The time had come to take on the infamous Skye Munros. We had come up with a rough plan created with ChatGPT and had an excellent forecast to look forward to. However, the reputation of the ridge got the better of us and left the group feeling both mentally and physically defeated.
Day 1 - Inaccessible Pinnacle
We drove up to Skye on Tuesday morning. A first for me despite nearly 270 Munros completed already. The drive took around six hours, including a stop at Morrisons in Fort William to buy our food for the week. We parked at the Glen Brittle Mountaineering Hut to start the route up to Inaccessible Pinnacle.
At around 16:00 we started walking up to the Cuillin ridge. The path was initially fine, but soon we came to a steep scree slope and decided to put our helmets on. We powered on to the top and, out of nowhere, were greeted by a huge rock sticking out from the summit. This was our first look at the infamous Inn Pinn!
Initially confused by how intense the climb looked, we quickly worked out that we were looking at the abseil. So we headed down the slope to the start of the climb. Inaccessible Pinnacle is rated as a Moderate climb, so Owain and I decided to free solo it, meaning we went up with no ropes. Britton needed some extra confidence, so Lewis led a two-pitch trad climb to the top.
We got a kind stranger to take a photo of us at the top and then he emailed it to Owain. After that, we abseiled off and made our way back down the steep slopes to the car.
We then squeezed back into the car and headed the extra 500 metres down the road to the campsite. We were all exhausted, but spirits were high after successfully conquering what we believed would be the crux of the Cuillins!
Approaching the Inaccessible Pinnacle.
Me scoping out the route!
Half-way anchor.
Made it to the top!
Britton abseiling out.
Owain abseiling out.
Team photo at the top taken by a man on the other side.
Day 2 - Don’t Underestimate the Cuillins!
The plan for today was to take on the four Southern Cuillins. We had a good hearty breakfast of porridge and then set off at a reasonable time. The forecast was still perfect and we were in for a good day.
We made good progress up to the first lochan. We had a good break here and Owain went for a plunge to cool off and get rid of the sweat. After around thirty minutes we set off again and made our way up to Sgùrr nan Eag.
Getting to the ridge was easier than expected. There was no scrambling involved yet. We made it up to the summit relatively quickly, got a few photos, and then started to traverse the ridge towards Sgùrr Dubh Mòr. The scrambling started to pick up here and Britton was getting pushed out of his comfort zone. However, everyone made it to summit two. At this point, Britton and Owain took the sensible decision and decided to head back, but still feeling determined, Lewis and I pushed on.
Owain and Lewis approaching Sgùrr nan Eag.
Owain on Sgùrr Dubh Mòr.
Lewis on Sgùrr Dubh Mòr.
We made our way over to Sgùrr Alasdair. We came to a climb that looked way too intense for us and thought it might be game over. Fortunately, we found a chimney climb further along that allowed us safe access to the summit. Feeling stoked, we continued along and, at this point, I made the critical mistake of blindly taking us into a traverse of a ridge towards Sgùrr Mhic Chòinnich.
We followed the ridge and it suddenly took us out to a sheer drop. We could see the summit of Sgùrr Mhic Chòinnich no more than 100 metres away. There was abseil tat wrapped around a rock; people had been before us. Feeling uncomfortable downclimbing what we had just climbed up, we made the serious decision to abseil out using this old rope. We left a carabiner behind and gently went down the rope. Fortunately, there were no problems and we made it down. At this point, I still wanted to get the summit, so I had a quick look along the traverse but quickly decided against it. Lewis got his map out and found a safe(ish) route down for us. We headed down the seriously steep scree slope towards the Great Stone Chute.
It was a great sense of relief reaching the main path, and we walked quickly back to camp shell-shocked at what we had just come down.
The team separates and Lewis and I summit Sgùrr Alasdair.
Well and truly out of the comfort zone now.
Looking back at the escape route.
Day 3 - Redemption on Sgùrr Mhic Chòinnich
The next day Lewis and Britton were both a bit mentally done with the ridge and rightfully needed a day off. However, being a bit stubborn, I wanted to go back and get redemption on Sgùrr Mhic Chòinnich. Owain and I set off after a coffee at the campsite. We headed back up the path that Lewis and I had come down the night before.
The first obstacle we had to contend with was a massive, steep, loose scree slope. More intense than any scree I have had to deal with before. It was quite literally two steps forward, one step back and, at times, felt like being on a treadmill. This short section took us over an hour to get up.
