Two days after finishing the traverse, we met up with M and J to go and retrieve our bivvy gear, which we had stashed away near the cave two mornings earlier, and to climb the Cioch on the way back. The weather was a bit wetter and cooler, and when we reached the ‘Slab Corner’ route up to the Cioch, wet rock was not always avoidable, which meant that it was a bit more challenging not to slip on it in our stiff-soled and clumpy mountaineering boots. However, we did get up onto the top of the Cioch. It felt a bit strange to be up there after seeing photographs of it and reading about it, and not imagining that we would end up climbing it on this trip. (The Cioch is also famous for being the location of a scene from the “Highlander” film – hence there are two plastic swords apparently permanently stashed in a crevice on top for re-enactment/photo opportunity purposes!)




























