L
Lindsay
Guest
Sgurr a'Mhadaidh and Sgurr a'Ghreadaidh
4 September 2007
I needed to visit Skye to climb a few of the Cuillin Munros again, and
as I had a few days spare before my next booking I decided that this
was the opportunity I needed to bag them. However the weather
forecast wasn't good and without reasonable visibility I would find it
very difficult to navigate my way along the ridge. I therefore
contacted George Yeomans of Guiding on Skye and he agreed to allow me
to join his five clients. They had had a successful day the previous
day on Sgurr Mhic Choinnich, The Inaccessible Pinnacle and Sgurr na
Banachdich in the sun.
We met at the Glen Brittle Youth Hostel where his clients were
staying. The weather wasn't very promising with some light rain, low
cloud and a bit of a breeze. From the hostel we walked up the side
of the Allt Choire a'Ghreadaidh into Coire a'Ghreadaidh where
occasionally we could see the outline of the ridge as the cloud base
lifted. It was then into Coire an Dorus with the instruction from
George "basalt bad gabbro good". This was in relation to the main
rock formations of the Cuillin but with the wet conditions the basalt
was very slippery hence the warning about the rock.
The scree was eventually reached and we climbed to just below the An
Dorus Gap where we put on helmets and left our packs. George then
led us up onto Sgurr a'Ghreadaidh, avoiding the Gap, where a few
stones marked the summit. It was raining and windy with no
visibility worth mentioning so it was about turn and back to the
packs.
We then climbed to the An Dorus Gap and with a few awkward steps onto
Sgurr a'Ghreadaidh's south ridge. Extreme care was required on this
ascent due to a lot of basalt making things that bit more awkward.
However at all the problem spots George was there to assist and guide
us to the summit cairn. The conditions here were similar to the
previous Munro so after a few minutes we headed back down the ridge to
the An Dorus Gap. On the final drop into the Gorge George roped us
down before we descended the scree to a grassy area for lunch.
After lunch in the rain we returned to the Youth Hostel rather wet but
with two more Munros under our belts.
Time taken - 6 hours.
Distance - 9.5 kilometres.
Height climbed - 960 metres.
There are no photos due to the poor weather conditions.
If you want guiding on the Skye Munros I can recommend George Yeomans
of Guiding on Skye - www.guidingonskye.co.uk
Lindsay
www.caledoniahilltreks.com
4 September 2007
I needed to visit Skye to climb a few of the Cuillin Munros again, and
as I had a few days spare before my next booking I decided that this
was the opportunity I needed to bag them. However the weather
forecast wasn't good and without reasonable visibility I would find it
very difficult to navigate my way along the ridge. I therefore
contacted George Yeomans of Guiding on Skye and he agreed to allow me
to join his five clients. They had had a successful day the previous
day on Sgurr Mhic Choinnich, The Inaccessible Pinnacle and Sgurr na
Banachdich in the sun.
We met at the Glen Brittle Youth Hostel where his clients were
staying. The weather wasn't very promising with some light rain, low
cloud and a bit of a breeze. From the hostel we walked up the side
of the Allt Choire a'Ghreadaidh into Coire a'Ghreadaidh where
occasionally we could see the outline of the ridge as the cloud base
lifted. It was then into Coire an Dorus with the instruction from
George "basalt bad gabbro good". This was in relation to the main
rock formations of the Cuillin but with the wet conditions the basalt
was very slippery hence the warning about the rock.
The scree was eventually reached and we climbed to just below the An
Dorus Gap where we put on helmets and left our packs. George then
led us up onto Sgurr a'Ghreadaidh, avoiding the Gap, where a few
stones marked the summit. It was raining and windy with no
visibility worth mentioning so it was about turn and back to the
packs.
We then climbed to the An Dorus Gap and with a few awkward steps onto
Sgurr a'Ghreadaidh's south ridge. Extreme care was required on this
ascent due to a lot of basalt making things that bit more awkward.
However at all the problem spots George was there to assist and guide
us to the summit cairn. The conditions here were similar to the
previous Munro so after a few minutes we headed back down the ridge to
the An Dorus Gap. On the final drop into the Gorge George roped us
down before we descended the scree to a grassy area for lunch.
After lunch in the rain we returned to the Youth Hostel rather wet but
with two more Munros under our belts.
Time taken - 6 hours.
Distance - 9.5 kilometres.
Height climbed - 960 metres.
There are no photos due to the poor weather conditions.
If you want guiding on the Skye Munros I can recommend George Yeomans
of Guiding on Skye - www.guidingonskye.co.uk
Lindsay
www.caledoniahilltreks.com