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.
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.
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