
ROUTE: Followed the route description in SMC Guide "Skye and The Hebrides: Rock and Ice Climbs"
MEMBERS OF PARTY: With Marion
CONDITIONS: Sunny, warm, gentle breeze, dry rock.
DURATION: 8 hours approx.
SKILLS PRACTISED: Lead climbing. Route-finding. Pitching plus sections of moving together. Abseiling.
MOUNTAIN ENVIRONMENT: Focussed on the climbing most of the time! Did notice some erosion/frost shattering of the gabbro at higher parts of the pinnacles, extra care needed on these looser sections.
KEY LEARNING POINTS/CONTRIBUTION TO EXPERIENCE: A clear step-up in technical grade and overall seriousness from the Dubhs Ridge, climbed a few weeks earlier. Gained a lot of confidence from keeping control over a sustained period of exposure and even enjoying most of the experience! We were the first party on the ridge that day so had to route-find from the Guide Book, this was fairly straightforward given the clear definition of the pinnacles - the abseil from the Third Pinnacle was scary and we had a bit of trouble with the rope snagging on the in-situ tat. Knight's Peak gave more sustained scrambling. Very pleased to coil the rope on Sgurr nan Gillean summit and enjoy the evening sunshine. No relaxing until we had scrambled carefully down to the SE Ridge to the path in Coire Riabhach.
Area :
Skye - The Cuillin (Summer)
The Cuillin mountains of Skye are justifiably admired as having the most alpine-like atmosphere of all the ranges of the British Isles, and perched elegantly above the sea they have an especial charm. The traverse of the main ridge is of course a highly prized expedition, but the flanks of the Cuillin contain a very large number of crags of excellent gabbro, offering long multi-pitch climbs throughout the grade range.