Cuillin Conditions update 23rd April. Bring crampons!
Sgurr MhicCoinnich, Sgurr Thearlaich and the Great Stone Shoot
UPDATE More up to date photos have been added at the foot of the page from 23 April.
As the first May bank holiday approaches rapidly snow fields in the Cuillin aren’t melting very fast at all; in fact there is more snow forecast over the weekend ahead. The heavy winter has left the old snow very consolidated; nearly a week of warm wet westerlies only removed a small percentage of this with north facing snow slopes appearing almost untouched. Most of the photos here were taken last Friday 19th April. Sue, Jane and I enjoyed beautiful weather and an ascent of Sgurr na Banachdaich.
Sgurr Thormaid and Sgurr a’ Ghreadaidh in detail
MUNROS
Crampons will be needed for almost all of the Cuillin Munros with the exception of Sgurr na Banachdaich, Bla bheinn and Sgurr nan Eag. The In Pinn may be possible without crampons if the south facing slab to the foot of the route washes down & gets some sun over the next few days. Approach by the West Ridge of Sgurr Dearg has small snow patches but is quite well stepped.
TRAVERSES & CLASSICS
Classic routes such as the Traverse, Pinnacle Ridge, Coire Lagan will be very serious undertakings. Linking any peaks still involves a choice of adhering rigidly to the crest or scarily traversing steep snow that is sitting on the normal ledge systems; both slow work compared to ideal summer conditions. Clach Glas is almost clear of snow but the ascent to Blaven is definitely still axe & crampon terrain. Descent from the Putting Green is possible but some caution still needed in the first few hundred feet. Kings Chimney will be way preferable to Collies Ledge for a while to come. More abseils will be required than normal so extra tat should be carried. Quite a few parties have been using snow bollards for anchors too.
DESCENTS
We are choosing our objectives as carefully as possible to avoid long snowfield descents; going up snow slopes is a lot safer than going down! Particularly daunting are the Great Stone Shoot, Coire a’ Bhasteir, Coire na Banachdaich and An Dorus. See the close-up shot of Great Stone Shoot above. Be prepared to turn in and front point down for some quite long distances with ice axe likely to be in “dagger” position.
ROCK CLIMBING
South facing crags were incredibly dry and snow free until the latest rain arrived. They are likely to dry rapidly again luckily, just be careful on descents. The Cioch is clear but Eastern Gully has still got some big snow patches in and may affect choice of descent. There’s always the suntraps at the coast if the hills are too cold; guidebooks for Cuillin or Seacliffs can be ordered through this website if you need them.
UPDATE PICS 23 APRIL
Pinnacle Ridge
Am Basteir
Coire a Bhasteir
Winter continues. Updates 10th April
Busy period but here are some shots from the last week or so-
Cracking couple of days. 1st & 2nd April
The fine weather continues and plenty of Easter holiday folk out enjoying it. On April Fools day Andy & I headed up Coir’ a’ Bhasteir and took our time soaking up the views as we popped out to the Sgurr and up to Bruach na Frithe. Crowds of folk on their way up Fionn Choire including locals Mark & Ally skitouring! Is Mark the first person to have skied Bruach na Frithe? (I know it has been boarded)
Today we found some snow free scrambling up the West Ridge of Sgumain today. Highly recommended just now if you want some “full value” situations withouot crampons until the traverse off.
Serious Sgurr nan Gillean. 27th March
Traversing Gillean with Brian, Kerry and dad Andy proved quite a test yesterday but meant we made the most of yet another beautiful day.
Approaching by the Tourist Route involved 2 roped pitches as well as long sections of moving roped together. Descending the West Ridge proved even more comple. We were forced into an abseil from just below the Window (that I’ve never had to do before).
After the normal abseil at the foot of the West Ridge we had to do another straight down to avoid traversing the banked out ledge that is normally used in summer.
Final Svalbard pics & reports
The intrepid explorers are safely home enjoying Arctic weather UK style now but here are a few final pictures & tales. It’s been a pleasure reading, seeing & being able to pass on the adventures; thanks to both Bruce & Steve for the entertainment.
8th March
“Longyearbyen has a festival today. It marks the first day of the year the sun can be seen from Longyearbyen. The days grow by 18 mins or so each day. The weather is fine and its about -28c. Steve climbed up to a plateau above the town with scant equipment and the view included a couple glaciers.