Eventually, we made it onto the ridge and bumped into a mountain guide who gave us a little bit of information about the scramble up to the summit. It was quite intense getting onto the start, but after the first few moves it was relatively easy. We pushed on and made good time to the summit.
Walking in.
On the extremely challenging scree slope.
Summit scramble on the knife edge.
At the summit, I showed Owain the ridiculous way that we had come down the previous day. Of course, we had to get a picture with it! We then sat down and had lunch.
Shortly afterwards, we saw a man come to the point we had abseiled out of. He was moving confidently but was completely stumped about what to do next, just as we had been. We had a brief conversation with him by shouting across. He explained that he did not have a rope. We advised him to turn around, which is what he did. Cheekily, I asked him if he wouldn’t mind taking our sacrificed carabiner back down with him, which he willingly agreed to do!
We skied back down the scree slope and then bumped into the man. He was a Polish solo traveller making his way through Scotland. He returned my carabiner and we gave him lots of recommendations for places to visit during his holiday. After that, we headed back to the campsite and met Lewis and Britton en route. They had spent the day visiting the Caledonian Canal.
We made our way to our next campsite at Sligachan and had many pints at the pub there!
Showing Owain the scene of the crime!
Me showing the scary abseil.
Me and the Inn Pinn.
The Polish man that saved our carabiner!
Day 4 - Going Solo
Owain was feeling a bit physically defeated after yesterday’s mission and Lewis and Britton were still a little apprehensive about the scrambles and climbs involved, so I was heading back to the ridge solo today.
Owain dropped me back down in Glen Brittle and I once again made my way onto the ridge. I was moving well and had managed to reach my first summit within 90 minutes. To let everyone know that I was safe, I took a selfie at the top of each summit and posted it into the group chat with a timestamp.
Within thirty minutes I had reached the second summit and then I followed the sustained Grade 3 scramble towards summit number three. I found this section completely fine and moved confidently through it. I reached summit three after around an hour of traversing the ridge. I sent what I thought would be my final selfie to the chat and then headed back towards the road.
Summit 1 - Sgùrr a’ Mhadaidh.
Summit 2 - Sgùrr a’ Ghreadaidh.
The ridge connecting summit 2 to summit 3.
Summit 3 - Sgùrr na Banachdich.
Owain had gone to Raasay for the day in my car, so I had two options: wait a few hours for him to get the ferry back and come and pick me up, or walk back. Walking back allowed me to bag another Munro, Bruach na Frìthe, so this was the natural choice. I hitchhiked a lift to the Fairy Pools and then I was once again climbing to gain the ridge.
Bruach na Frìthe was an easy Munro. I went up the scramble on the back of the mountain and it felt like light work compared to what I had just done. I quickly found the trig point and then started walking back down the excellent path towards the Sligachan campsite.
This was our final night on Skye, so we headed to the pub for dinner and celebrated with a few beers.
Fairy Pools path - very different to the paths I had just taken.
Summit 4 - Bruach na Frìthe.
Bruach na Frìthe trig point.
Day 5 - Blà Bheinn and then Hometime
Our final objective of the trip was Blà Bheinn, the outlier of the Cuillin Munros. Compared to the previous few days, this one felt positively relaxing. The path was clear, there was no route-finding drama, and there were no terrifying drops to negotiate.
Britton and I made our way steadily up, although unfortunately there were no views to be had today. Before long, we reached the summit trig point. We headed back down and started the long drive back to Glasgow.
The journey home was uneventful and gave us plenty of time to reflect on the week. The Cuillins had been far more challenging than any of us expected. What had looked like a straightforward Munro-bagging trip on paper quickly turned into one of the most mentally demanding hillwalking adventures I have ever had.
Blà Bheinn trig point.
Day 6
The next day, Owain and I had a relaxing day kayaking on Loch Lomond, where I managed to teach him how to roll a kayak! We then celebrated with an ice cream.
Not bad for the little Volvo.
Celebrating with an ice cream.
Overall, the Cuillin Ridge taught me a valuable lesson: never underestimate Skye. The scrambling was more sustained, the terrain more serious and the consequences of mistakes far greater than on most mainland Munros. Although our original plans fell apart and we had a few moments that could generously be described as “character building”, we still managed to bag nine of the eleven Cuillin Munros.
Most importantly, we all made it home safely with some brilliant memories, a few ridiculous stories and a healthy respect for one of the finest mountain ranges in Britain.