Here’s another - very different - shot of the In Pin. This time go further’s Paul is with Eric and James (pictured) and two others on the summit of the Inaccessible Pinnacle. Although the In-Pin is famous for its exposed scramble, it is also a perfect position to take in the scale of the Cuillin with tremendous views in every direction. After the In-Pin the group went on to reach Sgurr Mhich Choinnich which you can see in the top right of the picture. The picture is taken looking South East.

Tags: In Pin, Inaccessible Pinnacle

We recently helped Martin, Chris and Tom reach a few summits on the Cuillin and thanks to Martin for this image of the Inaccessible Pinnacle he had just climbed. Weather has been very mixed recently with some low cloud. On this day the cloud base was sweeping in just below the summits making for some dramatic views as the sun broke through unexpectedly.

After climbing the In-Pin we went on to summit Sgurr na Banachdich. If the weather permits and you are up for it, we always try to take in at least one other Munro during days when we do the In-Pin. For more options see our Skye pages.


The Inaccessible Pinnacle.


Martin and Chris on the summit of the In-Pin with go further’s Colin.

Tags: In Pin, Inaccessible Pinnacle, Sgurr Dearg

We’ve had one of our busiest June’s ever enjoying nearly three full weeks on Skye with 15 people in five separate groups. We’ve covered most of Skye’s dramatic Cuillin Ridge and made ascents of nearly all of the Cuillin Munros making the best of a mixed spell of weather that has seen settled but frequent low-lying cloud with spells of light rain.

On Saturday 26th the south end of the Cuillin Ridge remained below a heavy cloud base and despite an early shower we completed a tremendous mountaineering day with Judy, Mary and Karen. Starting at sea level at Glenbrittle bay we walked through the atmospheric Corrie Lagan and accessed the ridge via the Sgumain stone chute. After Sgurr Sgumain there is a long scramble (with one significant roped pitch) up the Western summit ridge of Sgurr Alasdair - Cuillin’s highest summit at 993m.


Judy and Mary on Sgurr Alistair.

During the day the cloud base remained just above the highest tops giving us some dramatic views west to the islands.


Rhum from the Cuillin on the same day.

From Sgurr Alasdair there is a tremendous scramble over Sgurr Thearlaich to the bealach between Sgurr Mhich Choinnich and Sgurr Thearlaich. From here we traversed the famous Collie’s Ledge up to the summit ridge - a long and easy approach to reach this peak but very exposed with a few awkward scrambling moves in places.

During June, go further’s Paul and Colin were also guiding on the north end of the ridge with a large group on Am Basteir and the fabulous scramble up the western summit ridge of Sgurr nan Gillean. We took in Sgurr a’ Mhadaidh and Sgurr a’ Ghreadaidh during a wild, windy and misty day. And we also helped 10 people in two groups reach the top of the Inaccessible Pinnacle during long days when we also reached the summits of Sgurr na Banachdich and Sgurr Mhic Choinnich. See or Skye pages for more options.

Tags: Sgurr Alasdair, Sgurr Mhic Choinnich, Sgurr Thearlach, Sgurr nan Gillean, Am Basteir, Sgurr na Banachdich

go further has already seen Skye’s Cuillin mountains in a range of moods this year with full winter Munro weather lasting well into April. Our latest trip last weekend coincided with perfect conditions - dry, cool and with a slight breeze. Over four days we tackled nearly all of the Munro tops in the southern Cuillin including Bla’Bheinn (Blaven) - the dramatic outlyer of the Black Cuillin to the east of the main ridge (see picture below).

Over this weekend we reached three of the Cuillin’s 12 Munros on Saturday and Sunday. On the first day Gair and five of his friends tackled Sgurr a’ Mhadaith from the notch in the main ridge known as An Dorus. From here we scrambled south over the narrow and exposed summit of Sgurr a’ Ghreadaith pictured below. Here we are traversing the South Top from the main summit in the distance.



From this point, the ridge drops sharply down to the south east before a steep easy scramble up to the summit of Sgurr na Banachdich.

On Sunday we set out to reach the three most southerly Munros on the main ridge via the narrow and spectacular Corrie Ghrunnda. Once we gained the main summit ridge we travelled south to Sgurr nan Eag then north to the Sgurr Dubh an Da Bheinn top which offers extensive and easy scrambling to a dramatic summit with a view into three of the Cuillin’s corries. From here, a complex coll leads to the second Munro of the day - Sgurr Dubh Mor which is reached by a steep but easy scramble. From here, the main ridge goes north west where we traversed around the head of the Corrie Ghrunnda to tackle the Cuillin’s highest summit - Sgurr Alasdair - from the south west. This requires a long roped scramble over difficult ground to reach the famous summit.