We are staying in Guesthouse 102. It is run/owned by a Norwegian guy called Trond who also runs wildlife tours and is very helpful. The high winter season commenced March 1st and twin couch/bedded rooms cost £364 per week according to exchange rate.
Delux accommodation
Expedition leader White; whiter than ever:)
9th March
“Steve and a guy from our hostel summited a snow arrette today in mild -12c conditions,They didn’t encounter an ice bear but a beautiful ptarmigan.“
“The 4hr dog sled trip costs £148 per person but I don’t think it could be more authentic. We set off with 5 teams and scattered reindeer on the plain that led us up to a glacier in -28c but beautiful sunshine. Steve was so good at getting the dogs from there individual kennels and attaching each of the 6 dogs to the line and unattaching on our return they suggested he could come and work for them. You can see from the attached pic how the ice affected him. My fingers gave up very quickly & I had cowered down into the sled; they thought I had died.. “
“Skol Letzboy,Ve kum ind der holitz,Ve hoppen ze vroom der vindow der terrain inderozt,Hoppen en joy der pic storeez.”
And the final gallery-
Peaks n Rock n Ice
Louis & Hannah gave us an open brief to improve their mountain skills & experience; mission accomplished.
On Wednesday Guy Steven gave them a revision of crampon and axe skills before climbing Great Gully on Blaven. Amazing weather & views all day-
On Thursday I headed into Coir’ a’ Bhasteir to give them their first taste of ice climbing.
Today we opted for some sunny rock climbing down at Elgol which culminated in Louis leading his first route in over 5 years.
Beautiful but Bitter weekend. 9/10 March
Chasing my tail a bit just now so apologies for short & sweet blog posts.
James & Joe had their first outing on crampons on Saturday. Immediately after practising ice-axe arrest we found the snow slopes to be steel-hard so had to concentrate fully on the rise and descent to An Dorus.
The short stretch to the summit of Mhadaidh exposed us to the strong winds and we all looked suitably weather-beaten by the time we reached the Old Inn.
Sunday was an even more bitter day, possibly the coldest of the winter. The wind picked up soon after we left the hotel, adding a real intensity to the freezing temperature. Donning more clothes at every break we eventually took shelter in the cave in Coir’ a’ Bhasteir.
Here we concluded that neither open snow slopes nor narrow ridges were a good idea.
Instead we backed down slightly, traversed beneath Sgurr a’ Bhasteir and enjoyed some sunny scrambling on dry rough gabbro onto Meall Odhar.
This minor summit is a rounded grassy knoll but also happens to be one of the most impressive view-spots on Skye. We took in stunning views of Pinnacle Ridge, the north face of Sgurr a Bhasteir, Bruach na Frithe, Outer Hebrides, Red Cuillin, Torridon etc etc until we had nearly refrozen.
The gallery is a mix of the 2 days; hopefully in order-
Beautiful on Bla Bheinn. 6th March.
Cracking day with Deidre & Martin heading up Great Gully on Bla Bheinn. Great views all round and a couple of Sea-eagles just to add to the quality.
Enjoy the gallery-
Love Is….Winter Mountaineering. 5th March
Damp mist was clinging to Skye this morning so we headed inland to find the Glen Shiel tops mostly clear of cloud; good result.
We opted for the classic Forcan Ridge and were rewarded with a truly apline day with a mixture of dry rock, mixed climbing and a fine snow arete to finish.
We skipped the usual descent east towards Sgurr na Sgine. Instead we doubled back from the summit headed directly north down the glen before traversing back below the cliffs to rejoin the approach path. With the snow so perfect it was an easy variation that was also far quicker.
Our descent was pretty much straight down the snow slopes from the peak before cutting out left.
The clients certainly seemed happy with it all:)
Brief foray up Broad Gully, 3rd March
Martin had shoulder surgery just a few weeks ago so a gentle try-out was in order.
Broad Gully on Sgurr a Bhasteir is still holding plenty of well consolidated snow despite the thaw.
The mists still swirled around as we topped out so we skipped continuing up to the summit.
Descending to the lochan in Coir’ a’ Bhasteir we were greeted by the sight of 25+ members of Skye MRT all brandishing avalanche probes.
