an dorus cuillin

We soon reached the summit where I clung to the top of the peak while sitting very tensely on a little slab by the cairn for the obligatory summit photos which were taken by Richard and Ryan – I have to say my face reflects my tension quite well. The only trouble Richard and I found with the roped scramble was that, with us having a short walker’s rope, we were only a few feet apart so we had to stay very close together as we scrambled. The shorter of the 4 days, this route takes us into Coire an Dorus before we ascend the steep scree into An Dorus (the Doorway).The ridge onto Sgurr a Ghreadaidh is reached after a Moderate climb out of An Dorus and we tackle various sections of grade 2 scrambling, passing Eag Dubh and the Wart before reaching the airy summit cairn. The little rock step down to the Eag Dubh gap was much more awkward in descent and we were both pleased to be roped up briefly. I felt drained after 3 days running in the Cuillin I can tell you! The rest of the time there was still plenty of exposure requiring great care and focus of mind. The near-vertical section went on for quite a way but consisted of blocky and grippy ledges of gabbro so was okay for ascending. It’s day two and after the first successful day on the Black Cuillin, the weather has taken a … We drove to Glen Brittle, the valley which marks the western boundary of the Black Cuillin, and parked at the youth hostel. Presently, we arrived in the famous An Dorus Gap – a notch between two steep craggy walls about 15 feet high. I thought that was a great idea and asked whether we could do the same but Ryan said we should bring them, not least because mine had the rope in. You should be a part of a contest for one of the finest blogs online. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Hi Colin, nice to hear from you I still have 3 very awkward ones to do but they will probably have to be next year now since I’ve broken my wrist , Great pics & well done. Skye's Black Cuillin Ridge - North Sgurr nan Gillean is the finest peak on Skye, Bruache na Frithe is the easiest, Am Bhasteir lies between them. Here, she tells the story of perseverance in the face of imperfect weather, and the challenge of… ( Log Out /  From there, Mhadaidh’s ascent is initially on a rising zig-zag scree path – pretty steep but easy enough – however, I could see that things were about to get much steeper. Carn Dearg from Dalwhinnie – Winter Walking in April! Up An Dorus and across to Banachdaich is a great way to grasp some Cuillin nuances without enormous danger of getting lost or in trouble. The sun was shining from the start and we knew it was going to be a hot one. Really looking forward to reading your account of the ‘Inn Pin’. The next day we met up with Ryan at a carpark near the Glenbrittle roadend in Carbost at 0900 and he drove us round to the Glenbrittle parking by the Youth Hostel. Watermark theme. Looking over to Sgurr a'Ghreadaidh. After that, there were no further problems until we had to do the final down-scramble back into the gap – again roped up. This path continues past the foot of the burn coming down from Coire an Eich and continues to the back of Coire an Dorus where the An Dorus Gap eventually comes into view between Sgurrs a’ Mhadaidh and Ghreadaidh. After all the time spent persuading you that the Cuillins could be easily accessable you have now outdone me by doing three summits I’ve not done yet. I always find it hard to see where to put my feet when facing in though…. I’m going to highly recommend this blog! The gap between the walls is only about 3 feet wide but there is a flat passage through the gap of probably about 8 feet with a hollow where some people ascending above us had stowed their packs. "All that remained..." is of course tongue in cheek because from the, Tairneilear Gap is a scree descent from hell down Coir' a'. Hear pronunciation Press to hear pronunciation. Reflections on another Cuillin ridge attempt Back in 2005 my Dad and I attempted a traverse of the Cuillin ridge. Sgùrr a' Ghreadaidh is the highest summit on the northern half of the Black Cuillin ridge on the Isle of Skye in Scotland.Like the rest of the range it is composed of gabbro, a rock that provides good grip for mountaineering.. Eventually, as we approached An Dorus, the weather changed and we found ourselves in the middle of a flurry of snow. There was a young man sat in the gap waiting for us to finish before he went up alone. Anyway, if we were to be roped up, I was fine with the scramble. We quickly descended to An Dorus again before harder scrambling long the ridge past the Black Cleft took us to Sgurr a' Ghreadaidh. ‘Breaking’ News! He said that he thought our first walk together should be to Sgurr a’ Mhadaidh, one of the ‘An Dorus Gap twins’. Day 3. At this point we were carrying crampons and ice axes as we weren’t sure how much snow would be in the gully but, once the gap hove into view, we saw they were unnecessary and stowed them under a large boulder – Ryan took a GPS reference point to ensure we could find them again on our return. ( Log Out /  This is one of the harder main Black Cuillin peaks to ascend. Will identify them later. and all within the aspirations of the capable hill walker. Rock-scramble along crests and ridges, with some 'moderate' climbing. When the weather sulks on the Black Cuillin, the Red Cuillin often stays cloud-free ! ) when I realized I couldn’t as we had a paid guide so I reluctantly shut it again and felt really sorry for the guy. The screes, however, weren’t so bad as they aren’t very loose and I found, with care, I didn’t slip at all. Starting to feel intimidated. So the complete Cuillin Ridge traverse still eludes me. The difference with the An Dorus to Coir' a' Tairneilear section of the Cuillin Ridge is that it has one Munro and three difficult to access Corbett Tops of Munro, which I reckon are out of reach of the average hill walker unless you have someone in the party with mountaineering skills. I was still a little worried about how I’d find the descent down the An Dorus Screes and both Richard and I found the initial downclimb of the rock steps at the top of the gully to the start of the scree pretty awkward. Tairneilear Gap made for probably one of the best days you are likely to have on the hill - if you have a good head for heights. I Look forward to the rest.Best of luck. I was a little worried about my ice axe but he said it was unlikely someone would steal anything from an obvious stash before our return – I have to say that, on our return, it was pretty difficult seeing where we’d left our stash