Here, Pat and Rory are just arriving at the summit with Loch Brittle far below (go further’s Colin in red).



Gair - taking in the view on his last Munro.



The quickest way down from Sgurr Alasdair is the Great Stone Shoot (above). On May 10th, the day after our trip to Sgurr Alasdair, gofurther’s Paul took this picture (below) with a group from London tackling Sgurr Dearg and the Inaccessible Pinnacle. Fresh snow arrived overnight on a strong and cold north easterly. The highest peak is Sgurr Alasdair with Sgurr Mhic Choinnich on the left.



The best view of the whole Cuillin ridge is from Bla Bheinn (Blaven) which sits to the west of the main ridge on the Elgol peninsula. Although daunting to look at, Bla Bheinn has a relatively easy route to the top which requires almost no scrambling. From the summit you can see the entire main ridge from Gars-bheinn in the south to Sgurr nan Gillean in the north. Below, Maggie on the summit on Friday with the main ridge in the distance.

The whole ridge: 8 miles long with 10,000 feet of total ascent - a big expedition. More on that soon.

Tags: Cuillin, Black Cuillin, Bla’Bheinn, Blaven, Sgurr a’ Mhadaith, Corrie Ghrunnda, Sgurr Mhic Choinnich, Great Stone Shoot, Sgurr Dubh Mor, Sgurr Alasdair, An Dorus, Sgurr nan Eag, Sgurr Dubh an Da Bheinn, Sgurr a’ Ghreadaith

go further has had one of its busiest summer seasons so far and here is a selection of some of our best shots from recent trips.


In May Zoe and friends (pictured below) took a break from their running holiday to tackle a tough traverse of Ben More Assynt and Conival in the Inchnadamph area. This route starts at Inchnadamph and reaches Conival via the beautiful and narrow Gleann Dubh. From Conival there is a rough ridge walk (pictured here) to Ben More. From there we took the exciting south ridge that includes some exposed scrambling before dropping down to the spectacular Dubh Loch Mor.





We rested by Dubh Loch Mor for a long spell before tackling the long walk back to Inchnadamph. This long traverse is one of the most challenging in the area but variety and complexity of the scenery makes the long day worthwhile. This picture shows the burn running from Dubh Loch Mor with the imposing South Ridge of Ben More Assynt behind.



As we keep finding out, some of the best mountain days in the North West are to be found on the ‘Corbett’ tops - those mountains between 2,500 and 3,000 feet in height. Several are to be found on the fabulous Coigach Peninsula just north of Ullapool. In May, we had several long spells of bright and cool weather and one of those coincided with this visit to one of the most accessible of Coigach’s mountains - Cul Mor. This picture is taken from the summit ridge looking south west to one of the most visited mountains in the North West - Stac Pollaidh.



This picture is also taken from the north west top of Cul Mor looking north towards Suilven - one of the most spectacular and remote of all Scotlands ‘Corbett’ tops.


Despite some brilliant weather in May and June, we did see some very late snow and one of those flurries coincided with a complete traverse of An Teallach by Jill and friends (pictured).


Here, two of our group can be seen nearing the end of the pinnacled ridge a short distance before one of the main Munro tops which was in cloud.


The day started brightly but became overcast as the party reached the main ridge where we took this stunning picture of the full ridge.

Tags: Ben More Assynt, An Teallach, Conival, Coigach, Assynt, Suilven, Stac Pollaidh, Ullapool

Here’s another picture of Beinn Eighe’s Black Carls with Stuart looking back east from the main ridge. This picture was taken on Easter weekend when there turned out to be good walking conditions, flurries of snow, but mostly dry and breezy with lovely spells of sunshine. The air was very clear giving spectacular vistas as far north as Foinaven and south to Ben Nevis.
The forecast for the week ahead looks good for Wester Ross and the North-West. Easterly winds, the Spring spell we all wait for, dry,dry,dry...

Tags: Beinn Eighe, Black Carls

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Scrambling in the North West is normally associated with mountains such as An Teallach, Liathach and Stac Pollaidh but there are many other venues where the scrambling is just as good or better. Torridon’s Beinn Eighe for example has some great scrambling on the Eastern end of the main ridge. These pictures show Sara and Paul practising their scrambling skills on the Bodaich Dubh (Black Carls) in fresh, windy weather in mid-april.

