13-16 /09/16 - Skye Cuillin

I really can't remember the chronology of events over the 4 days scrambling in Skye, so I'm just going to capture my general thoughts.

The monday before we started was wet and horrible. I'd picked up some heel cushions from Fort William to help with my legs, been shopping and had a bit of a stroll around a few spots in Skye (the fairy pools - muddy and miserable and the beach at Glen Brittle - felt like a scruffy and unimpressive version of Vik beach). I was actually feeling quite low... I picked up a bit when I met up with everyone in at The Inn in Carbost, although I felt the usual social awkwardness when in a large group of people that I didn't know. The guides seemed decent enough and as I went to sleep I was feeling a bit more "up for it".

Weather on the first day looked like it was going to be a bit dodgy, but actually turned out to be wonderful. Views were spectacular, we got a good view of the ridge which we'd be walking on for the rest of the week. The second day the weather deteriorated, but we only had a couple hours rain, we rose above the drifting low level clouds for some more spectacular views and the sun came out in the afternoon. The third day the weather was bad all day - poor visibility and fairly constant, but not heavy, rain - we were soaked by the end of it. The fourth day weather was mixed, not great, but never really that bad either.

The first 3 days were 9 hoursish each, the third day being a bit longer than the others. The fourth day was the "rest" day - just 6 hours. Overall each day was longer than expected, but while individual sections felt like they were taking a long time, each day actually sped by - a whirl of exertion, concentration and adrenaline.

We started each day with a long and fast-paced walk-in. We hardly took a breather, and only really stopped when we were waiting for the group to catch-up or putting harnesses/helmets on etc.

I ate loads all week. If anything, I think I put weight on.

The group seemed very mixed in terms of capability at first, but over time things seemed to balance out, everyone had their strengths and their weaknesses. I thought that people were going to struggle with Inn Pinn, but in practice no-one really seemed to struggle that much. By the end, we'd bonded pretty well.

The guides told us early on that they would split the group of 8 into 2 groups as we proceeded through the week. I think this in part meant that people wanted to mark themselves out as being worthy of being in the "top" group - I know I did. It certainly felt like people were bustling to be at the front. I managed to maintain a position in the front 4 for most of the time - particularly the walk in and walk out. The traversals and downclimbs I was slower on though and certainly felt less confident at those times.

A few notes on the people:
D - older chap who even when we met in the pub didn't sound like he was optimistic or particularly committed to week. He ended up really struggling on the first day and then bailing at the end of it.
P - late 50's, ex-copper. Seemed to get out of breath on the walk-ins and wasn;t as fast as some of the others, but was very confident and stable on his feet.
J - turns out that he'd done all the Munros at least once and some of them multiple times - including the Cuillins. Amazingly confident on his feet and speedy at all times. Saw him feeling a little nervous on one occasion (climbing on wet basalt slabs up Am Basteir. Easily the least phased and most consistently optimistic of everyone.
A - quite reserved at first and very sincere. Sense of humour really came out through the week. Out of everyone he felt like someone who matched my capability. Have already made provisional arrangements to meet up with him
D(2) - mixed levels of confidence and capability, but held his own in the end.
D(f) - slow on walk-ins/outs and not massively confident on other sections, but really held her own throughout and remained confident and committed throughout. Impressive woman.
E - very quick on walk-in on first day, but confidence seemed to deteriorate during the day. Seemed a bit surprised by some of the technical pieces early on, but was a real glue for the team and showed determination in getting the job done.

Fortunately all the above were thoroughly likeable and decent people in their own right. What a great group!!!

The technical pieces themselves were all either great fun at the time (particularly the chimney climbs), or fun as soon as they were over. The wet, slabby sections were the scariest pieces. The scree slopes were the most arduous - particularly the The Great Chute descent on the first day. I had that usual fear of stumbling forward when descending and facing out from the mountain, so ended up down climbing a lot of sections, which is pretty slow going. I also feared twisting my ankle on traversals where the ground could be very bouldery. I also noticed that even on sections where I felt very comfortable, I liked to take my time in choosing feet and hand placements and this could make me slower than some other people. The In Pinn itself didn't pose too much of a problem, it required a few deep breaths and lots of self-affirming inner thoughts, but A and I sped through it pretty concistently.

Funny moments - D(2) making telling me a joke and make me almost fall during a descent; thinking that the abseil setup was wrong while alone at the top of the In Pinn and nearly re tying it myself; down climbing on what felt like a precarious slab, only for the guide to walk right between us and to realise that we were only at an about a 10 degree angle.

Brilliant week. Wish I was better at descending on my feet facing out from the mountain. Can't wait to get on with some rock climbing and other mountaineering asap!

11/09/2016 - Beinn Mhanach (me)

I set off early on the Sunday morning to begin my week away doing the Skye Cuillin. I wanted to take in a Munro or 2 on the way up in order to wake my muscles up, but equally I was cautious of over exerting myself - particularly as my legs had been playing up again.

The weather was due to rain, but things were looking OK as I parked on the side of the A82 and started the long in-walk to Beinn Mhanach. I passed under the aqueduct and continued along the farm track (there were a couple of cats-eyes on this path, which were looked properly bashed in and were facing a funny angle - really didn't make much sense). There were several points where I needed to cross a stream that was reasonably in-spate, luckily my boots were really holding up.

Once I reached the foot of the hill it was a pretty constant slog up the side for the remaining 500 or so metres. My legs started to ping a bit, but I hoped they'd loosen or at least not get worse.

The weather remained dry, but got pretty windy at the top. I'd told the boys that I'd do a vlog during the week, so I did a quick "post", but then made a hasty retreat down the other side of the mountain.

The 2 other Munros which I'd not climbed in the area looked pretty close and I was tempted to take them in, but decided against it.

No sooner had I got back to the car and it started raining (and then didn't stop for 24 hours).

I ate the pub at The Bridge of Orchy then continued to Glencoe, parked up in the campervan park and setup the car for me to sleep in. Very cosy.

The following morning I set off for Skye.