The Red Cuillin Hills

Friday 4th July 2008

For the last walk on my holiday I caught a bus to the popular climber's haunt, Sligachan Inn, at the northern end of the great Cuillin range with the mighty Sgurr na Gillean dominating the landscape. I had considered going up the eye-catching mountain, but a wet start and my own reluctance to fall from a great height to my death, I mean to climb such a difficult and exposed mountain, redirected my attention elsewhere. Instead I went up the hills nearby that, despite sharing a similar name to the Cuillin, are very different in character. The Red Cuillin are rounded hills with smooth grassy slopes low down and above 300m have an abundance of loose rock strewn about their steep hillsides. They are not rugged or challenging, they have no jagged angles or sheer cliffs and they are not even very high, but the views from them are amazing. I started along a path that follows the shallow ravines of Allt Daraich and then veered off towards Sron a’Bhealain across a boggy plain. Once the bog was thankfully left behind I climbed the hill to the top of Sron a’Bhealain, and along the ridge beyond. With the boring bit over I began to climb the steep scree slopes of Beinn Dearg Mheadonach (Middle Red Mountain), with similar climbs being required on all of these hills. When I reached the top I walked around the edge of the corrie, over the actual summit and on to the end of the ridge. The views towards the neighbouring hills from this vantage point and even across the sea to Scalpay were sensational. The early rain had cleared to leave me with great weather for the rest of the day, and was giving me good views everywhere even though the biggest hills, including all of the Cuillin remained hidden beneath clouds for much of the day. It was rather satisfying to be on top of the Red Cuillin with clear views while Blaven and the Cuillin were wrapped around in cloud, so maybe I had made the right choice. Returning to the main corrie edge I descended to Bealach Mosgaraidh and climbed the higher Beinn Dearg Mhor (Big Red Mountain – spot a running theme in these names?). It took me a long time to climb up the scree but eventually I reached the summit where I had my lunch in the excellent weather with superb views all around me. After lunch I descended the interminable scree to Bealach na Sgairde, sliding down on occasions rather than walking due to the steepness of the scree. This was a difficult descent but that was nothing compared to the ascent that was ahead of me up Glamaig.

With no path to follow I struggled up the steep scree and I seemed to be taking forever, feeling like I'd never reach the top. However, when I was almost at the summit I turned away and traversed the eastern ridge of Glamaig to its end, An Coilleach, where I had great views out to sea and towards the mainland, before returning along the ridge to complete my ascent of the summit. Now began a descent that will forever be remembered for its frenetic haste and steepness as, with terrifying speed on the steep scree, I slid down the slope often using my hands to keep upright. How I never came to a sorry end I’ll never know, and even once the scree was over I still had long grass slopes to descend before eventually I reached the boggy floor. That descent seemed to just keep going down and down, never ending as I had thought I would reach the bottom once I’d cleared the scree. Once finally at the bottom a wet walk beside the river brought me back to Sligachan where, while I was still some distance away, I saw the bus that I had half-hoped I would catch, was leaving the Inn. Catching that bus had been a weak excuse to come hurtling down a steep slope but it was tremendous fun nonetheless and the walk turned out to be epic, though before starting I had expected it to be short and easy. The scree slopes, particularly on Glamaig, proved to be really strenuous and time consuming. A combination of those scree slopes and the heat really drained me of energy, but fortunately this was the last walk of my holiday so I was be able to go back to work the following week and recover from my holiday!

Bla Bheinn

Thursday 3rd July 2008

During a rest day I travelled to the Isle of Skye where I spent a whole week’s holiday last year with rather poor weather put a downer on the walks that I did in the awesome Cuillin. This year however the weather improved markedly and gave me a brilliant walk on a fine mountain with amazing views of the Cuillin Hills. To start I caught a bus to a track near the village of Kilmarie which I followed across the countryside over a low shoulder to reveal my first stunning views of the Cuillin. Breaking off from the track I followed a path across the stream, Abhainn nan Leac, and up onto the south ridge of Bla Bheinn.