Apparently they had buried Jonah somewhere in the corrie for the exercise. There didn’t seem too much hurry and I couldn’t work out why they were all filing the ends of the probes…..:)
A wee bit of concentration to get out of the corrie and then a sprint to the pub which has finally reopened; yipee!
Fox’s Rake; 23 February
I’ve been spoilt with quality days recently but yesterday was right up there with the very best. Hard to say why but good company, a fresh covering of snow, an easy ice climb turning out to be serious, top out in the sun, knife-edge snow arete, blood-red snows and a moonlit descent all played their part.
The Amphitheatre held a huge dump of avalanche debris from last weeks washout.
I walked down Foxes Rake from half-height in January but yesterday even the snow slopes were hard and serious from the start.
As the mists cleared the ice pitches began to look pretty challenging.
4 sketchy pitches followed with just enough ice and protection to justify not reversing 200m of steep snow slope. The top-out was a relief combined with all the aesthetics of incredible views, sunshine and clear skies.
We opted to continue over the summit via the final 100m of the north ridge. This was the highlight as the snow arete dropped away on both sides and a combination of au cheval (leg either side bum shuffle), crawling and tightrope walking led to even more stunning vistas from the summit.
Descent from An Dorus still required concentration and effort but finally we were able to remove crampons and enjoy the darkening descent. Just as clarity was fading the moon provided an enormous burst of light rose from behind the Ridge; I genuinely thought that one of the guys had put a head-torch on!
We got down at 7-30 and are still buzzing from one of the best days ever.
Enjoy the gallery-
Serious but superb Gillean. 22 Feb
Steel hard snow and crampons on bare rock made for a concentrated day traversing over Sgurr nan Gillean by the Tourist route and down the West Ridge today.
Mark and Brian were up to the challenge and everything went to plan.
Roping across the exposed snow on the Tourist Route was probably the most gripping and descending the same way unattractive.
Numerous exposed rocks offered up good anchors and the crest of narrow snow on the final 100m felt far less serious than what we had already crossed.
Weaving from side to side of the crest, mostly on rock, made the descent feel controlled but the final abseil came as a relief from the ankle twisting.
Descending together from Bealach a’ Bhasteir to the lochan was easier than I had feared and finally removing crampons on the lip of the corrie was like putting on a pair of slippers! Good day in the office!
Stunning day for the first Pinn of the year. 18th February
The stunning weather today belied the serious nature of the snow conditions. Rock hard on the rise out of Coire na Banachdaich became a wee bit slushy on the descent to the foot of the Pinn and then deep and unconsolidated on sunny slopes by the end of the day. Not a complaint but, with a perfect forecast, it is certainly a warning to concentrate through the week ahead.
Enjoy the pics-
Sgurr a’ Fionn Choire 17th Feb.
Cracking first day with James, Sam & Josh. Strong wind kept us away from the ridges but we made great time up Coir’ a’Bhasteir, dodged quickly through Bealach na Lice and sneeked up onto the summit of Sgurr a Fionn Choire without getting blown off.
Highlight of the day was the superb bumslide from the bealach which took us down over 1000 feet in a couple of minutes. The snow as just the right consistency but may be too hard in another day or 2 for such indulgence:)
Snow conditions are thinned out but what’s left is consolidating rapidly now that we have some clear skies. Shame all the ice washed away but there’s gonna be some great days on the Ridge ahead.
Back in time for the rugby.
Rugby took precedence over blogging this weekend but below is a gallery of the 2 days out Paul, Martin & Damien enjoyed with early starts so matches weren’t missed.
Great Gully on Saturday was superb again with amazing ice formations hanging on the south walls. Harder work because of the snow that had drifted over from the north earlier in the week but it built up an appetite for the pub:)
On Sunday Sgurr an Fheadian looked quite black from below but was holding plenty of fresh powder which made the ascent pretty challenging.
Am Basteir magic. 8th February
Superb day out today. Enjoy some pics-
Bealach an Sgairne 6th Feb
With a blanket of fresh snow covering the tops Chris and I opted for an exploratory walk on the mainland today. Neither of us had been near Beinn Fhada so we parked up in Strath Croe and followed the beautiful stalkers path around the north side of the mountain.
