Bruach Na Frithe

"Gareth Houghton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Looking back through my old Trail magazines for ideas of routes, I
came accross an article in the OCT 04 issue on Skye, basically doing
Blaven one day and the next Bruach Na Frithe.

The route goes from Sligachan > Bhasteir Gorge > NE Ridge of Sgurr A
Basteir > Sgurr A Basteir > AM Basteir > Sgurr A fionn Choire >
Bruach Na Frithe > Sgurr A fionn Choire > Then descend by Fionn Choire

They basically make out that doing this route is really easy (A
walkers route).

My First Question is this really as easy as is made out.

You can walk the route (we did something very similar on a urw 'expedition'😉
although I wouldn't use the term 'very easy'.

Quoted message said:

The second is that the map shows them going via Am Basteir, but the
article only mentions bagging one Munro (Bruach Na Frithe), Would this
be because you have to skirt Am Basteir.

Yes and no - you can bag Am Basteir, but it's not easy as there is a bad
step to negotiate, and you would have to retrace your steps - there is no
direct route from Am Basteir to Bruach na Frithe for the walker. I think the
article probably meant you to skirt it.

Quoted message said:

Graham

Graham Seed said:

"Gareth Houghton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Looking back through my old Trail magazines for ideas of routes, I
came accross an article in the OCT 04 issue on Skye, basically doing
Blaven one day and the next Bruach Na Frithe.

The route goes from Sligachan > Bhasteir Gorge > NE Ridge of Sgurr A
Basteir > Sgurr A Basteir > AM Basteir > Sgurr A fionn Choire >
Bruach Na Frithe > Sgurr A fionn Choire > Then descend by Fionn Choire

They basically make out that doing this route is really easy (A
walkers route).

My First Question is this really as easy as is made out.

Yes and no - you can bag Am Basteir, but it's not easy as there is a bad
step to negotiate, and you would have to retrace your steps - there is no
direct route from Am Basteir to Bruach na Frithe for the walker. I think the
article probably meant you to skirt it.

Graham

Skirt Am Bastier on the North side. As a traverse, you need to be roped
up. As a scramble, Am Basteir is possible but, as above, you need to
reverse part of the route/

druidh

Gareth Houghton said:

Looking back through my old Trail magazines for ideas of routes, I
came accross an article in the OCT 04 issue on Skye, basically doing
Blaven one day and the next Bruach Na Frithe.

The route goes from Sligachan > Bhasteir Gorge > NE Ridge of Sgurr A
Basteir > Sgurr A Basteir > AM Basteir > Sgurr A fionn Choire >
Bruach Na Frithe > Sgurr A fionn Choire > Then descend by Fionn Choire

They basically make out that doing this route is really easy (A
walkers route).

My First Question is this really as easy as is made out.

If all you want to do is Bruach na Frithe then the better option
is to start from the car park at the top of Glen Brittle (GR
424258) and follow the path to Bealach a Mhaim then ascend via
Fionn Choire and gain the ridge between Am Basteir and Bruach na
Frithe.

Quoted message said:

The second is that the map shows them going via Am Basteir, but the
article only mentions bagging one Munro (Bruach Na Frithe), Would this
be because you have to skirt Am Basteir.

Am Basteir wouldn't be classed as purely a walker's route and can
be bypassed to the north. I can't see much point, though, in
going anywhere near Coire a Bhasteir if not to climb Am Basteir
itself; perhaps Trail can see beyond Sligachan as a starting point
(or maybe they are catering for people without cars?)

If you don't mind a bit of exposure and welcome a nice scramble
then a more fun route up Bruach na Frithe is to ascend the north
ridge from Bealach a Mhaim. The later stages of the ridge offer a
fine scramble all the way to the summit, without being especially
technical. I believe that any difficult sections can generally be
bypassed to some degree.

As for Blaven, I strongly recommend the southern approach from the
car park outside Kilmarie. Follow the path round towards
Camasunary but keep north when the path doubles back down to the
shore. It gets a bit boggy but not for long, and you are rewarded
by the continuously unfolding view of pretty much the whole
Cuillin ridge. The shorter route, from the head of Loch Slapin,
is shorter but doesn't come close in terms of scenic value.

Colin

Colin MacDonald said:

As for Blaven, I strongly recommend the southern approach from the
car park outside Kilmarie. Follow the path round towards
Camasunary but keep north when the path doubles back down to the
shore. It gets a bit boggy but not for long, and you are rewarded
by the continuously unfolding view of pretty much the whole
Cuillin ridge. The shorter route, from the head of Loch Slapin,
is shorter but doesn't come close in terms of scenic value.

Which of the Two do you reckon I do, If Blaven what is the scramble
like from the South top to the Summit?

Gareth Houghton said:

Colin MacDonald said:

As for Blaven, I strongly recommend the southern approach from the
car park outside Kilmarie. Follow the path round towards
Camasunary but keep north when the path doubles back down to the
shore. It gets a bit boggy but not for long, and you are rewarded
by the continuously unfolding view of pretty much the whole
Cuillin ridge. The shorter route, from the head of Loch Slapin,
is shorter but doesn't come close in terms of scenic value.

Which of the Two do you reckon I do, If Blaven what is the scramble
like from the South top to the Summit?

