Cuillin Ridge Traverse, Munros and Classic Climbs May 2016

A few of our confirmed dates in May 2016 for guiding on the Cuillin Ridge on Skye. You can book or find out more by following the links below:

• 28th May -1st June 2016 for more details on our Facebook page, click here.
• 14th May -18th May 2016 for more details on our Facebook page, click here. 

To book a course or arrange guiding on the Skye Cuillin  Ridge see https://www.talisman-activities.co.uk/product-page/cuillin-ridge-munros

Guiding on Skye's hardest peak with Alan

Not the best of weather or midge forecasts but another great adventure with Alan and Fi on the misty In Pinn.

Braving driving rain and icy winds on greasy rock, climbing the UK's hardest Munro summit was touch and go but Alan was well up for the challenge.

 Nil viz all day until we started to head back down then a brief clearing and the Cuillin gave us tantalising views of where we had been!

Alan took up climbing in his sixties and has been on a number of great winter climbing adventures with us over the past few years and likely be back for a good few more .. ;-)

More photos on our Facebook photo album here

To book a course or arrange guiding on the Skye Cuillin  Ridge see https://www.talisman-activities.co.uk/product-page/cuillin-ridge-munros

Soaked on the the misty In Pinn!

A lot wetter than all the online the weather forecasts led us to believe. In the continuous downpour we climbed Sgurr Dearg's by the West Ridge's waterfalls, with the promise of drier weather by mid-day.

Unfortunately it just got wetter and wetter. As the guys weren't experienced trad climbers, were soaked and were starting to become hypothermic, if we hung around for several pitches on the unprotected whaleback, we had to abort climbing the In Pinn by the East Ridge on safety grounds.
This gave the guys the ultimate challenge of attempting to climb the West Ridge (with rope above) in the lashing rain and polished greasy foot and sloping hand holds!

Unusually for the In Pinn, we didn't meet anybody else all day until on the descent, when we heard some voices calling out in the mist, "is it OK to follow you down...?" as we scrambled down the gully waterfalls and through the crags.

The poor guys from Ireland, were both very experienced but had been trying for several hours to find an easy way back down and had been down and up several dead end gully lines.

They were very relieved to see my bright yellow jacket glowing like a beacon appearing from the gloom and happily followed behind as we picked up more lost soles!!!!

At the end of the day I binned yet another pair of old mountaineering boots completely trashed by the gabbro, see the photos on our Facebook album here!

To book a course or arrange guiding on the Skye Cuillin  Ridge see https://www.talisman-activities.co.uk/product-page/cuillin-ridge-munros

Last weeks Cuillin Ridge course

A few photos of Ken, Godfrey, Mark, Karin and Fi from last weeks Cuillin Munros and scrambles course. Karin (ML) again came along to shadow, assist Fi and myself and bag a few Cuillin Munros and climbs. Overall we had several days of superb clear weather along with a few very claggy, wet and blustery days where a cool head, carefull foot and map work were essential.
Total reliance on a GPS is dangerous on the Cuillin' and Mark's trusty Garmen was at times more than 500 metres out on the narrow ridges and steep coires due to weak or obscured satellite signals!!!
Everyone bar one, found the hills, steep, exposed and hard work but very very rewarding at the same time and achieved their ambitions.
As a bonus Godfrey, Ken and I managed to avoid the worst of the twenty plus In Pin queues!!
After the course Fi and I stayed on for a day's sunny rock climbing on the south face of Sgurr Alasdair and would have stayed on longer if the midges hadn't arrived with a vengeance on Saturday evening!! See Fi's blog here for more details.

A YouTube video of Ken and Godfrey climbing the Inn Pinn can be viewed here

To book a course or arrange guiding on the Skye Cuillin  Ridge see https://www.talisman-activities.co.uk/product-page/cuillin-ridge-munros

Really Cool on the Cuillin Ridge!

We're just back to a snowy Aviemore from ten days guiding on the Skye Cuillin Ridge Munros.

Between Fi and I we managed four guided (2:1 ratio) ascents of the In Pin and many of the trickier Munros while avoiding the worst of the cold windy weather.

