_____________________________________________________________________________
NUMBER
132
OCTOBER 2007
NWS Website - http://homepage.ntlworld.com/chris.knowles2/index.htm
MEET
REPORTS
THE “BLACK” CUILLINS: MEET No 250 (Monday 1
- Friday 6 July 2007)
It would seem that it is becoming something of a
habit for the newest member attending a Meet to be asked write the Meet
report. This happened to me last
year at Torridon. So, having been
"volunteered" again, I will set out briefly some details of our
various expeditions on the July 2007 Skye Meet.
I had arranged to pick up David Douglas at
Stirling station on 2 July so I was glad to see that the train was on time.
Having deposited David’s gear in the boot of my car, I decided to
take the A9 route North hoping that, as it was a Monday, there would not be
too much tourist traffic. Our
journey went fairly well initially but just beyond the Commando Monument on
the Spean Bridge to Invergarry road we were stopped by what initially appeared
to be temporary roadworks traffic lights.
However, after a short time, a man in a yellow jacket walked down the
queue and helpfully told us that the road was closed!
Apparently, there had been an accident and he really had no idea how
long it would take for it to be cleared.
There was no easy alternative to staying on this road, so we resigned
ourselves to a potentially long wait. In
fact, we were only held up for about an hour.
On arrival at Carbost bunkhouse, we discovered
that the other members attending the Meet (John Andrew - the organiser, Brian Billington, Paul and Janet Cassell and
John Huddart) had got tired of waiting for David and me and were enjoying a
meal in the Old Inn. Having had a
quick look around this very acceptable bunkhouse, with its stunning views
across Loch Harport, been allocated our room and chosen our bunks, we soon
joined them. We discovered that
the two Johns would have to leave a day earlier than originally planned. So they had set off from their homes on the Sunday, stayed
overnight in Newtonmore. Arriving
on Skye on the Monday they had had just enough time to climb Sgurr a’
Mhadaidh the same day. Janet,
Paul and Brian had made a longer and more leisurely approach to Skye, starting
on the Friday and stopping off at Crianlarich, Ballachulish and Glenelg in
order to show Janet more of Scotland. Brian
and Paul had spent a day on Bidean nam Bian en route, where Brian had bagged
another of the Tops which had previously eluded him but Paul had had a dizzy
spell and turned back after reaching the summit of Stob Coire Sgreamhach.
As is usual on the first night of a Meet, we
discussed the possibilities for the morning and indeed for the rest of the
week. The weather forecast was
not terribly promising: heavy showers and low cloud were forecast for most of
the week, with the potential for some improvement as the week progressed.
I was keen to attempt the two most southerly Munros on the Cuillin
ridge (Sgurr nan Eag and Sgurr Dubh Mor) if the weather was at all hopeful in
the morning. The kitchen window
of the bunkhouse gave a very good view to the north and, when we looked out
next morning, there was a fair amount of low cloud but the weather did not
look as bad as had been forecast. All six of us decided, therefore, to go in
two cars to a vantage point where we could see South down Glen Brittle and, if
the weather still looked fair, we would continue to the campsite at the end of
the glen and set off for Coir' a' Ghrunnda.
At the vantage point it looked as if the Southerly Cuillin were going
to be as good as any other hills today: so we continued our drive and parked
at the campsite.
There is an excellent path all the way into Coir'
a' Ghrunnda and we made good progress. The
path deteriorated and became quite steep as it climbed up into the coire and
it was necessary to bypass some steep slabs and a waterfall, some of which
required a bit of scrambling. Just
below the lip of coire, Paul, who was still feeling unwell, decided that he
should turn back and, unless the weather improved markedly and he felt better,
would spend the rest of the week sight-seeing with Janet.
His early descent meant that, unfortunately, he would have a long wait
in my car as he had not brought his own vehicle.