Once I had climbed up the grassy slopes and around to the top of the ridge the view of the Cuillin got even better as I was now able to see over the top of Skurr na Stri and provide me with a much better view of the whole Cuillin range. Clouds on some of the tops gradually lifted during the climb to ensure that my eyes were constantly veering to the left. I was absolutely overcome by the sight of these hills that are the most rugged and dramatic in Britain, and were constantly drawing my attention away from the ridge I was walking up, which is a great shame as the ridge is fantastic. I was climbing up wonderfully rugged slopes with scrambling opportunities whenever I wanted them but always with a clear path that avoided any difficulties. Near the top I was enveloped by mist that blocked my view of the Cuillin and forced me to turn my attention to the ridge I was climbing all the way up to the south top of Bla Bheinn. The summit, across a short gap, proved to be quite a challenge to cross. I hadn't needed to do any scrambling on the way up, but now to get to the summit I would have to scramble down a rather exposed rock face. After a few hair-raising moments I managed to descend the steep rock face, cross the col and up to the summit.

I had lunch in brilliant sunshine and admired the views all around me while despairing at how busy the summit was becoming. All week I'd had the hills pretty much to myself so it was a bit of a shock to have to share this summit with as many as ten people, especially as I hadn’t seen anyone on my ascent (there is an easier route up than the one I had taken). Still, it’s not like the hundred people who would be at the top of Snowdon. After lunch I left the crowds behind and crossed back to the southern top, which of course required that I scramble up that tricky section again. Somehow it seemed even more difficult going up than down, but the knowledge that I’d successfully gone down resolved me to accomplish the climb. Once back at the top I started the long drop to the bottom down the really steep south-eastern slopes. Fortunately there was a clear path that zigzagged down the scree so the descent was not too difficult and I was able to take my time as I crossed the col at the bottom while gazing in awe at the huge cliffs and rock architecture of Fionna Choire that was an inspiring sight and awed with every look. A short rock climb brought me up to the top of Slat Bheinn which is a broad angled plain littered with boulders and ponds and provided me with a prolonged descent in glorious weather and through stunning scenery.

Eventually I reached the track that I took on ascent and followed this to the road where I caught the bus back to the youth hostel. Blaven is a relatively easy mountain to walk up, though for Skye any mountain you can walk up is relatively easy! This mountain has easy enough paths from a road that is not too far away which makes it easily accessible to most people, and yet is still really rugged and typical of the main Cuillin ridge in many places. Despite its easy paths the northern side of the mountain is totally inaccessible to anyone except the most skilled rock-climbers. Blaven is a rough, rugged mountain that is happy to allow anyone onto its back, in sharp contrast to the Cuillin, which are a rather exclusive set of mountains. Apart from one or two exceptions they are very elusive and difficult to climb; you can look at them from afar but you can’t come any closer or you will find some really hair-raising terrain that prevents all but the most committed from venturing up to the ridge. Blaven, though, takes all comers, like a jolly old Grandfather.

This walk was ultimately rather short, partly as a result of the bus timetable that demanded that I start at 10.30 and finish at 5.15, but it was still quite enjoyable. It was a good walk on a great mountain with a good rocky climb up a great ridge with some amazing views. The ridge may not have been as narrow as the fantastic ridges in Glen Shiel that I’d been on earlier in the week, but it was still a good rugged walk, however my attention was rather too distracted by the Cuillin, which detracted my attention from the mountain I was actually on. I think ultimately my problem with this walk was that I only went up one mountain, one Munro. Usually my walks will encompass several hills, and when in Scotland that is usually two Munros, but in fact this week I only gone up one Munro each day and on the final walk the next day I didn’t go up any. Is that the reason for my gloomy mood as I walked back down to the road? I don’t know, because the weather was fantastic which would usually provide you with an enjoyable day in the hills.