It started snowing heavily again soon after leaving the car but half an hour later the clouds cleared to reveal a real winter wonderland. Most striking was the deep cleft of Bealach an Sgairne out to the north.
There are a handful of long routes recorded on the western most top of Beinn Fhada, Sgurr a Choire Ghairbh. Although it looked impressive soaring above us the white blanket and steep black buttresses suggested the routes here weren’t a good option.
Another hour of pleasent walking finally led us to the high point at Bealach an Sgairne and a great view out into the wilderness beyond.
Mullach Fraoch choire may be the Munro in the distance
Before we could even identify the peaks another heavy snow shower rolled in but we were very happy with our reconnaisance mission.
Blown away. 4th Feb
Failing to get up the hill, given todays forecast, was less of a surprise than the fact that we got more than 100 yards from the Sligachan. In fact the walk across the moorland was really beautiful with great views of all the hills, only a few wee gusts and even some sunshine.
This all changed dramatically the moment we reached the foot of Sgurr a’ Bhasteir as huge gusts seemed to compete with each other to get at us. Valiantly we tried to reach the foot of Broad Gully with a vague hope that it might give some shelter; stupid idea!
Too scared to stand up I bum shuffled back down to safety. Here we could speak to each other without shouting but the hot drink still ended up my nostrils:)
Short & sweet, momentarily far too exciting and far better than sitting inside all day!
More surprises on the Ridge. 2nd February
The sublime conditions I predicted nearly happened yesterday but not quite; a heap of fresh powder overnight settled into a beautiful but scary crest on top of the narrowest section of ridges.
Chris and I headed up the West ridge of Dearg with an aim to do a round of Coire Lagan. The path was as icy as the road from the start and we donned crampons below 700m. The next hour was a sublime sunlit wander over solid snowpatches that soon merged into an icy blanket.
Encountering powder surprised me but the covering was only thin and easily avoided as far as Sron Dearg. Beyond I didn’t fancy the normal easy bypasses which were banked out with hard snow and a layer of powder so we roped up to tackle the narrow crest instead. Things were feeling quite intense by the time we reached the Pinn 20 minutes later.
Perfectly timed Cameron MacIvar was just appraoching the crux move on the Pinn in a bright orange jacket. There are some other excellent pics on his facebook page in the link above.
After taking a few shots Chris & I headed down surprisingly deep powder all the way to the head of the An Stac Screes before having a spot of lunch.
Traversing Mhicchoinnich was now looking seriously in doubt: would we be able to find the anchor to abseil from at the top of King’s Chimney? Intensity built up again as we gained height but we hit a section of perfect neve once more just 200m from the summit and I felt a wave of confidence. A few steps further and my optimism was dashed as the beautiful looking crest turned out to be what Chris described as a “Patagonian-style” wave-top of deep powder.
Back-tracking still required concentration but finally reaching the safety of Loch Lagan was quite a relief. The atmosphere relaxed completely as we were greeted by Angus from the Old Inn who was up with his snow-boarding mates and the Great Stone Shoot in mind. Conditions weren’t suitable but it was great to see a variation on local interest in the Cuillin.
Back to more wild storms in the next few days; this seems to be turning into one of the biggest winters I’ve known in the Cuillin.
Great on Great Gully again. 1st February
The more I climb it the more I’m convinced that the Great Gully on Blaven is an absolute classic winter route; over 300m of grade I snow stomp right to the crest of the peak and (sometimes) the best mountain vista in Scotland as a reward.
No view of the Ridge today just some wonderful brief windows, a broken spectre and incredible sculpted snow.
Jane twisted her ankle visiting the Fairy Pools on Monday and has been listening with envy about our outings over the past couple of days. It was great to have her join us today and whatever medicine she’s been taking worked wonders as we all bombed up and down in under 6 hours.
I’ve started including galleries a bit more recently; let me know with comments what style is prefered please.
Snow on Ridge in perfect condition for speedy traversing. 31st Jan
Dropping temperatures have started to condolidate the huge amounts of snow still coating the Cuillin. Be warned that this is only apparent once the crest has been reached but lower snows are also consolidating well. Even if a full Traverse is too much traversing any section over these next 2 days is going to be a delight.
