Sgurr a Mhadaidh - Sgurr a Ghreadaidh
Sgurr an Banachdich
Saturday 30th April
We were elated and disbelieving.
None of us could remember an April with such a prolonged period of wonderful settled conditions.
Perfect for one of the classic Skye Cuillin coire rounds.
It was warm, even the strong easterly wind blowing down the slopes of the Cuillin was balmy.
Parking at the Glen Brittle Hostel was tight, normally you wouldn't dare park in the soggy ground 'off road'.
Walking up beside the Allt a' choire Ghreadaidh was delightful, the ground was bone dry.
Our aim was to gain the ridge by climbing up the An Dorus notch, although it's a rather tiresome scree ascent. The stream tumbling down slabs from Coire an Dorus was a mere trickle.
Bill passed a comment that it was like walking in the Sierra Nevada in Southern Spain, certainly the temperature was Mediterranean - it was roasting....dehydration could be an issue today.
The katabatic wind, which was mentioned in the weather forecast, was rushing from the summit ridges.
Entering Coire an Dorus proper, the full extent of the rocky Cuillin 'hits' you, it's a special place, nothing quite like it anywhere else in Scotland.
Bill 'decided' for Andy and Stan, that a rake going onto the Sgurr Thuilm ridge would be a much better ascent than slogging up the An Dorus scree. It was a route that Bill had previously used, but that was 23 years ago!
Views were extensive, and as we gained height the wind speed decreased, the day was just getting better and better.
We reached the ridge in exactly two hours, now came the 'interesting bit'
- the ascent to the summit of Sgurr a' Mhadaidh.
Conditions couldn't have been better for a vertical scramble up hot gabbro.
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