The Five Sisters of Kintail

Tuesday 1st July 2008

This was supposed to be my great walk over the Five Sisters of Kintail, but in the end I only went up two of them. I got up really early to do this walk but when I saw gale force winds and rain outside I went back to sleep. Eventually I got up and reluctantly went out for a walk, but I didn't really know where I was going. As I walked down the road I could see the Five Sisters ahead of me, as I always can from the road to the youth hostel, and suddenly had a thought to walk straight up the middle sister from the valley as I thought I could see a path going up the mountain. With my course set I walked into Shiel Bridge and crossed over to the far side of the valley away from the road. The easiest thing to do would have been to walk along the road to the appropriate point opposite the mountain and then cross over to the far side of the valley, but the only bridge in the glen was down so I had to do a tiring walk along the floor of the valley, all while it rained. It would have been easier if there had been even a resemblance of a path but there wasn’t; I was wading through dense bracken on wet, boggy ground with no path to follow

Eventually I reached the foot of the mountain and so began an interminable climb straight up the hillside in the pouring rain. I had to stop frequently and for long periods as the effort began to wear on me. This really was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I don’t know if I was still recovering from my exhausting job or my restless sleep the previous night, but I was really tired all the way up and I never seemed to have enough energy. Eventually I gave up and stopped for some lunch while sheltered from the strong winds, but of course with the still rain pouring down. After lunch things actually began to look up as with new found energy from my lunch and the steep slope easing and narrowing excitingly into a ridge. A last burst of energy took me into the clouds and up to the summit of Skurr Fhuaran, a Munro and in fact the highest point on the whole range of Five Sisters at 1067 metres.

After all the effort I had successfully reached my goal and my way was now downhill all the way with all the hard work done. The steep descent to Bealach Buidhe was a joy, especially so since I was sheltered from the wind by big sister. The ridge was fantastically narrow and really enjoyable, so that all the effort to get to the top had finally paid off; it was worth it after all. Unfortunately the wind soon returned which made the ridge less of a pleasure but I was still able to enjoy the feeling of being high above the valleys with great views along the ridge and out towards to Loch Duich. I made my way up to the second sister, Sgurr nan Saighead, passing over it's highest point and from there carefully walked along the narrow ridge to the prominent top that is at it's western end, Beinn Bhuidhe.

From this small top I had amazing views across Loch Duich and all around me, including my descent route. I decided to bypass the fifth sister as it is less than 3000 feet and would be awkward to get to, so descending the western ridge of Beinn Bhuidhe I headed towards Sgurr an t-Searraich. Once I was sheltered from the wind again and with a long descent ahead of me I enjoyed myself immensely as I slowly made my way down. The path became very wet and muddy as I veered right off the ridge, but when I reached the stream, Allt a’Chruinn, I found an excellent manufactured path that took me delightfully down to the loch shore. During the gruelling ascent I had longed for a good, manufactured, nicely graded path that would ease my way up the steep hillside. Now on my descent I had just such a path, nicely manufactured by the National Trust for Scotland, beside the stream, past a huge, but hidden, waterfall, and steeply down the hillside beside the gorge, Bidean Dudh. This was wonderful end to a mixed walk.

In the awful weather conditions this was probably the best I could hope for, but after the torture of the ascent I had some wonderful moments along the ridge and during the descent. This area has some brilliant ridge walks and in three days I had barely scratched the surface, though they are probably among the best in the area. It’s a shame the weather was so poor, but I will definitely be back if only to go along the whole ridge of the Five Sisters of Kintail. There are many Munros in this area and I only went up three of them, those near Sheil Bridge, and there are many more at the top of the valley, enough to keep me busy for many a return visit. The next day I rested because I was really tired and needed the rest. I work punishing hours and need my holidays to recover and catch up on lost sleep, but pushing myself to exhaustion on mountains doesn’t help. The day after I got up at a lazy time and caught a bus to Eilean Donan Castle and thence through Kyle of Lochalsh to the Isle of Skye. I didn’t go up any mountains and even spent an hour or two just sitting by the sea in Broadford reading a book. The next day I was refreshed and ready to once again take on the rugged mountains of Skye.