Tom, Kirsty, Jules and I headed into Coire An Dorus where I opted for one of my favourite wee climbs. The impressive deep cleft of Eag Dubh is a perfect winter route as the snow covers up the loose & greasy rocks.
At the top we roped together on a complete covering of snow that is just firming up but not scarily hard. There were a few wee powder drifts a matter of inches deep not feet. Straight-lining over summer hazards was incredible.
Wind battered us on the summit so we ran for cover close by for lunch.
Plenty of concentration was needed on the long descent to An Dorus but only 3 steps actually needed us to turn and face inward so very rapid progress was possible.
Below the freezing level we got nearly as wet as on Tuesday but it was a small price to pay for having had such great conditions on top. 
Sublime to the rediculous; 29th January
The early start to beat the weather seemed to be going well for the first hour with great views, dry foot path and no need for waterproofs.
A heavy shower caught us as we climbed up the snowy slabs into Coir’ a’ Bhastier and a strong wind put us off the NE Ridge above. The cave provided great shelter, had a dry floor and no drips; lux!
The rain stopped, we took turns trail breaking and made speedy progress up to King’s Cave Chimney for another snack stop. Above us the wind was howling and we realised that reaching the summit of Bruach na Frithe was in doubt. Bealach na Lice gave us a taste of the wind strength and we skirted round to the final rise, complete with beautiful snow sculptures.
The wind finally defeated us less than 5 minutes from the summit. Perfect bumsliding conditions had us down into the lower reaches of Fionn Choire in a matter of minutes at which point the heavens really opened. The last hour was one of the wild & wettest I can remember but none of us minded having snatched such a great morning of snow fun.
Arrochar adventures. 25-27th January
John’s party from Essex learnt alpine skills and put them into action in the alps last summer. The brief this year was to introduce some higher grade winter climbing whilst based in the Village Inn in Arrochar.
The fine weather was coming to an end but temperatures were still cold so it was time to buckle down for some “real” Scottish climbing.
Eas Anie, IV. Friday 25th.
On Friday heavy snow and high winds didn’t encourage me to go high and I fancied the low-lying classic icefall of Eas Anie which must have been building for nearly a fornight. A superbly timed post on UKC confirmed that a team had climbed it the night before.
Heavy snow on the roads meant parking at the Green Welly & cutting through the forset before picking up the vehicle tracks right to the mine. The guys there took pity & let us kit up inside, surrounded by ingots (not).
A huge wall of ice could be glimsped between the squalls deep in the chasm above. An epic powder swim nearly ended in a proper swim when a pool suddenly appeared in front as the snow collapsed!
We roped up across heavily laden slopes to the foot of the fall where the maelstrom continued to challenge the concentration.
Steve and Spud headed back down while John, Tom & I got stuck into the beautiful ice. The boys learnt to deal with the steepness very fast and joined me on the hanging belay.
Tom only whimpered quietly as he suffered 5 minutes of excruciating pain from the “hot-aches” in his hands as the circulation came back; yowser.
Some more great steep steps suddenly led to the top and the first bit of shelter we’d had since the mine. Great route.
The blizzard was tempered once we re-entered the forest and Tyndrum that evening would have looked completely at home in the alps.
The Cobbler, Arrochar Alps 26th January
Saturday dawned beautiful and the Cobbler opposite the hotel looked magnificent.
Most bizarre for me was the sheer number of folk all aiming for the same objective with most making us feel totally over equipped, most notably the shorts clad fel-runner (competent) and the trainers & shellsuit clad bloke (statistic material).
Trails had been blazed which was a total pleasure until I realised we had overshot the intended route. Fortunately there was a party breaking trail up the broad north face of the North Peak from where an easy traverse rejoined the best line to the summit.
The true summit is a stack of rock which is gained by “threading the eye of the needle”. It was utterly plasterd in hoar frost and, in its virgin state and having carried the rope, it was an obvious challenge.
We used some traditional methods to safeguard John to the top followed by Spud & I while Tom took pics. The weather drew in around us as Tom had his go and then we had a familiar blizzard to contend with on descent.
Beinn Udlaidh. 27th January
More high winds and heavy showers weren’t putting John & Tom off another chance to swing their axes. We headed to Beinn Udlaidh with its easliy formed ice and very fierce but short approach. A nameless 80m icefall on the right at the start of the corrie looked both suitable and attractively close given the blizzard was just kicking in again. A wall led right to the foot of the ice.