Tags: Beinn Eighe, torridon, Scrambling

We’re gearing up for the start of the Spring and Summer season 2009 with new pages to our website, new pricing arrangements and more information about sea stack climbing.

Check here for more pages about activities on Skye.
We revamped our page on sea stack climbing with more information due soon.

For the coming season we’ve also reduced our prices for groups. For example, our group rate for mountain walking for three people is now £60 each and for four people £50 each. For groups rates for other activities check the individual pages.

There are many ways to tackle An Teallach but the best way to experience the scale of the massif is to start from Corrie Hallie and walk South West to the steep east-facing slopes of Sail Liath. From there, a long haul onto the main ridge means you can traverse both munros and most of the tops travelling north to Dundonnell.

In July this group (left) tackled the ridge in perfect conditions for the exposed scramble before the first munro. The roped scramble over the Corrag Bhuidhe pinnacles takes a direct line up three pitches of steep climbing. The climbing isn’t hard, but it takes a serious line in an exposed situation. From top of the first assent the route stays on the crest of the ridge for some excellent scrambling on perfect rock including an easy chimney and a sharp ridge traverse. This picture looks south from the top of the Corrag Bhuidhe into the Fisherfield Wilderness.

From this section of the ridge the scrambling eases over Lord Berkeley’s Seat (which overhangs Loch Toll an Lochain) and on to the first munro - Sgurr Fiona at 1059m. The ridge then turns to the North East towards Bidein a’ Ghlas Thuill which overlooks the second of the two stunning corries.

This picture (left) shows the group on Bidein with the Corrag Bhuidhe in the distance. From Bidein, there are a number of options. Sometimes we drop down to the northern beallach and then north to Dundonnell Hotel. Alternatively, we can drop into the corrie and back to Corrie Hallie or traverse the central ridge east to Glas Mheall Liath and out to Corrie Hallie. On hot days a return to Corrie Hallie means we can dive into a beautiful pool under a waterfall 15 minutes from the road.

See our page on An Teallach for more information or call us if you would like to discuss route options.

Tags: An Teallach, Dundonnell, Corrag Bhuidhe

Sometimes mixed conditions can make mountain day unforgettable. Liathach in Torridon is a great castellated ridge that jumps to well over 3,000 feet from sea level inside 1.5 kilometres. Its steepness is given even more drama by its sandstone tiers and pinnacled ridge. On Wednesday last week the day started cold and misty with the cloud base at about 700m. After making it onto the summit ridge we traversed west and by midday we could sense the cloud getting thinner and breaking in gusts. By 1pm the sun was occasionally slicing through the mist and, when the wind dropped, conditions became warm and humid. As we tackled the scrambling on the pinnacles (left) the cloud was tumbling over the summit ridge in great white waves. It was an exhilarating spectacle as we climbed over the last section of Am Fasarinen towards the second munro.
This is the view of Meall Dearg - Liathach's northern pinnacled ridge - taken from the main ridge about one kilometre East of Mullach an Rathain.









Here you can see the cloud breaking over the Eastern section of the main ridge. On the right of the picture you can just make out another party emerging from the mist onto the summit ridge.









This picture looks north down to the floor of Coire na Caime some 400m below.

Check our our pages on Torridon and Scrambling for options for guiding. Janet (pictured above) and Stuart chose our 'Torridon Munros' course - six munros and eight 'tops' over three days including Liathach.

Tags: Liathach

Karen, Judy, Mel and Karen proving it is possible to have fun in torrential rain in the Cuillin. This picture was taken in late June at the summit of Bruach Na Frithe.
This is usually a straight-forward peak manageable from the Sligachan but at the end of this day the burns you can normally skip over were raging after seven hours of downpour.

Tags: Bruach Na Frithe, skye, Cuillin

The gofurther team has enjoyed bright and dry conditions on most days on Skye over the past few weeks. The top picture shows Paul with Christine, Rory, James, Gair, Calum, Alistair and Pat after an ascent of the Inaccessible Pinnacle on Sgurr Dearg. Here, the group has descended down the steep slabs from the Pinnacle for a breather on an airy outcrop before we climbed back onto the main ridge for an ascent of Sgurr Mhic Choinnich.
The other picture shows Colin with the same group on the Western Buttress of Sgurr nan Gillean. This section is the most technical part of the buttress with scrambling over, and between, a series of small pinnacles. The group went on to the summit of Am Basteir which you can seen in the distance.

Tags: An Stac, Sgurr nan Gillean, Am Basteir, In Pin, Inaccessible Pinnacle