Descent is probably easiest by traversing sgurr thearlaich towards the td gap and then down climbing until an abseil is possible into the top of the great stone shoot, there is also a convenient 50m abseil from a thread at the top of gully e. The last real peak is sgurr sgumain and then the great rock wall of sron na ciche, rising from beneath the corrie is the cioch a dramatic rock pinnacle jutting out from the face can be hard to pick out but is. In the above photo, the contact between brown peridotites forming the slopes of sgurr dubh an da bheinn on the right and various gabbro intrusions forming the grey ground can be seen sweeping down from the ridge. Trekitt tackle the cuillin ridge traverse with contour outdoor. After a very brief descent the final ascent towards sgurr nan coireachan begins. First professional mountain guide to work in britain. We get roped up for a few sections of tricky scrambling from the col, heading for sgurr a mhadaidh. All the walking routes up sgurr na ciche on mud and routes can be found below. We abandoned the idea of walking in the quiet ochils which would have involved a three mile drive to the nearest parking spot so have enjoyed daily walks from the house instead, meeting only the odd cyclist or dog walker. Sgurr na ciche is the highest peak in the range and views from its summit are superb, with fantastic seaward panoramas over eigg, rhum, skye and beyond.
The descent is incredibly steep and once in motion it is difficult to stop. Sgurr na ciche summit mud and routes highest mountains. It is a very good description, as anyone who has stood on either side of the ridge in glen brittle or in glen sligachan and has looked up at the. Leave bealach coir an lochain and descend on the coir a ghrunnda side to a scree path that runs. The top does not lie on the main cuillin ridge, but on a spur extending from the alasdair thearlaich col to sgumain and sron na ciche. Map of coire lagan and the skye ridge coire lagan is one of the most impressive corries in the cuillin of skye. At 992m3,255ft the highest point on the cuillin, sgurr alasdair would be beyond the abilities of nonscrambling hillwalkers were it not for the peaks most distinctive feature, the great stone. The scramble to the top via the east ridge i realise title is wrong on the video. After that we descended to the top of the great stone shoot, before heading on over sgurr thearlaich and sgurr mhiccoinnich via hartscollies ledge and descending via coire lagan.
We had a look at the onward route which goes over sgumain, up the back of sgurr alasdair, down the normal route to the great stone chute top and then my onward ridge up sgurr thearlaich the second of my days munro tops. The descent to coire lagan is back to the 800 m low point, then down a scree run into the corrie, very similar but less extensive than the infamous stone shoot off the sgurr alasdair. Continue up to reach the cylindrical trig point at 956m marking the second munro of the day. Climbed out of the gap before sgurr na forcan on the right steep scrabble on loose dirt. From ben nevis to glen coe, weve got an incredible range of easy to very difficult scrambling walks for you to view. As the first may bank holiday approaches rapidly snow fields in the cuillin arent melting very fast at all.
The inaccessible pinnacle and sgurr mhic choinnich highland. Four days on the black cuillin east cheshire ramblers. Well, nothing as far as hills are concerned what with the lockdown and trying to keep ourselves and others safe. Scottish hills forumsviewtopicthe hardest munro top. Sgurr amhadaidh has four summits on one of the trickier sections of the cuillin ridge the highest one, which is the only munro, is the only one that can be ascended without rockclimbing. The round of coire lagan caused delays owing to unfamiliarity, although one cannot imagine that such climbers had any difficulty with the tricky descent from thearlaich to the bealach mhic choinnich or the ascent of the second rock climbing obstacle, kings chimney king and party, 1898 on sgurr mhic choinnich. The thearlaich dubh gap this is an awkward severe grade climb with a fearsome reputation and is probably the hardest climb on the ridge. Apr 11, 2011 the round of coire lagan caused delays owing to unfamiliarity, although one cannot imagine that such climbers had any difficulty with the tricky descent from thearlaich to the bealach mhic choinnich or the ascent of the second rock climbing obstacle, kings chimney king and party, 1898 on sgurr mhic choinnich. Gordon stainforths excellent book the cuillin gives very good desriptions of 3 routes off thearlaich. We had hoped to complete the full traverse, but with diversions from the main including a descent into corrie grunnhda as well as the ascent of sgurr sgumain, along with some dithering on unexpectedly difficult ground the result of route finding errors the descent into corrie an uaigneis was an obvious decision. Sgurr sgumain left and sron na ciche from the coire lagan track. It is difficult to decide whether the ascent or descent is more difficult. Deep drifts were a feature but we stuck to our guns and aimed for the first winter ascent of gully e on sgurr thearlaich near the top of the great stone shoot. The gulley between them is the sgumain stone shoot.
