Sgurr nan Gillean and Am Basteir: the Black Cuillin’s hair-raising finale

November 25, 2020 Trip reports alexander nicolson, am basteir, andy hogarth, britain, cuillin ridge, dave fowler, edita, hill walking, isle of skye, munros, scotland, sgurr nan gillean 2 Comments

We were facing a full day out in the Black Cuillin under sunny skies. Yes, that’s right. Beautiful sunshine in the Black Cuillin of Skye. I can’t believe I’m saying that. After two satisfying days on the ridge and another one to come, things were turning out well.

The Cuillin Traverse – to do or not to do?

October 21, 2020 Trip reports andy hogarth, britain, cicerone guides, cuillin ridge, dave fowler, edita, hill walking, inaccessible pinnacle, isle of skye, mamores, munros, scotland 7 Comments

We’d hired a mountain guide to do the Cuillin traverse, a 12km ridge on Scotland’s Isle of Skye, which takes in 11 Munros and many subsidiary peaks. But with injuries in both legs and a knee that couldn’t bend more than 90 degrees it seemed inconceivable for me.

Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain, via the CMD Arête

June 19, 2019 Trip reports andy hogarth, ben nevis, britain, carn mor dearg, edita, hill walking, munros, scotland, scottish highlands, viewranger, walkhighlands 5 Comments

An estimated 160,000 people climbed Ben Nevis last year, but it has a not-so-secret route around the back that follows a stunning ridge, and if you’re lucky you’ll have it to yourself. It was the obvious choice for Edita’s first ascent of Britain’s highest peak.

Peak bagging the Cuillin ridge on Scotland’s Isle of Skye

October 31, 2018 Trip reports andy hogarth, britain, cuillin ridge, hill walking, inaccessible pinnacle, isle of skye, munro bagging, munros, scotland, scrambling, sgurr alasdair, sgurr nan gillean 1 Comment

Our aim was to climb as many of the 11 Munros on the main Cuillin ridge as we could in a series of day hikes, including the infamous Inaccessible Pinnacle, the only Munro that’s a technical rock climb. But the weather forecast was dreadful, and I knew from experience that would make a big difference on these peaks.

Banished to Room 101: the Inaccessible Pinnacle

October 10, 2018 Trip reports andy hogarth, britain, cuillin ridge, first ascents, hill walking, inaccessible pinnacle, isle of skye, munro bagging, munros, rock climbing, scotland 4 Comments

If you asked a group of UK hill walkers to nominate items for Room 101, some of them might suggest the Inaccessible Pinnacle, a narrow shark’s fin of rock that crowns the summit of Sgurr Dearg, a 978m mountain on the Isle of Skye in north-west Scotland.