trip report - 24th May 1997
| Date: | 24th May 1997 |
| Mountains: | Sgurr a'Mhadaidh (918m), Sgurr a'Ghreadaidh (973m), Sgurr na Banachdich (965m) |
| Group: | Edinburgh Academy Half Term Senior Meet |
| Conditions: | Hot and cloudless all day |
The first day we woke to cloudless skies, and that didn't change all day. Taking the minibus up to just beyond the Youth Hostel, we walked up the path leading into Coire a'Ghreadaidh, and then cut off left to go up steep screes and achieve Sgurr Thuilm (881m). This first climb boded incredibly hot work all the way round, but from the top we got an impressive skyline of what was about to be climbed. Being honest, I was quite worried about it.
The connecting ridge from Sgurr Thuilm to Sgurr a'Mhadaidh was, at first, straightforward, but we could see what looked like an incredibly butress rising to the summit of the first munro. It was quite steep, but really not as bad as it looked and hand- and foot-holds were numerous. It didn't take overly long to reach the first summit, although with a group of more than 10 people, it was not simple fitting everyone onto the top!
The next summit was reached by descending to An Dorus ("The Door" - a common way of achieving the Skye ridge) and then back up the other side, steeply, to Sgurr a'Ghreadaidh. I was beginning to get quite thirsty and water was getting low - some others on the trip had already run out (eek). However, the weather was still stunning and so it was clear the only way was on along the ridge - continuously narrow and with occasional nasty descents and ascents, this was quite a shock to me, up to now having only climbed grassy slopes to get up mountains. Particulars of the ridge I have no great recollection. I took very few pictures along the way as I was too scared most of the time!
As a purist however, it was/is important I went/go over as many of the bumps on the ridge as possible, rather than taking the paths round the bottom. Where's the fun in that?! This led me, at one point, to straddling the less-than-1-foot-wide ridge, and using my hands to crawl along it. In any case, the final summit, Sgurr na Banachdich was reached after climbing less narrow ridges, occasionally having to scramble over rocky outcrops.
The rector (John Light) and Tony Baker decided to continue along the ridge (they ended up doing the In Pinn before dark), but thirst and (in my case) fear drove us NW off the hill and into Coir'an Eich, where we spent much time at the first stream. Got back to the car slightly sunburnt and relieved to be down safely, but definitely up for more tomorrow!
