising glimpses appeared of our roof-top route as the mists finally began to clear.
The snow was treacherous in the top 100m of the Stone Shoot but the pressure eased soon after and even allowed for a wee bumslide before a sunny walkout.
Storms & sunshine at Elgol, 28th April
With a Ridge Traverse high on Mark’s ambitions I decided a day of intense training at Elgol was in order after 2 hard days in the snow.
First was an hour of abseiling until Mark was completely happy doing everything himself.
Next was some intense footwork on the easy slab which took Mark from a rock hugger to a smiling rock gymnast in a matter of minutes. We had to dive for cover as a heavy shower passed over us but the rocks were dry enough to climb minutes later.
After lunch we crossed the beach to the main cliff. The noise of crashing waves reverberated under the huge rooves and created a seriously intimidating feel as we perched on our tiny ledge. As we covered the important sequence of what was going to happen I watched the next shower storm across the Minch towards us but a tiny cave at the foot of Fertility Right kept us dry.
Climbing a Severe standard climb on damp rock, rucksack on back and in approach shoes gave a realistic insight into what Mark is going to find on the TD Gap & Naismith’s Route when he returns with some fine sunny weather for a Traverse:-)
Munros update-Gillean, Mhadaidh & Am Basteir. 25-27April
didn’t comment on conditions yet so here goes-
Old snow pack started to go off on Thursday but top 100m of An Dorus rock hard on Fri. Softening again Saturday. Fresh building up on the old snow but reasonably well bonded.
Fresh snow each day added interest to the ridges; quite good quantities actually made far more pleasant than expected with mostly good footings rather than squealing on rocks.
Overall you do need crampons for any of the narrower sections of Ridge for sure. Easier peaks & slopes may be okay just now but beware days following clear sky nights.
Full Traverse looking very improbable for a wee while yet…
Brief selection of recent pics; I’ll label when less busy but you’ll get the idea!
Great snow fun this week; Ann-Marie’s 60th birthday on Gillean, 20 years since we first met, aghhh.
Then Preston & Mark learning to love their crampons & axe over 2 seperate days.
Sgurr a’ Ghreadaidh; 24th April
Fresh snow overnight left the hills beautiful today as the clouds cleared and sun shone.
Stuart did superbly on his first outing in crampons with an ascent of the Eag Dubh gully.
Grade I but very exciting- at one point the snow had formed into a narrow (18″) crest that we had to tip-toe up!
The ridge above to the summit of Ghreadaidh was full value excitement but with enough exposed rocks for anchors to keep us secure.
We watched Scott, Von & Graham climb partway up the In Pinn before backing off because of some gusty winds.
Descent was equally challenging but the pressure eased off once we were about 100m below An Dorus with a great glissade back to the corrie floor.
