We’ve not been completely unsuccessful on exposed peaks on Skye though. Recently, we followed a Cuillin route that is described in J Wilson Parker’s Scrambles in Skye guidebook as ‘one of the most enjoyable (or horrifying) scrambles in Britain.’ The traverse of Sgurr a’Mhadaidh to Sgurr na Banachdaich, over Sgurr a’Ghreadaidh and Sgurr Thormaid, is a grade three (out of three) scramble. It follows a series of steeply-angled, knife-edge ridges that can delight (or perhaps terrify) you with great drops beneath your feet. During the traverse, we had great views of the Cuillin mountain range, especially over to Sgurr Alasdair, the highest mountain in Skye, and to Sgurr Dearg, where we could see people climbing on the Inaccessible Pinnacle. The views down to Loch Coruisk were also equally impressive. Despite the daunting description in the guidebook (which we’ll admit we didn’t read until afterwards), we didn’t find the exposure that bad. We’d highly recommend it.
Scotland’s West Coast – The Cool Cuillin