The rest of us continued steeply up the coire into the cloud and, having arrived at Loch Coir' a' Ghrunnda, we stopped for a bite to eat and drink. After a bit of a debate about which of the two bealachs would be the best approach to the summits, we eventually began the climb up to Bealach a' Garbh choire. We then had some fairly easy scrambling along the ridge to Sgurr nan Eag. By this time the low cloud was beginning to thin intermittently and the photographers did manage to get a few pictures whilst the rest of us just took in the stunning views. But, by the time we returned to the bealach and found a way around the impressive Caisteal a' Garbh choire, the visibility was poor and it was impossible to see a way around the Top (Sgurr Dubh an da Bheinn). So we scrambled up and over it and then attempted to spot the easiest route by which to tackle Sgurr Dubh Mor. The route was not obvious in the cloud and what we could see looked quite steep and tricky. David and Brian, who have previously climbed this hill, elected to wait while the two Johns and I tried to find a way up. Eventually, I decided to scale a rather tricky rock face - on the theory that there must be a better way down once I attained the top - whilst the two Johns decided this was a bit too risky and turned back. Sure enough, once on the top, there was an easier way down, although it did still involve a bit of route finding and scrambling.
Our return to Loch Coir' a' Ghrunnda via Bealach
Coir' an Lochain was fairly easy to find and all that remained was the long
walk out of the coire back to the campsite at the end of Glen Brittle.
It had been a long but rewarding day, taking us some 10 hours.
The heavy cloud had made navigation problematic but the weather was
otherwise fairly kind to us and briefly afforded some splendid views.
In the light of our rather longer than anticipated day, we decided that
cooking in the bunkhouse was out of the question that evening and that it
would be far easier for all concerned to take our evening meal in The Old Inn
again. This pub, adjacent to the
bunkhouse, served very acceptable meals at reasonable prices and certainly
avoided queuing in the bunkhouse kitchen for the use of saucepans which were
in rather short supply.
By Wednesday morning the weather had deteriorated
and there was light drizzle falling. Brian
wanted to try to find a way to the central Top (Sron Bhuidhe) between Sgurr na
Banachdich and the Inaccessible Pinnacle and the two Johns elected to go with
him. In my quest to
“compleat” the Skye Munros, I wanted to do Sgurr a' Mhadaidh and Sgurr a'
Ghreadaidh in the central portion of the Cuillin ridge; and David decided that
he would come with me. We had a
pleasant walk from Glen Brittle youth hostel up into Coire An Dorus.
By this time the drizzle had stopped but the cloud base remained very
low. We began our scramble up the
scree slopes to the An Dorus gap and, in the cloud, found ourselves too far to
the right heading more for the Eag Dubh gap.
A slight descent was required to correct our course and we eventually
scrambled into the gap. The way out of the gap and up to Sgurr a' Mhadaidh was not
too difficult, although route finding in the cloud was, as usual on Skye,
quite tricky. And the rock was
wet. The summit was certainly not
a good place to linger as there were no views and it was quite chilly, so we
made our way downwards and stopped for our lunch in one of the small circular
shelters that are used by those traversing the Cuillin ridge.
Whilst stopped here, a guide and three clients
arrived and began to don harnesses and helmets and to rope up.
This seemed a little over-cautious for the route that David and I had
just completed but then I suppose as a guide you cannot be too careful. The
guide suggested to me that the most difficult part of the route to Sgurr a'
Ghreadaidh is getting out of the An Dorus gap but is fairly straightforward
thereafter. We left him and his
party, and I scrambled down to the gap, leaving David higher up as he had
elected not to do the second hill due to the poor conditions. I did manage to find a reasonable route out of the gap and,
once on my way up the hill, David departed on his way down.
The route to the top was fairly clear and involved some pleasant
scrambling. I had no difficulty
getting past the interesting feature called The Wart on the way.
In due course I reached the top but there was no point in delaying as
there was certainly no chance of a view.
So I began my descent and met the guide and his party just coming out
of the gap on their way up. I
fairly rapidly caught up with David and we made our way back to the car down
the glen together.