Ben Attow

Monday 30th June 2008

After the rain the day before it was a relief when the rain held off for most of the day giving me an enjoyable walk on a fabulous mountain. I had originally planned to go across the Five Sisters, but something had put me off, there seemed to be something about them that intimidated me; it could be just the sheer scale of them, a traverse of the whole ridge seemed like a major undertaking, one that I didn’t feel I was ready for, or had enough time. The approach was taking me such a long time that I decided I would need to start a lot earlier for a proper walk over those bastions of Kintail. My eye instead wandered over to Beinn Fhada (or Ben Attow, whatever you want to call it, somehow I can’t see how Fhada could be pronounced Attow) and its enticingly serrated ridge. After already walking for a couple of hours to get to its foot I proceeded around the back of the mountain into Gleann Choinneachain where I had a tremendous walk through a spectacular valley past waterfalls in a wonderfully ungrazed area. This enclosed area was full of all sorts of plants and young trees and was delightful to walk through, so it’s a pity that more of the countryside isn’t like this instead of being eaten clean by sheep or as is often the case in the Highlands, deer. I suppose if there were no grazing animals at all, the countryside would eventually become a dense wild wood and ruin any views of the mountains. Perhaps, but for the time being I like these untouched areas like those in this valley.

Eventually the path crossed the river and began to climb steeply into Coire an Sgàirne. The path at this point in the walk was really good, because it is in National Trust for Scotland territory and has been extensively repaired and well-graded. The walk up to the summit plateau was therefore a delight from beginning to end from the lovely valley through to the awesome rock scenery in the corrie on a wonderfully graded path. At the top of the path, on the edge of the corrie, I stopped for lunch before continuing up to the summit of the Munro. Despite the encroaching clouds I still had views from the top as I surveyed the stunning scenery around me. With the weather worsening I descended the shallow slopes of the summit plateau and crossed to the subsidiary top, Meall an an Fhuarain Mhóir, and despite light rain and a bleak landscape this was an enjoyable crossing. I was at top of a mountain in poor weather but snug inside my waterproofs I was completely prepared for the conditions.

Once at the top of Meall an Fhuarain Mhóir I had a view of the fabulous ridge that lay before me, and it looked tremendous and even better to walk. The weather improved as I began the exciting traverse of the narrow ridge high above the valleys, and although it was a little nerve wracking at times it was not too bad and I was able to enjoy every minute of the traverse. Half way along I descended steeply to a col at the top of Coire Caol where I had to climb up almost a cliff face to continue the traverse. This was the only real scramble of the day and it wasn't too difficult and soon I was able to mount the top, Sgùrr a’ Choire Ghairbh. Pausing near the top I rested and surveyed the stunning surroundings. The clouds had lifted from the Five Sisters across the valley and afforded me with great views of those awesome mountains and many others around.

The ridge continued, wider but more unevenly along the serrated edge that I had seen from the valley on my approach; this involved climbing many small rocky hills and then back down them, repeatedly, over and over again. This was not only tiring, but time-consuming, so I thought I'd never reach the end of the ridge, however eventually I did, which left me with a steep descent, at first over rocky ground, and then down a soft grassy slope. My descent brought me to the top of Beinn Bhuidhe from where a steep grassy slopes eventually brought me back to my outward route. There now only remained a couple of hours of walking to get back to the youth hostel, which seems to be a common occurrence in Scotland where all distances are long and no walks are short.

This may have not been the walk that I had originally planned to do on this day, but it turned out to be a fabulous walk over a great mountain with so many fantastic features. The valley approach was wonderful, the corrie climb below towering rocky cliffs was awesome and led me up to an enjoyable summit plateau and a brilliant narrow ridge. The Five Sisters would have difficulty following that.

