SKYE worst weather week in may BEST for the doogz ALL 12

[doogz]

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WHOLE OF SKYE MUNROS..all 12

4th,5th,6th ,8th - 9th may 2009

weather ..appalling to very appalling to the ridiculous

for two walks..doogz,dave..and johnm

for 3 walks doogz and dave

GUIDE....GRAHAM PATTERSON(skye mrt) ..SKYE HI GUIDES

or as we nicknamed him ..skyehi wi the magpie

After our travel up on the sunday and walk in kintail through the blizzards we were at our digs in carbost and looking forward to graham dropping in
the signs for monday were poor with strong breezy winds and rain..

DAY 1......

After much discussion the previous evening the choice is Sgurr a Mhadaidh..Sgurr a Ghreadaidh

we set off through the gloom and by the time we reach the start of the walk its cold wet and windy with clouds about 200m ...boo friggin hoo no
views of the ridge today..

suited and booted we are off and find a great pace as we cross the swollen rivers and burns to a point under the an dorus gap ..helmets on and we go over to th left of the gap to a point probably northof the summit and cut back towards the summit on the ridge finally ......my first Skye Munro...

WHAT NO PIC ...amazingly i have located the pic in the sim?????


at a point just after this my phone/camera decides enough and breaks...s

scrambling over the soaked rock is fun ansd before i know it we are in the An Dorus gap where a short scramble up the wee step in slippy conditions is protected by some slings and a short rope by the guide..a scramble through the gloom and we are soon atop my second of the day Sgurr a Ghreadaidh


as you can see i am very pleased ..even though the weather was verging on the really really wet..lol

so the plan WAS to carry on to Sgurr a Banachdich but the snow from the day before errs the guides caution and its back to An Dorus where the treacherous step is again made easy with the help of the rope..

john and dave are down as its my turn and am pleased its all so easy as i bridge the gap with my legs ....to be told by the guide Graham

"DOOGZ!
Laddie ,you are standing on both munros at the SAME TIME!!!!!!!!!""

the swollen burns are now raging torrents and the river is crossable with care and the wind is blowing the waterfalls up hill

so back to the car and 2 munros ne im wondering to myself what all the fuss about skye is...

tonights chat with graham after the weather report reveals something about a northern part of the ridge...we will read about this after my dinner i am saying



DAY 2

john m doogz and dave

we meet graham nice and early in nothing too bad weather and the sight before me is of this


im going up there??!!

now i see the ridge in its sharp and craggy and intimidating glory

Graham asks if he gets the gear can one of us carry the rope..
hey ho donkey doogz for the first part past the gorge..then we will change


just above the gorge..


Under am basteir its time to catch a break and get ready for the scree slog to the bealach a bhasteir and the way across to sgurr nan gillean
john doogz and graham(guide)



the climb up Tooth gully is interesting in the wet and very enjoyable Johnm decides he has done this hill before and lets us get on with the job in hand so me and soulie are soon scrambling across where the gendarme used to be with VERTICALLITY on either side ...

graham says "good to go Doogz!!"

"what "as the the wind picks up and the snow starts to fall ...

"everything as i showed you exactly..""

polished wet rock is not very easy to hang on to and i am mighty relieved to be cow tailed to the big boulder as we await dave ..soon we are over round on sliding through pinnacles and the summit looms through the gloom and me and dave are on the summit of the scariest mountain i have ever ever climbed...unbelievable!!





the elation in mine and davies face was hard to wipe off as we chatted and chuckled on the summit ...
""time to go"" says Graham and i can only think now of the way back ..it would be very difficult to back climb to the Gendarme rock exit..

still at the WINDOW we have a laugh and graham agrees to take a quick pic



all the time the wind is shifting the gloom for the huge drops to the left ...to the right ...all around ...are DOWN...





""over you come dougie...!!!""

""me??""

""yeah laddie""

""what way we going from here""
""down there sonny ..feet well apart ...get your weight tight on the rope push out from the rock feet nice and flat...""



""but ..but ...""

""ready son ...""