Looking north from the summit of the inaccessible pinnacle on day two sgurr nan banachdich and sgurr aghreadaidh and on towards the north end of the ridge the cuillin ridge offers the nearest thing the uk gets to the alps, with more than 3000m of ascent over a horizontal distance of 10km. East of the small stony saddle at the head of the stone chute, a short rampart leads to sgurr thearlaich, a subsidiary top named after charles pilkington. Get a constantly updating feed of breaking news, fun stories, pics, memes, and videos just for you. They were to climb the adjoining top of sgurr thearlaich but i began the long descent of the stone shoot. Reddit gives you the best of the internet in one place. This area is affectionately known as the rough bounds of knoydart and comprises many hills surrounding glen dessarry, glen kingie and loch quoich now correctly named loch cuaich on newer maps. I lost it eventually and made my own way across boilerplate gabbro to the west summit of sgurr na stri. Consider things such as access and accommodation at the base of sgurr a ghreadaidh, as well as the logistics of climbing to the summit. Peak bagging the cuillin ridge on scotlands isle of skye. The big day of the weekend was the same group tackling sgurr nan gillean. Bypass it is bypassed via screes below the base of the thearlaich dubh gap.
Sgurr sgumain to thearlaich the adventures of a mountain coward. Alpine in nature, the summits are airy giving stunning views, quite different from anything else in the uk. By far the best map to use for the cuillin is the 1. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Includes the peaks of sgurr alasdair, sgurr dearg the inaccessible pinnacle inn pinn, sgurr dubh mor, sgurr nan eag, sgurr mhic choinnich, sgurr na banachdich, sgurr aghreadaidh and sgurr amhadaidh from glenbrittle and sligachan. Sgurr mhiccoinnich, sgurr thearlaich and the great stone shoot. He also decribes a third way which i think the rockfax mini guide to the skye ridge also describes. Sgurr nan conbhairean feature page on undiscovered scotland.
Please submit any useful information about climbing sgurr a ghreadaidh that may be useful to other climbers. Sgurr thuilm and sgurr nan coireachan walkhighlands. Sgurr na lapaich, which is linked to an riabhachan and carn nan gobhar by its wsw and ese ridges is the most craggy of this group. After the steep descent off garsbheinn it was just the walk along back to glen brittle which went on a bit, but at around 1pm we arrived in the car park, after two painless hitches we arrived back at my car at the other end. The usual ascent is via an dorus but there is an easier option which leaves the gully before reaching the bealach. Cross coire lagan and join the network of paths crossing the corrie on the way back to the moorland below, where you rejoin the outward route. Sgurr alasdair and sgurr thearlaich via some hairraising grade 3 scrambles mark jackson 09072011. Sean lang has 25 books on goodreads with 3190 ratings. Update more up to date photos have been added at the foot of the page from 23 april. Consider things such as access and accommodation at the base of sgurr thearlaich, as well as the logistics of climbing to the summit. It was a dull and misty day, not really raining, but there was moisture in.
This was pretty much everything id hoped it would be, and more. Steepening slabs lead downwards to bealach mhich coinnich and, so the smc guide tells us, it is possible to descent this way on foot much care is required, though. May 24, 2008 after surmounting sgurr alasdair, we descended over sgurr sgumain to descend the sgumain stone shoot a much better alternative to the great stone shoot. It is littered with rocks of varying sizes and difficult to establish a rhythm as you could forty years ago when it was a delight to skate down the scree. North of loch cluanie lies this little known group of three munros stretching back from the a87 towards the wilds of glen affric. Bag the summit then double back to your kit and follow harts ledge to the start of the north ridge mod of sgurr thearlaich. The smc is best known for its long history of guide books and im sure many members will have some in their collections. By the last day of a week on skye i needed to climb sgurr dubh mor and sgurr alasdair, so we set off from glen brittle camp site and ascended by sgurr sgumain before reaching the top of sgurr dubh mor. Prior to this the mountain had been locally known as sgurr biorach.
