(Blog entry below photographs)
We had been preparing all year for this since our decision to attempt the Black Cuillin traverse on the Isle of Skye. A lot of time and effort had gone into training for it and making arrangements.
Normally we would have driven and camped using B’s van, but as we had only so many days off from work on this occasion, we flew to Scotland for the first time. Arriving at Inverness on Saturday, we drove a small hire van to Skye in persistent rain, with both B and me struggling to stay awake after a poor night’s sleep. B had started feeling unwell just as we were about to get away, so the next day was spent at Sligachan campsite with him trying to rest and recover enough to be able to attempt the Cuillin traverse, while we tried not to feel down at what seemed a possible prospect of the traverse attempt being called off due to a poor weather forecast. P and B1 (number added to differentiate him from B) arrived from Grangemouth to join us on Sunday evening, after which we heard from our lead guide for the traverse, M. We had booked four days of guiding (another first for us, as we usually visit the hills by ourselves) with the ideal scenario being preparing for two days and traversing on days 3 and 4, but as the forecast was best for the first two days, the plan was adjusted accordingly by M. Over days 1 and 2 it was to be!
On Monday morning, our guides M and J came to meet us, and we travelled to Elgol, further south on Skye, to take the boat across Loch Scavaig to the edge of Loch Coruisk near the south end of the ridge. We started a bit later in the morning to coincide with the improvement in weather. About noon we set off walking along the shore of Loch Coruisk to the foot of the Dubh Ridge slabs, filling up with water from a stream along the way. M’s plan, as he had not had a chance to see how well we moved on rock, was to get us up this alternative way (a conventional traverse would have started up Gars-bheinn, the southernmost top) to get a lot of scrambling in, after which we would bivvy overnight in a cave near Sgurr Alasdair, and then to stash our bivvy gear for later collection so that we could travel with lighter packs for the longer second day.
I got a cut on a fingertip on the rough rock very early on after starting up the slabs (and by the end of the two days my fingertips were in a bit of a mess), but the rock was reassuringly dry, and it was a pleasant way of getting some practice going up slabs. There was use of belaying in places, and of moving together roped up in two groups of three. Moving together as a three was something that took a bit of getting used to, especially as the one in the middle! We went over Sgurr Dubh Mor on to Sgurr Dubh na Da Bheinn to join the main ridge. Then we skirted around below Sgurr Alasdair for the time being to reach the somewhat damp cave where we were to spend the night.
As we started setting up for the night, a rescue helicopter appeared, and eventually winched down a couple of Mountain Rescue personnel who were looking for an injured person reported to be in the area. M went to join them briefly to help with the search. (The injured person was eventually found in a different location to what was initially reported, and was safely taken down.) J went to collect some water from a spring a bit of a way down from where we were. Once we had eaten, we tried to get to sleep, which was a little difficult with water dripping from the cave ceiling onto our faces (and if you cover up your face you can’t breathe very well), though otherwise it was a very calm, warm night. B somehow ended up getting water inside his bivvy bag and sleeping bag, which meant he had a very uncomfortable night! J did not have a great night’s sleep either, as he was just outside the cave, and got showered on a couple of times overnight. I think M said he slept quite well!