""ehrrrrmm""

......................... ""ok""

now all my times at the rock climbing wall are pointless as there are no soft mats at the bottom no pegs and hoists in the roof ...jus me on a washing line and with a guy in charge of it i barely know..(eh Simonp)

what a way to gain somebodys trust

washing line... me... belay... flat feet ...its all a jumble as i go out over the edge its miles down ...well 25m or so as soon as you first get over the edge the first thing you do as a walker/scrambler is to "find a grip for an edge ..hands ...grab ...fiddle..

8ft down..ROPE STOPS

""NAE NAE LADDIE ... feet flat ,legs apart ..lie on the rope son ....

yeah yeah like that ..goood lad ""





how it should be done ...eh graham!!


back at the bottom i take the now soaked rope and we get our gear together and set off for Am Basteir.....

over to the bealach graham explains the difficulty in the rock being wet...wet basalt = very slippy ..

my two walking partners are finding the ascent of Am Basteir a bit of a challenge as the rock is ever slippier and ever more trying


the bad step is a challenge and graham sets up for the wee drop ...safety first as the rope drops us niceley for the last run up to the small summit of Am Basteir




Am Basteir summit



davie mentions the fact he didnt like it due to the rock and he prob wouldnae be back up there

a pic for his scrap book



back over to the bealach we drop down to the point on the scree for our re ascent to Bruach na frith

at this point grahams walkie talkie leaps to action and a call tells him something is not ok on inn pinn
we hear the helicopter as we ascend the bealach na lice and a short walk later are up op on bruach na frith




we descend and pick up the gear and are on the way to the gorge... and for the last 15 mins john has had the rope..15 minutes for the whole day
he is getting behind..and the long day is telling on him

we discuss it and i decide that to keep the pace up i will take the rope ..

after NO QUALMS ..AT ALL..john lobs it out and into my bag ..

he finds his legs again and we can move swiftly back to the car

hilight of the day to ask myself to do this!!!!and get it done!!


so back at the bunk shower dinner and all we can talk about is today gillean gillean gillean..right to the wee small hours...great fun this skye

tomorrow is set for poor ish weather but we are longing for an easier day and Bla Bheinn is the answer to this..

WHAT A DAY >>>AMAZING TREMENDOUS ...and the guide ...Fantastic...worth his weight in gold as route finding is not on our agenda ...concentration on your feet your hands your arms your steps your eyes transfixed to your next step ...




DAY 3

Davie and Doogz

Bla Bheinn

under 3 hours up and down

we wake to find its lovely warmish sunny and calm ...
have we made an error and should be doing something else ..Nah


an early morning view from the bunk verandah




over to blaven and graham is happy with a nice short day and he can recharge his batteries get all the gear dried out and still be out walking with a spring in his step

he decides on a different route and we follow a ridge up the side which passes all the gullies and shows us where the Clach ghlas traverse would come in

hope for a clear day


nope the gloom descends



the forecast of cloud rain and really strong winds after lunch ..defeat us again as after about 45 mins they hit with a vengeance snow rain and strong gusts batter us all the way to the summit where graham says here is this here is that here is the ridge ...its all there ...BUT not today unfortunately lads...



davie




back down out the gloom and the rain is torrential and the droplet huge battering down and are we glad to be going down ..graham shows us his real pace as we meet the path and he walks the legs off us on the way back to the car ..think his parents were kidding him on with his age ..he can walk at a phenomenal pace and davie was loving this ...real hard graft and back at the car and going home in under 3 hours as the rain worsens

whats the worst thing that can happen now..

chap at window of car...

"""excuuuuze me we arr swiss students and our car has had an accident....""

oh piddle

the car is at the exit for the walk and chivalrous me says

"ahlll get it"

the other two are laughing their heads off in the car as the rain is thundering down as im lying in the road with a jack and a very small gap to fit it in .....
15 mins later two very happy swiss girls are on their way back to a garage to get a proper tyre and a drookit me gets back in the car to howls of laughter from graham and davie

DAY 4

wether is appallin with gusts to 80-90mph and the day is cancelled so john leaves with sgurr mhic chonnic still undone and sts off for the north and further bags for him to get

so we decide to go for a drive and plockton gets our minds from the gloom and out the wind at least








time to get back make some dinner and the weather is scary as its ferocious outside and we are supposed to be camping ..a quick chat to the reception girl and we are sorted at least for wed and thursday

that night a late visit from graham reveals the really awful news that when he left his meeting for the SKYE MRT he noticed that the northern munros on the ridge were snow covered to a low level and probably would put paid to the rest of the wwek

come down in the morning and see me at glenbrittle and we can make a descision in the morning ..even going up into the coire and see the conditions......

davie takes this bad and everything goes out the pram..or in his case the food goes in the bin for the rest of the week........

next morning ....we will see



DAY 5

dave ...doogz .....
on the way down its not very hopeful for a walk today...back of sgurr nan gillean and am basteir...gawd sake its may!!?

graham reveals in the morning its not been too cold and there is a real good chance of doing the southern two if all goes well....