The Saddle and the Forcan Ridge

Sunday 29th June 2008

It was great to be back in Scotland for the first time since September last year and, after this walk, I knew what I had missed out on for all those months and why it’s worth the effort to get up there. I was in Glen Shiel, a valley with an enormous number of Munros on either side and I'll never be able to go up all of them on this visit so I will be returning to this area for quite a while to come, which suits me fine. However, my first walk and all the others in Glen Shiel on this holiday were blighted by rain and strong winds that stayed with me till the middle of the week, but fortunately they didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the walks. For my first walk in Glen Shiel I had picked the best of the lot: The Saddle, including the fabulous Forcan Ridge. Starting from Shiel Bridge I walked along a good stalkers path beside the Allt Undalain, but left the path and climbed up into Coire Caol. The river crossings proved to be quite a challenge as the rivers were full from all the rain that had fallen recently (a far cry from the Lake District last month when the streams were dry). Once I eventually crossed the Allt a’Coire Chaoil I climbed up the hillside braving heavy rain to reach Bealach na Craoibhe where I joined a good stalkers path that crosses the side of Meallan Odhar up to the start of the Forcan Ridge where my eyes was constantly being drawn.

I could have started this walk at the bottom of the stalkers path but I had not wanted to walk for several miles along the road at the bottom of the valley, which forced me to walk up Coire Caol and make those difficult river crossings. Had I taken the better route? Maybe not, but not for the first time. It makes me wonder what is my problem is with walking along a road for a mile or so? On many occasions, I have  taken difficult cross-country routes to avoid road-walking, for example, on Skye last year when I walked for many hours over dull terrain to get to the Storr, which left me exhausted and really late getting to the hostel; you’d have thought I’d have learnt my lesson. If I had walked along the road on this walk I’d have probably reached the bealach long before I actually did and probably spent much less energy doing so. The part of the stalkers path that I walked along was very well constructed and probably just as well made lower down. I guess I’ll never learn. When I reached the foot of the Forcan Ridge I had to decide whether to go over the ridge or miss it out. There is a good path that misses the whole ridge out, but the weather had cleared by this point so I decided to give it a go. After scrambling up to the top of the ridge I slowly made my way along, crouching against the wind, always taking the by-passing paths on the northern side that avoids the most difficult sections of the ridge. This was an enjoyable traverse but tough and challenging with the weather not making it easy, but it is still a great ridge that ranks up there with the best of them in the country.

After passing over Sgurr na Forcan I gingerly made my way along the ridge negotiating some tricky descents as well as ascents and eventually reached the top of the Saddle where I had my lunch. The weather had stayed clear for most of my traverse of the ridge, with a few short, light showers being the only blight, but once I reached the Munro that all changed. During lunch the clouds started to descend and it started to rain, though despite this it was brilliant being up there at the top of a mountain with, for the moment, some good views to be seen. The rain fell heavily for the rest of the walk, but failed to prevent my enjoyment of the ridge west of the Saddle. This ridge was easier than the Forcan Ridge, but still exciting, especially in the wet weather, as without the terror and concentration inherent in Forcan I was able to enjoy the traverse for what it was. As I passed over Spidean Dhomhnuill Bhric and Sgùrr Leac nan Each the clouds descended below my position, ruining the views and making navigation difficult which finally put a dampener on my enjoyment. After the last top I had to use my map and compass to carefully ensure I got down the hillside safely. By descending across steep, pathless grassy slopes in the pouring rain I eventually reached a stalkers path that was turning into a stream. Sloshing down this path I reached the good stalkers path I had used on my outward journey and followed this back to Shiel Bridge.

Despite the weather this was a great walk across a fabulous ridge that was exciting and challenging without being too difficult due to the presence of "summer paths" that by-pass the grade 2 scrambles on the top of the ridge. I really needed this walk as while coming up to Scotland the day before I had been really depressed. I was tired from work and the 12 hour journey up to Scotland was bringing me down. When I saw the weather in Glen Shiel I began to wonder why I had made the effort, why had I travelled all that way just to go on yet another walk, and even worse, another walk in the rain. I was really wondering why I had to spend every holiday I get walking. Work wears me out and then when I have a chance to recover I exhaust myself again by walking up mountains. I need another holiday after my holiday to get over my holiday! Why do I travel 12 hours to get to the Highlands of Scotland when there are mountains in Wales and the Lake District that are much closer? Now I know, the Saddle and the Forcan Ridge have answered my question perfectly. There is nowhere in the rest of the country with mountains quite as good as those in the Western highlands; my only disappointment with this walk was that the ridge was just too short.