Over The Hill

The promise of the wonderful sunset of last evening held and as I looked out from the Memorial Hut at 6 o'clock in the morning, Day 2 was breaking with a single white vapor trail streaking across a clear blue sky over Coire na Banachdich and the Cuillin ridge beyond, it was going to be a beautiful day.

No cars required today, just walk straight out of the door and a short step along the road before we were heading up the good track above the gorge through which the Allt a'Choire Ghreadaidh flows with tumbling waterfalls, before branching off and heading into Coir an Eich with it's scree and rock filled bowl, and our route to the high bealach between An Diallaid and the north west ridge of Sgurr na Banachdaich.

A steep climb from the bealach over rock and boulders takes you to the point where the impressive west ridge, Sgurr Gobhar, joins with the northwest ridge, at around the 770m height, for the final climb to the narrow ridge, and the not too spacious, summit, atop of which sits a rather indistinct cairn. The summit held a rather eerie feeling, as mist swirled around the tops and down into the nearby corries, yet above the sky was clear. Tops along the ridge drifted in and out of the mists, and we were presented with tantalizing glimpses of the tip of the famous Inaccessible Pinnacle peering above Sgurr Dearg, the next Munro further south along the ridge.

There then followed a debate as to whether we would continue along the ridge and take in Sgurr Dearg; still undecided, we set off on an exploratory scramble along the narrow ridge path descending towards a rather ominous looking gully; however, with the mist still shrouding the way ahead and no definitive path visible I decided to return to the summit and make my descent from there; only to find as I reached the summit that the idea of continuing along the ridge had been shelved for another day, and the others were also making their way back towards the summit; an alternative suggestion being to descend via the west ridge, Sgurr nan Gobhar.

And so, we split into two groups, one group, myself included, returning via Coir an Eich while the other swung west and tackled the craggy ridge of Sgurr nan Gobhar, which by all accounts was an exciting adventure requiring a few awkward scrambles and a final detour back along the ridge in order to find a drop-off point into Coire na Banachdich and their return to Glen Brittle.

As the Cuillins go, Sgurr na Banachdiach is one of the more accessible Munros, but it is never-the-less a great walk with fantastic views of the ridge and it's surrounding tops.

Great day - Thanks everyone.