We set off and the sight of the Cioch is a wonder as due to the slabs up to Coire a ghrunda we will make an attempt up through Coire Lagan...hats on .....over the DRAGONFLY ROCK...eh graham ...me i remember everything..

under th CIOCH its eerily beautiful and the water cascading from way above is fascinating




.....up the sghumain stone chute its scramble scramble scramble over all sorts and under ladies pinnacle and up to the bealach where coire ghrunda is whipping up a storm from the coire ghrunda opening

we make our way over tio the start for sgurr nan eag and race up the scree and to the start of the ridge out
a stunning veiw of coire ghrundha lochan





scramble out to Sgurr nan Eag is great and its time for some swift stuff to see what its like ...the rock is very wet though and even though we can see all the way out to the summit its ..beginning to snow again and ..oh well one chance

the views to bla bheinn



out on the summit just to be walking today is a real bonus after the snow and todays forecast.....



A very pleased doogz


so for a wee bonus back over the edge of the ridge for a good bit scrambling and a wee extra ..graham says it time for the attempt of Sgurr Dubh Mor..

past the castle to the back



we make our way across and though the ridge behind is clearing in front is an intrminable gloom with snow filled ledges ...not good we think but its heating all the time and the salted winds seem to make the way across not too bad ..but lots of care required ...every ledge is another challenge


and some strange rock patterns on the way over

[img]http://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss307/doogzmcc/skye/100_0562.jpgg[/img]

a wee bit care required.....



Summit of Sgurr Dubh Mor....happy daze!!



Now we think our day is over as we make our way over the ridge and the sight of Sgurr Alasdair (my first after 5 days on skye)..im astounded

the ruggedness ,the stature ...Everything ..magnificent...wonderous....

lets go lads we are ok to continue ...

What?
me and dave are saying to each other...us ..now...really

lets do it

i cant imagine anything more intimidating at this point to be on an actual partial traverse of the ridge ..serious stuff and ..well im totally transfixed as we find ourselves under Alasdair and with no real look of a way across or back ..

i ask

which way now graham?

up there laddie!!

so up across the ledge we are now ascending the chimney at the back and arriving straight at the summit of Sgurr Alasdair....enthralling ..different ...exhillarating...stupendous..the most wonderous moment in my short walking career.... ...i was told but ..oh it was all a blur...

the summit is airy to say the least and below we could hear voices...chippering..chattering...thinking..will i wont i...

us......





on our way down ...the guys 20-30m below say

hi there ..where huv you been?
eh where huv ye come fae...there wiz naebidy in front o us..!!!!???


up there...and from down the chute/chimney is my overwhelmingy happy reply.....

good on yer lads!!

is the reply

well a short skip and a drop to the stone chute and we are elated me and dave..


Graham says ...ive got something special now for you lads...

??????????????what can it be ?

well since we are doing so well and you move so good we are going to head up there.. awee bad step...not to worry about then over sgurr thearlaich...to Sgurr Mhic Chonnich...

an almost polished top wit one line of a crack to walk on and we are roped together like pack horses from a western.....lol

we get down tothe bealach at the base of S M Chonnich and its so dramatic almost vertical cliffs in front and behind a jumble of crags tops points....amazing..




the views down are just as dramatic as miles below are the rivers burns and bottom of Skye




how the hell ?i ask

dinnae worry laddy..your route is the HARTS LEDGE...also known as collies ledge..a narrow strip of wet slippy 10" stone carved into the side ..just..the most classical part of today....can it be better as the wind tugs at your top and your feet search for the next flat step ..assuredly we are at the other end and sit to take it all in ...two cheshire cats at the other end of collies ledge




about twenty five more mins of the most difficult part of this hill we are sitting astride the summit of Sgurr Mhic Chonnic..our 4th of the day




the fourth summit exit is exhillarating as its so blinking slippy its untrue ..ive been on less slippy ice
after the stone exit we race down the easy screes to the flat area and the way over to the long and winding path to the car..if you look at the next picture you can see the light grey part which was us three racing over the darkened wet stuff and churning it up...