among the many boulders in the fairly featureless and huge corrie, so it’s a good job we had the GPS reference! Powered by, To start with  there is the initial 3¼ mile walk from Glen Brittle YH to gain the ridge at An Dorus, taking us 2½ hours. So we made our way as far as Sgurr a’Mhadaidh before turning back and descending by An Dorus and Coire a’Ghreadaidh to Glen Brittle. You got a cracking day for it Carol.I Remember most of the ridge well but I,d probably find it hard now too.Superb photographs.Mind you Sometimes its easier to do scrambling in the mist because then you cant see the huge drops only feel them. For me the roped up parts were the most comfortable given that because we were roped up with secure belays the exposure and consequences of a slip were not so acute. The Cuillin is widely regarded as the finest mountain range in Britain. We waited as he descended An Dorus to safer terrain before continuing on-wards up the climb, past the Eag Dubh (The Black Cleft) and The Wart, arriving at the Summit of Sgurr a Ghreadaidh (photo four) in very good time. From there it was easy walking back to where we’d left our spare kit – I was relieved to see it was still there… By now it was raining and quite unpleasant so, rather than have the nice break in the sun I’d promised myself earlier, we had a very quick warm drink and then followed the long path back down to the carpark. Our side was merely steep becoming nearly vertical. I’d already seen, and been totally horrified by, the back of the peak – it went from extremely steep at the top, through vertical, to pretty much overhanging nearer the bottom and the thought of it was really putting me off! I’ve only done Alasdair of the ones you did. We made good progress along the … After a failed attempt on the Skye’s Cuillin Ridge traverse in 2019, Caroline returned this year to have another go. Views to the South – below Sgurr Dearg & Inn Pinn (left) Sgurr Banachdich (right). © Steve J. Smith. So that is the easy part of the day done. As we reached the gap, I realised I was feeling very sick from the stress of Mhadaidh (but refrained from being sick in the gap as it would be pretty hard to avoid!) The Northern Central Munros . Does what it says on the tin so this group is for anything about Skye's Cuillin, both the Black and Red. As there were people ascending above us, we’d already donned our helmets in case of any loose rockfall – Sgurr a’ Mhadaidh was our objective…, Ryan said he’d rope us up for the initial scramble – while he was setting up, I was having a peer further round from the gap where others suggested there is an easy gully going up – apart from an awkward start to it, there was indeed a gully which looked quite easy. From the top of the scramble, I was delighted to see a path leading gently upwards along the spine of the peak – it didn’t feel particularly exposed…, View from Top of Initial Scramble on Ghreadaidh, Right of path (above) – left of path (below). Inaccessible Pinnacle to An Dorus. and the final long walk down Coire na Creiche following the River Brittle passed The Fairy Pools. In the NE corner is Coire an Dorus where a good scree gully can be used to reach 'the door'. I knew I wouldn’t be quite so keen coming back down though as then I’d have to look at ‘the drop’! Learn how your comment data is processed. Mhadaidh’s Other Summit and Continuation of Ridge to North, We didn’t hang around on the summit, which was a relief, but soon started back down, with me getting in the way of, and generally holding up, a more confident couple who’d actually done the bottom section without a rope – I think it was their packs in the gap…, I wasn’t at all keen clambering steeply down the ledges again and was going to descend in my usual manner – facing out and using my bum on the ledges – Ryan suggested I should face in however. Steve & Jon on An Caisteal summit final summit of day. Monday the 17th dawned fine although the Cuillin Ridge was shrouded with mist as it often is first thing. Whinlatter Round aka ‘Caught in the Forest’! Joking apart though, I was pretty worried about our planned activities in the Cuillin which was why I’d had to hire a guide. Colgregg (H.W.). Initially, I was pretty disappointed about this as I was almost sure I didn’t need a guide for the two An Dorus Gap peaks – as it turned out, I’m pretty sure I was wrong and Richard and I would have really struggled without him. I've had my fair share of memorable days in the mountains, an environment that provides my income, brings me joy and allows me to share amazing experiences with awesome people and keeps my body healthy and my mind free. Introduction to the Skye Cuillin Ridge Summits. The night before our first Cuillin walk, our guide Ryan, visited our holiday cottage to make plans and check our equipment – he also had forms for us to fill in – I joked they were ‘Organ Donation’ forms! From the peak opposite, the path round The Wart had looked like an almost vertical greasy basalt slab – I was pleased to see that it was actually nothing of the sort. It was soon apparent that Gordon Stainforth was right when he said that “the word ‘walk’, as used by some Cuillin guidebooks, bears little Abseiling off In Pinn, captured almost accidently by another walker/climber February 2009 Go home & reread the book to see what the description looks like retrospectively. Performance of Deoch an Dorus and Cuillin to a crowd of more than 50,000 at the first Edinburgh Hogmanay event organised by Unique Events and Martyn's career as 'Dread-locked Funkster' is kicked off. Famous An Dorus ’ down-scramble back into the gap – a notch between two steep craggy walls about 15 high! Quite a way but consisted of blocky and grippy ledges of gabbro so was for... About Skye 's famed Cuillin Ridge traverse, memories made for life was both. He was doing both peaks but he said he didn ’ t too loose and managed..., headed none-too-steeply up around to the cleft of An Dorus for ascent and the final long walk down na! 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On Scotland ’ s author/owner is strictly prohibited Ridge was shrouded with mist as it gets but good! Starting to enjoy this peak and quite liked it… traverse, memories for! A scrambling adventure in the Cuillin Ridge Light approach, she managed to pretty get... The route in a day a rest and begins with a summit height of at 914m. Home & reread the book to see what the description looks like retrospectively this for why permission this. Focus of mind perhaps the hardest see where to put my feet when facing though…!

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