Once back at the car park, I was surprised to find
that John Andrew's car was no longer parked next to mine. The two Johns and
Brian had set off from the same starting point as us and we had expected them
to take longer than us as we had predicted that our two hills would represent
a bit of a challenge but be quite a short day.
All was made clear when we met John returning from the bunkhouse in his
car. He told us that he had abandoned the climb as his stomach was giving him
severe problems and he was just on his way back to collect the other two.
It transpired later in the evening, whilst discussing the day over the
evening meal, that Brian had also been unsuccessful in his attempt to find a
safe route up to Sron Bhuidhe in the cloud and wet conditions.
Thursday morning was even more overcast and it was
raining steadily. I usually adopt
an optimistic viewpoint in these situations and persuade myself that it might
clear up later. I certainly do
not want to stay indoors all day; and prefer to set off on the low-level
walk-in towards whichever hill I have chosen and decide later in the day
whether to continue up the hill or return to the accommodation.
My two unclimbed Munros on Skye were Am Basteir and Sgurr nan Gillean.
Given a fine day, it would be possible to do the two hills on the same
day, as the starting point for both is from the path that goes up Glen
Sligachan from the Sligachan Hotel. As
David and I started this fairly long walk-in it was raining and we soon
decided that it was definitely only a 'one hill' day, electing to try for Am
Basteir. We had given a lift to
Brian who was due to meet a guide by the Mountain Rescue Hut so that he could
try to scale both the Am Basteir Tooth and Knight's Peak - both of which would
require significant rope work in the prevailing conditions.
The two Johns had set off on their homeward journey.
Although it continued to rain steadily David and I
decided to press on and take the track recommended by my guide book that goes
up the East side of the Bhasteir Gorge at the foot of Pinnacle Ridge.
As is often the case on Skye, what started off as a fairly distinct
track soon faded so much that we lost it.
We climbed fairly steadily and were beginning to worry that we were
gaining too much height and possibly going up Pinnacle Ridge when we really
wished to stay at about the 600
metre mark and find our way into Coire a' Bhasteir.
Our fears were justified when we noticed a fairly obvious track on the
West side of the gorge and saw Brian and his guide trudging up it.
So we backtracked a bit, crossed over the gorge and picked up this
other more distinct track. After
picking our way over and round a prominent crag, we again decided we were too
high and dropped down in to what turned out to be a low coire below Coire a'
Basteir proper. We eventually
struggled up into the correct coire to see that Brian and his guide had
managed to overtake us and were now half way up the scree slopes heading for
Bealach a' Bhasteir. (That's what
you get if you pay good money for a guide.)
We followed along behind them and joined them for
a bite to eat on the bealach. They
kitted up in harnesses and the full gear and set off for The Tooth.
David and I followed several minutes later, by which time they had
disappeared over The Bad Step. My “Skye Scrambles” guidebook suggests that there is a
bypass route around this step but, although we must have spent 20 minutes
searching for it, it was impossible to find amongst all the false trails and
in the poor visibility that prevailed. David
eventually decided that he had had enough and would wait back by the bealach
whilst I went up and had a look at The Bad Step. This is a fairly sheer and exposed drop of approximately 10ft
with, as far as I could see, only one possible foothold halfway down the main
face. The guides tend to take
their clients over this roped up: but without ropes, in wet conditions, it did
not look possible. There was a
route slightly to the left which in dry weather I might have attempted but
today was not such a day. I
climbed cautiously back down the rather slippery rock and joined David,
whereupon we decided to call it a day and head back to the hotel.
On the return trip, we had little difficulty finding the path that
traverses the north side of the Bhasteir Coire to the foot of Pinnacle Ridge
and made our way thence down the East side of the gorge to meet the main
track, which would have been our preferred way up had we managed stay on the
path.
Later than evening when Brian finally appeared for
the evening meal we learnt that he had had a tiring and exhilarating day.