Very narrow and a bit exposed above the gully. You can either go down a
few feet and traverse under an overhanging boulder, or use some small
ledges, both on the East-facing side of the summit ridge. It's a very
short traverse, so you need only hold your breath for a few seconds!!

druidh

Gareth Houghton said:

On Sun, 27 Mar 2005 13:00:57 +0100, Colin MacDonald

Quoted message said:

As for Blaven, I strongly recommend the southern approach from the
car park outside Kilmarie. Follow the path round towards
Camasunary but keep north when the path doubles back down to the
shore. It gets a bit boggy but not for long, and you are rewarded
by the continuously unfolding view of pretty much the whole
Cuillin ridge. The shorter route, from the head of Loch Slapin,
is shorter but doesn't come close in terms of scenic value.

Which of the Two do you reckon I do, If Blaven what is the scramble
like from the South top to the Summit?

When I climbed Blaven it was a really nice sunny day
(http://www.colinmac.f2s.com/photos/skye05.jpg) and the views made
it very worthwhile. When I climbed Bruach na Frithe the cloud was
down (http://www.colinmac.f2s.com/photos/skye07.jpg), but it
didn't matter because the fun was in the north ridge scramble.
Even if you take the easier route up BnF you'll still get the
close-in dramatic scenery at the top, esp. if you wander along to
the base of the Baster Tooth.

So do Blaven if the weather will do the views justice, or do
Bruach na Frithe otherwise. But if you want to do them both then
do BnF first because it's much easier than Blaven.

As for the scramble at the top of Blaven, there's nothing much
difficult - a bit of a chimney to go down and then a bit of a
shelf at the bottom of it, as I remember, neither of which caused
any bother.

Colin

Colin

Cheers for That, I am not going to do both as the other route I have
planned is the Five Sisters,but I have pretty much decided to do
Bruach Na Frithe Via North Ridge then across to Sgurr A Bhasteir if
the weather is good to get some photos and then back down Fionn
Choire.

Cheers

Gareth

Colin MacDonald said:

Gareth Houghton said:

On Sun, 27 Mar 2005 13:00:57 +0100, Colin MacDonald

Quoted message said:

As for Blaven, I strongly recommend the southern approach from the
car park outside Kilmarie. Follow the path round towards
Camasunary but keep north when the path doubles back down to the
shore. It gets a bit boggy but not for long, and you are rewarded
by the continuously unfolding view of pretty much the whole
Cuillin ridge. The shorter route, from the head of Loch Slapin,
is shorter but doesn't come close in terms of scenic value.

Which of the Two do you reckon I do, If Blaven what is the scramble
like from the South top to the Summit?

When I climbed Blaven it was a really nice sunny day
(http://www.colinmac.f2s.com/photos/skye05.jpg) and the views made
it very worthwhile. When I climbed Bruach na Frithe the cloud was
down (http://www.colinmac.f2s.com/photos/skye07.jpg), but it
didn't matter because the fun was in the north ridge scramble.
Even if you take the easier route up BnF you'll still get the
close-in dramatic scenery at the top, esp. if you wander along to
the base of the Baster Tooth.

So do Blaven if the weather will do the views justice, or do
Bruach na Frithe otherwise. But if you want to do them both then
do BnF first because it's much easier than Blaven.

As for the scramble at the top of Blaven, there's nothing much
difficult - a bit of a chimney to go down and then a bit of a
shelf at the bottom of it, as I remember, neither of which caused
any bother.

Colin

Gareth Houghton said:

Colin

Cheers for That, I am not going to do both as the other route I have
planned is the Five Sisters,but I have pretty much decided to do
Bruach Na Frithe Via North Ridge then across to Sgurr A Bhasteir if
the weather is good to get some photos and then back down Fionn
Choire.

I started up BnF early in the day and reached the top around
10:30am - remarkably quick for me, but then once I got into the
scrambling I just couldn't get enough. Only downside was that the
mist and cloud clung to the ridge - I could see Portree bathed in
sunlight, but couldn't see the bottom of Lota Corrie. I ended up
doing exactly what you intend, heading along towards Sgurr a
Bhastier for photos, even though the cloud seemed set for the day.
Sod's law being what it is, the whole mountain was in brilliant
sun by the time I got back to the bottom.

The moral of this story is: the Cuillin will hold on to mist and
cloud longer than the land around them, so it may be a good idea
not to start too early in the day.

Colin

Colin MacDonald said:

The moral of this story is: the Cuillin will hold on to mist and
cloud longer than the land around them, so it may be a good idea
not to start too early in the day.

That is a handy bit of information that, As I tend to start walking
about 7.30AM sometimes earlier to try and get some good photos early
on.

Cheers

Gareth

"Gareth Houghton" <[email hidden]> schreef in bericht
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Colin MacDonald said:

The moral of this story is: the Cuillin will hold on to mist and
cloud longer than the land around them, so it may be a good idea
not to start too early in the day.

That is a handy bit of information that, As I tend to start walking
about 7.30AM sometimes earlier to try and get some good photos early
on.

You should also check the winddirection. If the wind comes from the south
the northern side of the Cuillin will be clouded.

--
Theo
www.theosphotos.fotopic.net