so 10 hours from when we set off we are down and at the car with the thought of today racing through my brain....SHOT TO BITS .......but wow wee what a fantastic experience

a long 10 hours and th ridge is redy for our last day and tomorrow is but a few hours away and our last two munros of this week..
a last look back



WHAT A DAY ........ WHAT A PIECE OF FOOTWORK....forever i will think of my achievement in today ...whatever tomorrow brings


doogz

DAY 6

dave and doogz



THE INN PINN

we went down to grahams to see what the day held and with a few words and a wait till this shower goes laddies and we can get it done...

not too sure as a kind davie held the rope in his kit for the full ascent to the bottom of the Pinn itself......

hardly a word as the snow beat down on us obscuring all signs of a path ..an on a day like inn pinn day ...you dont want anything else to enter your mind....

my first thought of the inn pinn itself was that it wasnt too bad ...not too high for the abseil and surprisingly that part wasnt the problem...the next bank of snow hit and all in front was grey......graham laughed at my quip from the first day about ..

""WHAT BLACK CUILLINS...these are the GREY CUILLINS...eh laddie!!! ""

so we take our time going down this wee tricky bit....WHAT..snow covered slabs im thinking as im following graham to the start point ..then you look at this windswept piece of rock on top of a 3500ft mountain??...snow filled hand and foot holds ...intriguing...snow still filling the holds further...temp dropping to - whatever...cold as hell ....cold as the arctic in winter ..
more and more snow/ice pellets filling around our feet ..6 inches in about a minute..?

"right laddies we got to keep moving ...or itll get cauld,"

"doogz...you still ok" asks davie..."gotta be says i...hes up and if i dont go he will have to come down and change the rope set up..""






will i wont i?



the next half an hour i was in a deep concentrated haze as we started up on the first pitch ..

where were the easy hand holds ?

where are the foot holds,to reach the easy hand holds..?

the snow filling every hand hold...

sweep it away..

keep going ..

davie just in front...

cant feel my fingers ...toes...what toes..strange i was ok a minute ago..?

next step ..this looks better..aaah an easy step ..hop ..uuuup

if only i could feel the tips of my fingers?!!

wait here

...more snow...more falling ..colder..

""come on dougie" ..the laughing Graham was now ..as berating as my old boy when i was a lad dawdling around ...""come on laddie its cauld up here you gotta keep moving...""

thats it i think ..i will sing..

what song...?

'its cold outside'...what is that from..? i can get the first line but no more...

next move the crux ...this looks tricky due to being wet and snow filled

left ...right ..push on a nobble and grab ..dont pull on the rock ..grasp it..it,ll be slidy but you can do it...

"are you up yet dougie...."

oh freakinig hell ...cant feel my fingers from my palm ...

nothing...hit them ...bite them..nothing..just blocks of ice ..numbed by the
chill on the now wet gloves!



got the nobble ..

can get purchase but with no fingers..

"its cold outside, it gets so hot in here"..ah thats the words..

more snow falling

elbow and wrist on flat of rock jam hand into two rocks high above my normal leverage point for my next step..


drive drive drive!!!! ..everything on to about half a centimetre of rock with some rubber on my 4 season raichles...

""oh ya beauty"" as graham says

""good lads were neraly there..""

"..sit tight wi the coos tail till i get up on the next pitch...well done ..you are doing great.."

in my front pocket are the large winter mitts i have never worn

soaked winter gloves off...mitts on.....oh heat..happy to get heat on my hands..initially still no fingers.....then

ow ow ow as the fingers defrost and the pain is writhing from my palm to my fingertips..

oh lovely pain..i can feel my fingers...great

next pitch a dawdle ...snow coverd footholds ..but really easy as my fingers surge into a new found life...gripping where needed and steadying when the wind blows

coos tail on and dave in front im asking .."cant be far now..."?

dave says ""we ur there ya daft git..there its there..""

i look over his shoulder to see the top almost at the same height

amazing...astounding ...scary in a way...but only coz of my fingers and having the ability to hold on taken away from you for such a serious moment...elation is surging through my system...what cold fingers?

wee hop over on a sling and me and dave have conquered our top target for the trip..THE INNACCESSIBLE PINNACLE OF SGURR DEARG!!!







now the easy bit getting off...big mitts back on and wring out the other gloves..for the abseil..mondays lesson racing through my head...this is a dawdle compared to the up in todays conditions

wait to see dave running up the windy snowy top and clearing the bottom for graham to see him..