An sgurr is the highest hill on the inner hebridean island of eigg, lochaber, highland, scotland. The 3 smc skye guide books are great and im a big fan of the skye scrambles probably my 2nd favourite guide book of all time. Hemmed in by the rock walls of sgurr alasdair on one side and sgurr thearlaich on the other, the great stone shoot is the longest scree slope in britain but the angular stones come in all shapes and sizes, with the stones at the bottom generally smaller. N of the summit a narrow ridge curves nw around the crags of garbh choire to an lethchreag, where the slopes into glen srathfarrar are otherwise moderate and accessible. We had been this way twice before and john had had a tumble coming down alasdair near the bad step twenty five years ago during our first visit. By the time we returned to the main ridge, the clouds had lifted, and both sgurr alasdair and its neighbour sgurr thearlaich were clear. An afternoon on sgurr mhic coinnich and sgurr dearg on. Although lower than sgurr thuilm it is a better summit and a finer viewpoint.
On clearing the td gap, sgurr alasdair and thearlaich await, once again relatively straight forward in good weather, but the descent of thearlaich towards mhic choinnich and kings chimney is a more serious proposition and the first black spot on route. Ive quite a few versions of the skye guide going back to 1923. This beautiful mountain is known as the saddle due to its unusual, undulating, craggy shape, which makes it look a bit like the floating hills in avatar. This is thought to be the line taken by charles pilkingtons party on the first ascent in 1887. Sean langs most popular book is the pursuit of history. When you think of eigg, what first comes to mind is that great eminence, sticking out of the island, much more like a sore thumb than many other things that are so characterised the sgurr of eigg, an sgurr. Bill murray, in his seminal book entitled mountaineering in scotland, offered an endearing description of the cuillin horseshoe ridge when he looked upon the ridge and likened the crestline to writing written in a stiff hand. Sgurr alasdair is 991m above sea level, and is in the skye and mull region. Books by sean lang author of british history for dummies. All the walking routes up sgurr thearlaich on mud and routes can be found below.
Sgurr na ciche is a summit in the region or range in scotland. Jun 19, 2018 and now for the final leg, a descent to the thearlaichdubh gap and then a traverse beneath the massive cliffs of sgurr alasdair to reach the bealach between sguur sgumain and sgurr alasdair. It is named for alexander nicolson, who made the first recorded ascent in 1873. It contains a small loch lochan ringed by rock peaks. Day 3 sgurr a mhadaidh sgurr a ghreadaidh sgurr na banachdaich the middle section of the cullin today, we walk into the majestic corie a ghreadaidh, keeping left, aiming for an dorus. It is in the black cuillin range of mountains and is classified as a munro. The descent from sgurr thearlaich, the lower middle peak, is the first big route finding task and requires full concentration. Photograph and map of sgur thearlaich on the skye ridge. Like the rest of the range it is composed of gabbro, a rock with excellent grip for mountaineering. Sgurr mhichoinnich, thearlaich and alasdair from sgurr dearg it was 12. Sgurr thearlaich we descended the thearlaich rooftop slabs toward sgurr mhic choinnich when we came upon a real steep section of the ridge, a cliff bisecting the ridge, outflanked only by a rooftop slab slanting down rightward.