The weather has being unseasonably cold since the start of May with fresh snow and good skiing still on offer in the east Highlands on Cairngorm.

Out west passing through Glen Sheil there was hardly any old snow left on the hills. However arriving on Skye there was fresh snow falling on the Cuillin Ridge.

Most of the snow melted back by Tuesday but the fresh snow and rimed rock ended a few ridge attempts on Monday and made some of the easier peaks treacherous.

We met one experienced ridge traverse team from Ireland who'd spend three and a half hours descending on iced slabs from their bivy cave a few hundred metres along the Sgurr a’ Ghreadaidh ridge to An Dorus to escape!

Fortunately there was less old snow in the corries and gullies than in the past avoiding the need for Jenny, Len, Scott and Karin to carry ice axes and crampons. We had all the winter kit just in case though!

A YouTube video of Jenny, Len and Scott climbing and abseiling off the Inn Pinn can be viewed here.

After the first Cuillin Ridge course finished we eventually (no mobile reception!) met up with Emma, Fiona, Alan and Craig for some more Munros including climbing the In Pinn.

The weather outlooks all looked dire with more snow, wind and and minus 4 on the summits. So we decided to climb the In Pin on Sunday rather than the original schedule for Monday or Tuesday. We made the right choice and had a great day. On Monday we awoke to fresh snow down to about 500 metres with more forecast for the next few days!

Later we drove back east to the fresh snow in Aviemore. Maybe some summer skiing and easy summer winter climbing!!!!

There are still a a few places available on our next Skye Rock Climbing and Cuillin Ridge course. The courses and private guiding on the In Pin start on the 31st May-4th June 2010.

To book a course or arrange guiding on the Skye Cuillin  Ridge see https://www.talisman-activities.co.uk/product-page/cuillin-ridge-munros

Last weeks hot Cuillin capers

On Saturday the 9th of May it was wild and very snowy on the Scottish hills but by Monday the 10th of May it was completely calm, sunny and very hot!
As promised earlier during a lovely meal in the Sligachan Hotel, David had organised the good weather for us and the snow cleared off the main ridge leaving lovely dry hot rock for us all to enjoy...
On Monday 11th May, we again met up with David and Liz and Alistair and Jane. Before heading off with David and Alistair for a climb up the Skye Cuillin's famous 'In Pin' - the hardest Munro.
We've climbed a number of times with David but it was Alistair's first time rock climbing with ropes and a harness.
An early start meant no queues and a pleasant hike up onto the Cuillin ridge. We then put on our harnesses and tied onto the rope before Fi under my supervision guided everyone up the In Pin - before the crowds and the BBC film crew arrived with Nick Crane! Nick was being filmed climbing the In Pin for the production 'Munro: Mountain Man' which can be seen on the BBC in September 2009 at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00mwgyq and on the BBC iPlayer at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00mwgyq/Munro_Mountain_Man/
After abseiling off we had plenty of time to enjoy the fantastic views, weather and bag a few Munro tops before heading back down off the Cuillin ridge for tea.
During the week I was mentoring Fi for her MIA and had the the video camera to hand. A few YouTube videos including climbing on the Inaccessible Pinnacle (In Pin) the UK's hardest Munro summit will no doubt appear soon!
See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03tsZJ38MIM

The weather forecast was good until Thursday so ideal for Fi and I to do lots of Scottish hot rock climbing. First on Shangri La and a few easier routes.

On Thursday we waited until the warm sun hit the cold NW facing cliffs of Sron Na Ciche at around 1.30 pm and then climbed Cioch West, Cioch Corner and the Integrity combination giving over 300 metres of sustained climbing on immaculate warm sunny rock before abbing back down.

On Friday the warm stable weather system broke down as the winds increase and the rain arrived at our campsite.
The weather had turned colder, windier, wetter so we returned home to the Eastern Highlands, Aviemore and the Cairngorms where on Saturday it felt like winter had returned!

For guiding on the Cuillin ridge, hiring a gude for the Inaccessible Pinnacle (In Pin) or scrambling and rock climbing on Skye see https://www.talisman-activities.co.uk/product-page/cuillin-ridge-munros