Closer examination showed a worrying amount of water pouring down the direct drops so I dodged these by right-hand variations on both pitches.
A vertical tier at the very top gave a fitting finish to three very succesful days on the road.
Day 3 of the Winter Meet. Sunday 20th January
Sunday dawned beautiful once more but many had to head south and many heads needed soothing after the Saturday evening celebrations.
Considerably fewer pics as the carefully organised photo collecting of the first 2 days faltered somewhat. Hopefully shots will emerge of-
Spike, Nathan & Kim headed into Coir’ a’ Ghreadaidh to practice some skills; Spike practising for his MIC assessment and the others getting yet another instructors opinions!
Paul & Brendan headed to Window Buttress and climbed Curtain Call-
“New route on the West Face of Window Buttress.
side of the gully to an open area with a choice of exits. Climb the steep groove on the left (crux) for 35m before escaping right. Follow easy-angled grooves for 200m before joining the final pitches of Deep Cut Gully.“
Sadly we also discovered where a lot of the snow had ended up too. The attractive icefall was glazed snow and the snow banks got steeper as we gained height. 
Enjoy the gallery-
Day 1 Gallery 18th January
Enjoy!
Magic first day of winter meet.
8 of us headed out to see what the wind and weather had done to the huge amounts of snow. I’ve never seen the likes with crampons needed from the earliest snow patches right up to the summits. Serious but fantastic.
Blue ice up the Stone Shoot
Romain, Steve, Antoni and I headed up the North Face of Sgumain. andy and Iain climbed Gully E on Thearlaich and paul & Dave took the plaudits for a new line on the southern face of Sgurr Dearg’s West Ridge. “Away from the (drunken) crowd” gave a superb 100m of grade IV in the middle of a very long line in the sun!
Approaching Bealach Sgumain pinnacles from the North face
Alps to Alpine Scotland; good to be back. 15th January
L-R Weishorn, Dente Blanche & Matterhorn
Red Cuillin peaking through above the inversion this morning.
Blaven after the storm; plastered once more.
Ski Touring; Pic d’Artsinol 10th Jan
I’ve only ever skied a handful of days but today had my first go at ski-touring. We were joined by Janine, Graham’s wife and member of the British ski-mountaineering team.
Chuffed not to have either wiped out or fallen off a lift I put the skins onto the skis at 2600m for the final rise to the Pic d’Artsinol, 2997m.
This 1000ft probably took me about an hour.
I’m sure the others would have halved that but some good simple instruction from them saw me right and positively enjoy myself by the top.
Far more worrying was the descent; I’ve never been off the pistes (as many of you will testify to; ha ha ) and deep snow with a thin crust looked like a good way to screw my knees. I was fully prepared to carry the skis down & wade through the deep snow but, despite wiping out a few times, had to agree that skiing down was quicker & easier.
Back on the pistes things suddenly seemed very easy and there was plenty of professional advice knocking around to help me feel almost competent by the bottom. 5000ft of skiing, nothing broken but definitely tired!
Happy New year on Blabheinn 1st January 2013
Marissa & Jim were in crampons for the first time on Bruach na Frithe yesterday. Today they put their new skills to good use on the Great Gully splitting the 2 summits of Blaven.We were joined by Mark who lives in Torrin right opposite, keen to clear his head after a Hogmanay ceilidh and a half.
Snow conditions in the gully were superb, the weather treated us well with glimpses of the main Ridge from the summit, broken spectres & some more wonderful vistas out to the Inner Hebrides on the descent. No apologies for brevity; just enjoy the gallery.
Ideal Winter Traverse conditions this week 9th December
A Winter Traverse of the Cuillin Ridge is the Holy Grail of British mountaineering; the finest mountaineering route in the UK but requiring a unique set of circumstances to come into condition. Without going into detail too much that time has come and the crest of the Ridge should have a fairly consistently solid covering of snow from one end to the other that should allow pretty rapid progress. Equally importantly the forecast is for beautiful cold crisp clear skies over the next 3 days at least.