Skyes black cuillin ridge munros south steven fallon. Sgurr thearlaich was a bit of a struggle in deep snow and after an obligatory detour to sgurr alasdair we descended the great stone chute where bridgette, my wife, and nigel, a friend of john, had established camp. We then retraced our steps over sgurr dubh na da bheinn before heading around and up to sgurr alasdair via its south west ridge. Sgurr alasdair 993m, translated as the peak of alexander, is named after sheriff alexander nicolson who made the first ascent of the great stone shoot in 1873. I approached the walk with trepidation as i knew that the mountain had been considered unclimbable until 1836 and i wondered how a basic hill walker with poor scrambling skills would manage. Like all the other black cuillin mountains it is made predominantly of gabbro rock and has little vegetation. Once that descent was over, all that remained was a quick sunbath on the rocks in coire lagan before heading back to the car. Batter over the in pin i prefer to go up the east ridge and then abseil down the steep west side and then around to sgurr mhic choinnich, dumping your kit at the start of harts ledge 2. From the bealach we scrambled up to the kings chimney which proved to be a very enjoyable climb vdiff with exciting, small, but positive holds. It still wasnt dark and we may have been able to struggle on and finish but as it was we had a sociable evening. In order, south to north, the group comprises carn ghluasaid at 957m or 3,140ft, sgurr nan conbhairean at 1,109m or 3,640ft, and sail chaorainn at 1,002m or 3,287ft. Andrew dempsters book talked about a descent on the lagan side some metres to the left.
Sgurr thearlaich, sgurr mhic choinnich and sgurr dearg. Oct 31, 2018 on the col beneath sgurr nan eag, with sgurr dubh mor in cloud to the right. Sgurr thearlaich is a summit in the skye region or range in scotland. On the other side of the gap, the crumpled black flanks of sgurr thearlaich rose higher into the clouds, but sgurr mhic coinnich was the one thats classified as a munro, so that was our first target. Further right is sgurr thearlaich, a fang of rock accessible only to rock climbers, and then sgurr alasdair, the highest mountain in britain outwith the mainland. The path now reappears and climbs much more steeply northeast until you reach a more level area at about 500m. An afternoon on sgurr mhic coinnich and sgurr dearg. The descent of the slabs which are described as insecure and polished.
By this stage the weather was improving, the drizzle had stopped. The inaccessible pinnacle and sgurr mhic choinnich. Coire lagan scottish climbing archive climbing in scotland. Sgurr alasdair is the highest peak of the black cuillin, and the highest peak on the isle of skye and in the inner hebrides, at 992 m 3,255 ft. The path is very indistinct now but you will soon see the rocky dome of sgurr amhadaidh straight ahead, the black sides of sgurr eadar da choire to the right and an dorus, a gash cleft between mhadaidh and ghreadaidh. We parked at slighachan and the mountain was in full view in all its splendour. We descended sgurr thearlaich to a knee high notch, which acts as a gate to a series of rocky ramps down to bealach mhic choinnich.
Sgurr alasdair, sgurr thearlaich and sgurr mhic choinnich are shown on the photo below from right to left. There remained one more peak to complete that day, sgurr alasdair, at 993m the highest point on skye. For those with the ability to reach this bealach, however, a remarkable terrace, collies. After sgurr alasdair there is a tricky step up to sgurr thearlaich. Rough bounds of knoydart sgurr na ciche, sgurr mor, gairich. To get off the top, there was an easy descent down steep grass to the south beinn fhada tops bidean. Sgurr alasdair isle of skye 2020 all you need to know. Buy a measure of munros 1st ed by wilson, graham, dale, gerry isbn. Looking back at sgurr mhic chonnich and sgurr thearlich. Sgurr sgumain to thearlaich the adventures of a mountain. The summit area is one of the smallest on the ridge, the cairn sitting above plunging rock faces. Jun 05, 2016 sgurr alasdair in silhouette from the slopes of beinn dearg in descent, it pays to keep the brakes on to avoid an outofcontrol unhappy landing. Please submit any useful information about climbing sgurr thearlaich that may be useful to other climbers. There are sheer drops on both sides 200m vertically back into coire lagan which make the view even more dramatic.
Trekitt tackle the cuillin ridge traverse with contour. The best starting point is from the car park at the campsite at the bottom of glen brittle. Descending the ridge from the saddle was easy enough i was suprised by the narrowness of the ridge w of the saddle. You can start from the hut at the phonebox but the path up into coire lagan from there is unimproved whereas the one from the campsite is quite wonderful guess who made the wrong choice.