Guiding the Skye Munros

Over the past couple of weeks, Scott and I have been on the Isle of Skye, running a couple of Skye Munro weeks. We’ve been running these 4 day courses for a number of years in collaboration with Steven Fallon Mountain Guiding, with the aim being to summit all 11 Munros that lie along the spectacularly jagged crest of the main Black Cuillin Ridge. The majority of these 11 Munros require very careful route finding (particularly in the mist) and involve technical scrambling, sometimes across very exposed terrain. The In Pinn and Sgurr nan Gillean also require a short abseil in order to descend safely.

Raring to go!

For the first week, we were joined by Richard, Simon, Craig, Colin, David, Kevin, Stuart and John. As ever in the Scottish Highlands, the weather has a huge influence on the itinerary, and so with a good forecast for the first day, we decided to make the most of it, and tackle Sgurr Mhic Coinnich, the Inaccessible Pinnacle and Sgurr na Banachdich, which is one of the more challenging days, however, with dry rock underfoot and light winds, the day posed no problems for the team. That said, I think many were quite relived to get the In Pinn ‘out of the way’ early on! We stayed at the southern end of the Cuillins for day two, and took in Sgurr nan Eag, Sgurr Dubh Mor and Sgurr Alasdair. This day, whilst technically easier than the first, still involves plenty of interesting scrambling and complex terrain. The descent via the Great Stone Chute ensured that the team were fully focused until safely down in Coire Lagan. Again, with a better forecast for the third day, we took in the northern three Munros, Sgurr nan Gillean, Am Bastier and the easier Bruach na Frithe, before a shorter final day saw the team completing their 11 Munros by summiting Sgurr a’Mhadaidh and Sgurr a’Ghreadaidh. Despite moody skies, the rains didn’t materialise until we were down.

Sgurr Mhic Coinnich

Dave enjoying the In Pinn

Sgurr na Banachdich

The Window, Sgurr nan Gillean

Sgurr nan Gillean

Am Bastier

Bruach na Frithe

On Saturday, Scott and I were back on the northern three Munros, this time with a smaller team (Stephen, Stuart, James, Diane, Kenny and Brian), who had attempted these Munros last September, but were repelled by strong winds and driving rain. This time round, the weather proved to be much kinder, although, unfortunately, the low clouds meant that the views from each of the summits were identical. You can’t have it all!

Am Bastier

Bruach na Frithe

After a day off, we were joined by Jamie, Jonny, Jo, Gary, Colin, Darren, Mark and Paul. With a slight deterioration in the weather forecasts from the previous week, and in particular, strong winds for the first day, we opted for Sgurr a’Mhadaidh and Sgurr a’ Ghreadaidh. The ascent of both Munros from An Dorus is quite short and not too technical, so even with strong gusts, they can be tackled safely. As we descended back into Glen Brittle, we emerged out of the clouds and into clear skies and sunshine, lifting everyone’s spirits. The clouds lingering over the Cuillins whereas it being clear in the glens seemed to be a theme for the rest of the week. For the second day, we tackled the southern three Munros, before completing the remaining summits over the following two days. The team did fantastically well, particularly considering the less than ideal conditions.

It’s been a very successful couple of weeks on Skye. We’ve got a number of guided teams up there over the forthcoming weeks. We will also be running three more of these Cuillins Munros Courses in September, on which there are still a couple of spaces.