The route has been high on climbers tick lists ever since the first successful Traverse in 1965 by legends Tom Patey, Hamish MacInnes, Brian Robertson and Davey Crabb. I’m contracted to report weekly on conditions to UKClimbing and have been preparing folk as conditions build up with a series of increasingly positive reports. Below are a selection of the most recent posts for your amusement & information:
“Looking perfect for a Traverse now ’til Wednesday (or Thursday possibly). I’ll give up posting on UKC if I don’t hear about anyone going for it.”
Cuillin Ridge in winter; timings for different sections
“One oversight in the new guidebook is a winter grade for doing individual sections and rounds of the corries. With conditions looking good in the coming week the breakdown below may be useful. It should also be of use for those just doing individual sections.
Winter is when the Cuillin truly takes on its “Alpine” status with conditions affecting the seriousness, line & techniques differently through the day. Descents are particularly thought provoking! With this in mind I’ve opted for using an alpine grading rather than Scottish winter. Timings are for (R) rounds, (S) sections or (A) approach. Approach & descents will vary hugely but allow 3.5 hours to the first summit in all but perfect conditions. Allow a min of 2 hours to descend but the last hour will probably be on a good footpath.
Daylight is about 7-30am to 4pm just now but will vary a lot with cloud cover.
(R) Traverse Gillean up Tourist rte, Descend from Bealach A Bhasteir E-W AD 9hrs
(S) Traverse Am Basteir & Tooth AD 1.5hrs
(S) Bruach na Frithe to Bealach Harta AD 2hrs
(S) Traverse Bidean N-S (col to col on Traverse) D 1.5hrs
(S) Glaic Moire to An Dorus AD 2hrs
(S) An Dorus- Banachdaich AD 2+hrs
(R) Coire na Banachdaich PD 8hrs
(A) Dearg W Ridge PD 3hrs in ascent
(R) Coire Lagan, Pinn to Alasdair D 9hrs
(R) Dubhs from Ghrunnda AD 7hrs
(R) Sgurr nan Eag to Gars-bheinn PD 8hrs
A brief overview is also available –http://skyeguides.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/SkyeGuides_TheWinterTraverse.pdf”
“For those after climbs as opposed to the Traverse an article I wrote printed in Climb in January 2012 gives an overview of a more modern view of climbing in the Cuillin.- http://skyeguides.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/cullin.pdf
Having focussed on mixed climbing in the article, ironically, last winter saw some good ice routes form and we now have a situation where these are reforming & even the Traverse is looking likely. Overall the message is get up there & explore & you wont be disappointed.”
UKC Conditions report Skye 8 December
The excellent conditions and weather last weekend gave everybody a superb time. The winter skills day was well attended & well received by 11 of us on an ascent of Sgurr a Bhasteir.
Next day Jim Higgins & Ross made the 3rd ascent of HDQ on Am Basteir –http://scottishclimbers.blogspot.co.uk/
while Martin (HDQ 1st Ascent) & Pete (HDQ 2nd Ascent) were knocked back on their attempts to tackle a new line close by- http://www.ukclimbing.com/images/dbpage.html?id=209900.
Sadly nobody used the conditions & full moon to try the Traverse but all may not be lost despite a real plastering through the start of this week. A convincing thaw up to 800+m today and another warm blip tomorrow could well work in everybodies favour next week with a return to very cold settled conditions.
I was out on Wednesday (gallery- http://skyeguides.co.uk/deep-winter-play-5th-december/ ) but we just took our rack & ropes for a beautiful wander along the crest rather than swimming up any climbs. Despite drifts on the flanks there was an encouraging crust on the older snow below that made the very crest quite speedy & easy still. Worth watching the stability of the drifts higher up; we broke through an inch deep crust but this may thicken & make windslab more of an issue if it doesn’t thaw as much as I hope.
There was the beginnings of some quite sizeable ice, by Cuillin standards, in south facing corners at “mid-level” including Southern Comfort (IV)- http://www.ukclimbing.com/images/dbpage.html?id=188294
Big winds in with the warm blips this weekend should all help keep things whiter more than black over the coming week and hopefully any fresh powder will drift off.
I noted the request for Skye routes on another post which reminded me of an outstanding mission to put guidebook times on sections of the Ridge in winter. Nearly finished that but will post seperately and also add it to my winter Traverse advice on the website.
