Reflections on another Cuillin ridge attempt

Back in 2005 my Dad and I attempted a traverse of the Cuillin ridge. It came at the end of a two week holiday in Skye when suddenly a good forecast appeared to present the possibility for success on a two day traverse. My Dad has written an excellent account of that attempt here and you can also see some video of it here. We didn’t complete the traverse (getting only as far as Bruach na Frithe) but were happy to have given it a shot and it made a fine finale to our holiday.

This year we set off again to Skye in May for another two weeks of scrambling and walking and with the intention (weather permitting) of attempting the ridge again. We had an awful lot of wet and cold whether and only went on two reconnaissance trips into the Cuillins. One was to the summit of Bruache na Frithe (in mist and rain) to stash some supplies. The other to Coir’ a Ghrunnda where we climbed a damp moderate pitch up Am Casteil before abseiling off again in heavy rain.

A forecast came for two good days and so we prepared to make another attempt. On this occasion our strategy was to walk up to Coir’ a Ghrunnda, setup camp and leave most of our kit there whilst we walked out to Gars Bhienn. Then we walked and scrambled back over the Dubhs and down to the tent in the corrie.

We had a very broken night’s sleep due to low temperatures and occasional strong gusts of wind. The next morning we got up at about 5:00 and set off just before 06:00. Throughout the day we made steady progress but felt tired and very cold in the strong icy winds. Eventually, as we approached An Dorus, the weather changed and we found ourselves in the middle of a flurry of snow. We decided to take stock at An Dorus. We were both feeling very tired and did not have the heart to continue given the change in the weather. So, at about 15:00, we made our way back down to the road where Mum kindly picked us up.

Looking back I think that lack of sleep and the cold were significant factors. But if I’m honest I don’t think we were physically fit enough. We had been on a few training trips to Wales but on those trips our focus had been on scrambling and climbing rather than really long mountain days. When I returned home I was gutted to discover that two weeks prior to our unsuccessful attempt Es Tresidder managed to break the previous record for the fastest traverse of the ridge! A big well done to him – it is an amazing achievement! Later I was at least a little consoled to hear that the legendary climber Ben Moon this year traversed the ridge and afterwards, in his blog, described it as probably the hardest thing he’s ever done!

Will I return to give it another go? At some point I will definitely go back. However having just had significantly more reliable weather (and quite a lot of fun) in the Dolomites I am in no rush to return to the rainy isle!