He and his guide had managed to climb The Bhasteir Tooth but the guide
had then decided that the weather was not suitable to attempt Knight's Peak.
Friday dawned in a slightly more encouraging
manner: the cloud looked generally thinner and slightly higher and there was
no sign of rain. Brian had decided that he would have a low level rest day
after his exertions on ropes the day before but David and I set off back to
the Sligachan Hotel to attempt Sgurr nan Gillean.
Things were looking quite encouraging as we made our way fairly quickly
up the path that goes into the coire on the Northeast side of Sgurr nan
Gillean. The cloud was fairly
thin and we got occasional glimpses of the Tops.
We were soon scrambling up the first scree slope on to a rocky plateau
and eventually took one of several paths leading up from this plateau over
very steep and rocky ground towards the bealach.
By this time, the cloud had thickened.
We lost the path and found ourselves too far to the West towards the
top. We retreated a little and
headed more towards the bealach and eventually gained the ridge with a bit of
scrambling. I was pleased to find
at this point that I recognised
where we were from the notes in my guidebook and also that the rock was dry
and gave a fairly good grip underfoot. We
followed various gullies and slightly tricky scrambles as outlined in my
guidebook and, to my great relief, found ourselves at the summit, with the
cloud lifted and some reasonable views.
We did not linger long as we had no wish to be
engulfed again in cloud. Even in
the reasonably clear conditions we missed one of the scrambles down.
It was only when I saw my pack, abandoned on a ledge low-down earlier,
that we realised
we had gone too far down the ridge of the hill and should have scrambled down
to the side earlier. We were
eventually reunited with my pack and continued our descent. By this time the cloud had thickened again and we could hear
in the distance the plaintive cries of lost walkers - "This path doesn't
go anywhere” – “I'm stuck on this ledge” – “Where are you?".
Happily, we discovered a completely different way down over the rocks
and eventually found ourselves on the boulder-strewn plateau above the lower
scree slope. Having stopped for lunch, which we had not felt like eating
previously, we made our way back to the car parked by the Sligachan Mountain
Rescue Hut and then back to the bunkhouse after what we both agreed was a very
satisfactory day.
On the Saturday, David and I departed fairly early
for Stirling. Paul, Janet and
Brian were due to set off later for an overnight stop at Inveraray.
I felt reasonably content with what had been achieved in a week where
the weather was really rather difficult for climbing the Skye hills and only
slightly annoyed that I now have only one Munro on Skye unclimbed that will
necessitate a return visit. Perhaps on my return visit the sun will actually shine!
My thanks to John Andrew, who organised the Meet and to those that attended for their
companionship.
Brian
Paget
THE ALPS: Meet No 251
This Meet
was cancelled.
GARVE: Meet No 252 (Friday 7 - Wednesday 12 September 2007)
The
report for this Meet will be included in the next NeWSletter.
FORTHCOMING MEETS
MEET No 253: REUNION
AND AGM
Dates:
Friday 12 - Sunday 14 October 2007.
Area:
Brecon Beacons.
Accommodation:
Danywenallt Youth Hostel (South of
Talybont-on-Usk and just to the North-east of the dam of the Talybont
reservoir) off the A40 between Crickhowell and Brecon - OS 12/13 GR 108205.
Programme:
There is a wide choice of good walks to be enjoyed in the area.
The AGM will be held on the Saturday evening, and will be followed by a
slide show if members care to bring slides of their exploits during the year.
Transport:
By car. Picking up arrangements
will be made once the participants, availability of cars and routes are known.
If coming by car, please advise the Meet organiser how many passengers
you can take and indicate approximate route and times of journeys.
Maps:
OS 1:25,000 Nos 12 & 13.
Food:
There are no self-catering facilities at this hostel but breakfast is
included in the overnight price.
Those who ask the Meet organiser to reserve a bed for them should
advise him which additional hostel meals (packed lunch, evening meal) are
required on each day of the Meet. If you require an evening meal on Friday night, please
order this from the hostel before 18:00 that evening.
