Cuillin Ridge Traverse
For a long time, I have wanted to complete the Cuillin Ridge Traverse. It is frequently described as the finest mountaineering adventure in the UK and there really is nothing else like it on these shores. I looked into whether or not to go with a guide, whether or not to do the ‘light’ version etc. It seemed pretty clear that the success rate wasn’t especially high for independent traverses, reportedly below 10%.
In May, my girlfriend and I walked the Skye Trail, with detours up Sgùrr na Strì and Blà Bheinn. The fabulous views of the Black Cuillin reinvigorated my desire to do the Cuillin Ridge Traverse. I asked my friend Alexis if he was interested in accompanying me, and it turns out he was meaning to ask me the same. West Coast Mountain Guides seemed to offer exactly what we were looking for, including a day’s leeway in case of bad weather. We booked for three weeks’ later.
Alexis and I drove up on the Thursday evening and met our guide, John, by Sligachan Hotel. We had opted for an extra day’s guiding so tried to figure out a plan to somehow avoid the terrible forecast and still manage three days of scrambling in the next four.
The forecast didn't look great on any day, but at least the wind would ease on days 3 and 4. Since the wind would be hitting from the southwest the next day, we decided to do the Pinnacle Ridge then as it faces northeast. Unless the forecast changed much, we'd have Saturday as our rest day and attempt the traverse on Sunday and Monday.
We then drove down to Glenbrittle Campsite to find somewhere to sleep. We discovered over the course of the weekend that precipitation coming from the southwest makes the campsite pretty miserable! Even when it was sunny on the other side of the Cuillin Ridge, Glenbrittle was perpetually under cloud.
The next morning, Alexis and I drove back to Sligachan to meet John and set off. The Cuillin Ridge was doing a great job at sheltering Glen Sligachan from the bad weather. The approach was lovely and sunny and we were soon scrambling.
It was really good to have the extra day’s guiding. Alexis and I had both done plenty of scrambling, but none in the Cuillins, and little with ropes. Having this introductory day meant we could get used to the conditions, and John could make sure we weren’t in over our heads, with no pressure to make good time.
The ridge was terrific fun. It was suitably airy, with great views back across the glen until we got into the clouds. Although we could hear the wind, we were very rarely exposed to it and the rock was mostly dry. The ridge is composed mostly of gabbro and basalt, and it’s important to recognise the varying types of gabbro, as they offer extremely different levels of friction.
John was right at home in this environment and it didn’t bother us when he decided to try out new detours! We were rarely stationary and made decent time. Although both munro summits were entirely in the clouds, Alexis and I had both loved the route. The descent was also good fun, with a decent abseil and then a little scramble through a rockfall. The walkout was again in the sunshine and after a hearty dinner at Seumas’ Bar, it was a tad depressing to drive back round to the cloudy side of the ridge to sleep.
On our 'rest' day, Alexis and I decided to climb Marsco, following walkhighlands' route. Much like the day before, the weather was far better within Glen Sligachan than elsewhere on Skye. The trail was good with the only challenge coming when ascending the back of Marsco. This was quite steep and it was a relief to get a breeze when we gained the ridge.
We reached the top 2 hours after setting off, where we were briefly in the clouds. The strong winds revealed the views beneath us in seconds, and just as quickly the clouds came back. It was a fine place to sit and relax (and a relief to see that we had made the right decision not to start the traverse yet). The clouds were constantly enveloping the Black Cuillin and most of the rest of the island. We didn't see anyone else on the trail as they were presumably put off by the forecast.
This walk wasn't enough for Alexis, who decided to run off and also climb Beinn Dearg Mheadhonach. I was satisfied however, and walked back the way we had come. My only company was a very annoying horsefly that I couldn't get rid of. Indeed, I found it still on my backpack when I reached the car. I read and napped whilst waiting for Alexis. Watch out for the height restriction barrier if using this car park - we saw a couple dismantling their mangled bike rack after apparently missing it!
We drove back to Glenbrittle for pizza at the campsite and got an early night in preparation for the next day.
On the Sunday morning, Alexis and I left the campsite very early, to drive to Sligachan and get a taxi back with John. The clouds were still above Glenbrittle and we weren’t too optimistic about the conditions on the ridge.
We took the most common approach for a traverse, following a good path into Coir’ a’ Ghrunnda. We entered the clouds shortly before we reached the loch and visibility dropped to around 20m. It was a steep climb from here to gain the ridge but we still had plenty of energy! We dropped our bags around 500m north of from Sgùrr nan Eag as we would pass back this way.
Before we headed for our first munro of the day, the clouds parted and we could suddenly see Sgùrr Alasdair to the north. We were instantly feeling far more optimistic and didn’t mind the light rain as we reached Sgùrr nan Eag back in the clouds.
We returned along the ridge to collect our bags and continued north. We dropped our bags off again for an out and back to Sgùrr Dubh Mòr, the second munro, east of the main ridge. The views opened up again and the whole ridge was poking through the clouds. We had been moving quickly and had barely needed to use our hands. This was about to change!
