Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more
Outdoor Activities => Northern Ireland Hiking, Walking, Running, Orienteering and Geocaching => Topic started by: MG1 on November 10, 2010
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Who s up for a traverse of the Cuillin Ridge in May or there abouts?
I've already been talking to some of the guys and the are up for it.
Hopefully starting this thread early will allow any one who wants to go time to gather any gear needed and get hill fit.
Bit of info
The Cuillin Ridge is the traverse of the main summits of the Black Cuillin Mountains in Skye, one of the Western Isles in the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. Although the climbing technicalities are not great, the route is extremely long and exposed and calls for competent soloing at Diff (and occasionally Severe) standard in boots or running shoes on occasionally wet and sometimes dubious rock, combined with good stamina. It is important that you are competent in belaying and moving together "alpine style" ie shortening the rope and hitching it over flakes and nubbins on the move. There are only certain points at which it is easy to quit the Ridge and most of these leave you a considerable distance from a road which carries little traffic. Navigation is particulary complex. Compasses can be affected by the magnetic rock (hold it well away from the rock when taking a bearing, and take your bearing several times in different places). Mist when it descends (which can be often) is very disorientating and can linger for days. Even parties which know the ridge well are hard put to navigate in these conditions. The Cuillin Ridge is not really a rock climb at all - it is much better to think of it as a long and arduous alpine route of reasonable technicality that requires both stamina and experience for a successful attempt.
The Summer Traverse of the Cuillin Ridge
Having said all that, the Summer Traverse of the Ridge is a superb and very satisfying expedition. It is generally undertaken from south to north in summer so that the major difficulties are climbed and your day ends at a pub! There are two main approaches, either in a day which should take a competent party around 12 to 14 hours from the Glen Brittle Campsite to the Sligachan Hotel, with around 7 or 8 hours being required for the Ridge itself (ie from the summit of Gars-bheinn in the south to the summit of Sgurr nan Gillean in the north).
http://www.skyeguides.co.uk/Downloads/2007_Ridge_Download.pdf (http://www.skyeguides.co.uk/Downloads/2007_Ridge_Download.pdf)
MG1
Chris
Fatty-Arbuckle
Neilb
Billybackpack
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Im all over it like a cheap suit.
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There are people still interested in this.
Any one else stick your name down we need to get this booked.
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If you boys are doing the mourne wall in may, how about this towards the end of the summer?
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We all still up for this guys?
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You guys all climbers /used to scrambling exposure? I would previously have been up for this but from my Alps experience and reading more about scrambling and the Cuillin realise I would be painfully slow and would be better working up techniques on progressively harder/longer routes building up to the likes of this/Tower Ridge so I can actually enjoy it. (don't have time anyway :( )
The advice stresses the extreme difficulty in Navigation and the lack of water up there, so just passing that along. Good luck for the trip; I want to hear all about it on your return!
Also, I have the Harvey's map for this so if you need to borrow it come the time PM me.