Bookings:
Please contact the Meet organiser as soon as possible to
ensure that you have a bed! A
deposit of £30 is required. The
balance is payable during the Meet.
.
MEET No 254: HOGMANAY
Dates:
To be notified.
Area:.
To be notified
Accommodation:.To
be notified
Programme:
Celebrate Hogmanay in the Highlands and enjoy good walks on high mountains.
The New Year period is a great time to scale peaks as they are usually
snow covered.
Transport:
By car. Picking up arrangements
will be made once the participants, availability of cars and routes are known.
If coming by car, please advise the Meet organiser how many passengers
you can take and indicate approximate route and times of journeys.
Maps:
To be notified.
Equipment:
Crampons and ice axe essential.
Food:
To be provided by the Meet organiser, unless requested otherwise.
Details will be provided later.
Bookings:
Reservations have already been invited by the Meet organiser but it may not be
too late to join. Please contact
him to find out if there are any places available.
If so, a deposit of £70 will be required. The balance of costs will be payable on the Meet itself.
2008 MEET PROGRAMME
The Chairman would be grateful if
all members would complete a copy of the attached questionnaire and return it
to him as soon as possible. Please
note that he needs to receive your proposals for Meets in 2008
by no later than 5 October 2007 so that decisions can be taken at this
year’s AGM.
2007 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
This year’s AGM will be held at Danywenallt youth hostel in the early
evening of Saturday 13 October 2007. A
copy of the agenda is attached. Please
remember to bring your own copies of the Minutes of last year’s AGM
– (if you have mislaid these and want another copy, please let the
NeWSletter Editor know);
COMMENDED WALKS
Congratulations
go to Steve Perry who completed earlier this year an African version of the
“Three Peaks” marathon, - climbing Margherita (in Uganda) and Mount Kenya
and Kilimanjaro (in Tanzania). This
notable feat was undertaken for charity (Comic Relief). Steve is grateful to all the NWS members who contributed
sponsorship money to the charity. If
you have not contributed, its not too late: just log on to his website
“3peaksafrica”, click the charity button and follow the instructions. Any contribution, however small, would be most welcome –
especially if gift aided.
Steve is planning another extreme test next year.
This time he intends to undertake the The 10 x 10
Challenge in order to raise funds for the
“Marie Curie Cancer Care Nurses” charity.
This
“Challenge” entails completing 10 of Britain’s toughest long distance
mountain marathons on consecutive days. The
individual challenges are:
1. The
Welsh 3,000fters
45km/28miles - 3650m/12,000ft
2. The
Derwent Watershed
63km/39miles - 1700m/5,600ft
3. The
Lakeland 4 x 3000ft Challenge
77km/48miles - 3050m/10,000ft
4. The
Yorkshire 3 Peaks
37km /23miles - 1400m/4,600ft
5. The
Lyke Wake Walk
63km/39miles - 1520m/5,000ft
6. Naismith's
Walk (aka The Glencoe Horseshoe) 28km/18miles
- 3050m/10,000ft
7. The
Mamores
30km/19miles - 3390m/11,120ft
8. Ben
Nevis, The Aonachs and The Grey Corries 35km/22miles
- 2750m/9020ft
9. The
Cairngorm 4,000fters
35km/21.5miles - 2347m/7,700ft
10. The
Cuillin Ridge
12km/7.5miles - 3050m/10,000ft
In total 58 mountains over the
height of 3,000ft will be climbed. The
total distance is 425km/264miles and the total ascent is 25,907m/84,996ft.
An average day on the 10x10 involves walking 42.5km/26.4miles
(equivalent to the length of the London Marathon) and an ascent of over
2,590m/8,500ft. The overall height climbed on the challenge is equal
to scaling Mount Everest three times from sea level.
Please
visit the website - www.10x10challenge.co.uk - and support a worthy cause by
making a sponsorship subscription (however small) and
gift-aiding it.