We retrieved our bags and continued northwest, towards Sgùrr Thearlaich, the ‘T’ of the TD Gap. The scrambling had started to become more interesting, and we were moving well, so John though we could cope with the hardest climb of the whole traverse. As we approached, he commented on how the climb was worst when neither dry nor entirely wet, but the strong winds seemed promising for dry rock.
We abseiled into the gap - I said there was no way I could down-climb it - and were met with a cold blast of wet air. We had the slippery type of gabbro all around us and there was cloud funneling up the gap, leaving the rock moist and treacherous. Alexis and I bravely allowed John to lead the route and we sat back and waited! Due to the poor forecast, John had thought we would avoid all the harder climbs and so left most of his gear behind. Now he was having to re-use the same few nuts repeatedly up the route. John certainly didn’t make it look easy (it’s only supposed to be Severe) and our confidence evaporated.
By the time John set a belay at the top, Alexis and I were both freezing and desperate to get moving again. We climbed up with plenty of struggle and zero elegance, but we made it. It was made more awkward by Alexis and I being tied into the same rope, only a couple of metres apart, but this was probably still slightly faster than taking turns.
When we reached the top, Alexis was a tad relieved!
We were soon up our third munro, Sgùrr Alasdair, and were happy to be back out of the cloud. This would come and go throughout, as our altitude and the clouds’ alternated. We stopped for a snack on the summit.
Almost immediately, we were at the foot of another climb, King’s Chimney. This was graded VDiff (one below Severe), but seemed many grades easier than TD Gap, as it was much less awkward and had drier rock. This took us up the fourth munro of the ridge, Sgùrr MhicChoinnich. The views were excellent again, and we could see the rest of our route ahead. It was nearly 8 hours after we had left Glenbrittle and there was plenty of ridge still between us and the best camping spot.
The next section was the first section of sustained walking since we had gained the ridge. Alexis and John were moving very quickly and I was working hard to keep up (possibly not helped by the many opportunities for photographs).
We needn’t have worried about queueing for the Inaccessible Pinnacle (fifth munro), as there was still nobody to be seen. We ate a late lunch underneath, then made our way up. It’s a Moderate climb (another two grades below King’s Chimney) and was no trouble, although the exposure is very impressive! If people are wondering about climbing it without a rope, for me I don’t think that would be an issue on the way up, but I’ve no idea how I’d feel about downclimbing the same route.
We climbed right onto the top boulder that looks extremely precarious, then abseiled down the north side.
It was a little difficult to find the best route down Sgùrr Dearg, but there was only a little scrambling and we were up Sgùrr na Banachdaich (sixth munro) in about half an hour. The clouds started to part more significantly here and there were great views back down the ridge, giving us quite the sense of accomplishment already.
After more sustained scrambling, we reached the seventh munro, Sgùrr a’ Greadaidh, nearly 12 hours after leaving Glenbrittle. We passed one group near here, and saw another in the distance - the only other people we had seen all day. We were starting to fatigue and decided to have a break for dinner near the next bealach. This was also one of the most reliable sources of water close to the route (by An Dorus), and we found a fast flowing spring to restock our supplies.
We took our time and enjoyed the colourful sky over Sgùrr Thuilm. Occasionally, we could see as far as the Outer Hebrides.
We had just one more munro left for the day, Sgùrr a’ Mhadaidh, with plenty more scrambling around its three subsidiary peaks. Eventually we descended to Bealach na Glaic Moire, a relatively grassy and sheltered spot. Our bivvy bags provided varying levels of comfort, but Alexis had his coat beside his head in case it started raining!
It didn’t take long to fall fast asleep.
We awoke in more cloud, had a quick breakfast and got going. Bidein Druim nan Ramh and Sgùrr na Bàirnich provided plenty of excellent scrambling, and unbelievable views above the clouds. The breathtaking morning allowed John to demonstrate his incredible influencing skills, as he posted many hashtags on his Instagram and received some 30+ likes!
We made the most of the views before joining an easy path up Bruach na Frithe, the ninth munro of the traverse. The clouds started to roll back in again, when we were on the summit.
In order to climb the tenth munro, Am Basteir, we would take Naismith's Route, another Severe climb. This involved a very exposed traverse, but was again much easier than the TD Gap. We went up Basteir's Tooth, then the main summit, before reversing Friday's route to Sgùrr nan Gillean, the eleventh and final munro of the traverse. Unfortunately both of these were again in the cloud, but we could hardly complain about the conditions, especially considering the forecast.
We dropped back down to the bealach, with a couple of abseils, then ran down the scree slopes. We followed the same route out as on Friday, where we had admired some blue pools. We chose the nicest of these for a quick dip in the very cold water! We were still feeling refreshed when we got back to the cars around 3pm. I can confidently say, it was my favourite moutaineering experience to date.
