KYQ4: Am Basteir & Bruach na Frithe

Sgurr nan Gillean, Am Basteir, Bruach na Frithe from Sligachan path

Monday 17 July 2017

Ascent: 1305 metres
Distance: 16 kilometres
Time: 7hrs 40mins

Bruach na Frithe 958m 2hrs 35mins
Am Basteir 934m 3hrs 55mins

After the awful weather of June and early July, there appeared to be two days of reasonable weather according to the Met Office weather forecast that allows you to obtain forecasts for the location of individual hills. I have come to trust this much more than the mountain weather information service, whose forecasts cover too wide an area to provide any reliable accuracy. On a hunch, I contacted a climbing friend who had offered to lead the climbs on Skye last year but we had never found a suitable weather window when we were both available. I hit the jackpot, Dave was not only free but keen to go to Skye as he wanted to get a few days climbing before a trip to the Alps the following week.

I picked Dave up at 7:30am in Stirling and we drove non-stop amidst the ever-growing convoy of camper vans through Fort William and on to Skye where we made a quick stop for coffee and cake. Scotland and Skye, in particular, is awash with tourists this year. The collapse in the value of the £ and the high cost of holidaying abroad has brought both foreign visitors and UK residents charging to Skye. It has become one of the coolest (in both senses) vacation spots in the UK.

We parked at Sligachan, tackled up with climbing equipment and we were walking by 1:30pm. The morning clouds were dispersing and the tops of the northern parts of the Skye ridge, the peaks that we were aiming for, were emerging from the cloud. We decided to tackle Bruach na Frithe first in the expectation that conditions would continue to improve as the afternoon progressed. A cooling breeze made for pleasant walking on the path alongside the Allt Dearg Mor. There were lots of families and day walkers enjoying the low level walks alongside the waterfalls and enticing pools along the river.

After we reached an altitude of 300 metres we crossed the river and began the steeper walk into Fionn Choire. Above 500 metres we had a short rest and decided to climb the northern ridge of Bruach na Frithe rather than continuing into the Coire. It is a spectacular ridge with superb views over the main ridge to the south and the summits of Am Basteir and Sgurr nan Gillean to the east. We also had clear skies whilst the main ridge was still partly capped by clouds rolling in from the Atlantic.

We took advantage of the conditions and spent 20 minutes or so having a late lunch on the summit of Bruach na Frithe whilst enjoying the remarkable vistas. It is quite an easy descent down a rocky path towards Am Basteir but once below the Bhasteir Tooth the path steepens and the loose rocks make for a difficult descent that continues down to 750 metres. The foot of the slope takes you round the foot of the rock precipice that is Am Basteir and then there is a hundred metre climb up a loose scree path to Bealach a' Bhasteir. From here the route is westwards climbing up the black gabbros and basalt dykes. We reached the bad step, a 4-metre descent down very polished holds, it was a bit of a risk so we headed back a hundred metres and found a much fractured exposed basalt terrace to climb down and along. There is a final steep scramble to the exposed summit of Am Basteir that sits directly above the adjacent Baistir Tooth. It was a balmy evening with excellent visibility and the winds of the day had abated, occasions like this on the ridge are all too rare and we sat and absorbed the exposed serenity of this gabbro balcony.

The final descent to the bealach and the climb up the West ridge to Sgurr nan Gillean should have been the easiest ascent of the day. On my last visit, we had waltzed up in half an hour with no ropes or climbing equipment. There was just a very exposed step across a deep chasm where the gendarme used to be before collapsing. This time we chose to climb Nicholson's chimney partly because we had lugged ropes, helmets, harnesses and climbing gear with us and partly because Dave intended to abseil back down and return via the Coire below. I intended to continue to the summit of Sgurr nan Gilleanand descend via the longer tourist route.

I had forgotten how much time it takes to gear up for a climb and when Dave reached the crux of the climb, the double rope had run out so he would be unable to abseil without climbing another pitch. It was almost 7pm and we decided that food called, last orders were at 9pm. He abseiled down, we packed the gear and began the descent over the difficult rock strewn ground of the Coire until we reached the path down from Pinnacle ridge.

It was a glorious evening but time was against us and I ran the last couple of kilometres back to the Sligachan hotel to get in before last orders for food. The place was awash with holidaymakers and no tables were available inside so we sat outside draining our beer and waiting for the food to arrive in the company of midges until an inside table became free. We made the Youth Hostel in Glen Brittle just after the 10:00pm deadline. We were the last to arrive but the warden was welcoming although our mixed dorm was already darkened with people sleeping. We showered and then found the last remaining top bunks before allowing the exercise and dehydration of the day to ensure an undisturbed slumber.