""take the rope of dave..doogz is on his way in a meenit.!!""

on top


ready



steady



GO GO GO



DONE IT....me and dave up down and safe as we chat away about the fact that the next and my last 12th munro for this 5 days ...(davy has done banadhich before)....we will just leave it ...no point pushing our luck on the hills on a day like today with the snow filled ledges seeming to bar our way across

"ok doogz ....its your call"

..
heres graham ...wheeee as he abs off himself and collects the rope.. wraps it and is up for a cuppa in a few minutes..amazing..all in a days work..ll

"heres the rope doogz laddie....your turn..davy carried it up.."

Graham?..i ask

"is Banadich feasible today in this or should we..."?

Aye aye its feasible.........were gaun!!!!..
with a flash of the wee boots were on the way to sgurr a bhanadich and a snowy filled scree path is a welcoming sight and before i know where i am the wee man says
""up ye go laddie.... 12 for the week...not bad eh??

""you must be pleased..""

the dirty dozen for the doogz..12th and final Skye munro this week


me and davy


[imghttp://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss307/doogzmcc/skye/100_0600.jpg[/img]


davie and graham descending from our 12th munro of the week on skye..



Graham on the route down




SUMMARY

This man knows every rock, every path, every place to escape from and hide from weather and wind ..he builds confidence and helps guys like me achieve stuff i could never dream of ...he is an absolute star in my eyes and made my week on sky the most terrific ,fabulous, enthralling ..exciting and most of all FUN time ever..

GRAHAM PATTERSON...SKYE HI guide



so doogz and soulminer (dave)say a big thanks to...


""SKYE HI WI THE MAGPIE"

http://www.skyehi.co.uk/

thanks graham from me and davie seriously we had a laugh and you can finish the munros with us when you get kept off sky by the missus ,if she thinks you are getting too old...remember davie says he can help retrain you at making cakes ..or in davies case EATING cakes


cheerz

all the pics are from Davies camera coz mines broke and my phone on day one...cheers
davie

DOOGZ

[Robinho08]

Epic stuff there, Skye is total hardcore!
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It's the great outdoors. It's fresh air! Doesn't it make you proud to be Scottish?

[Cuillin]

That was some read Doogz and well done on completing all the Skye Munros!

I could smell the fear and see the elation throughout your report and it captured all the emotions that most mortals experience on these mountains. Have to say that doing them all in poor weather like that must have been very hard and the Inn Pin looked particularly brutal.

Once again congratulations - no stopping you now on the road to compleation!
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Being on the hills gives you a sense of where you are, where you've been, where you're going and why!

[fmck]

Good effort but "the whole of Skye". Is one possibly being over dramatic.

[wassel]

sorry to say i abandoned my attempt on this after getting to the gorge on saturday and am i glad i did! looks tremendous but i was never kitted out psychologically or physically for that ! great photos well done and thanks for the pics of what i could have seen

[Davelaid]

Great report doogz, shame about the weather
7 of us did the In-Pin today and the weather was superb. Met your guide today too, in fact he help me and a couple of the others abseil down, nice guy. The bloke he was guiding decided at the last minute he didn't want to go up
We managed a couple yesterday and the weather really was awful, as i n your pics. Still to get all 12 done is really good going, nice one
p.s.- have you seen the forecast for the next couple of days?

[wassel]

sorry was referring to Am Bastier

[doogz]

[Hils]

Awesome Doogz, many congratulations!!!!

[doogz]

[Squiz]

Incredible. Totally mind-blowingly scarey. I'm glad I did it all in sunny conditions before reading that, or I would never have ventured out. Glad you are both still intact. What did you eat during that week to keep up your energy levels? Must have been something good.

[DaveK]

WOW! Epic stuff, doogz. What an incredible few days you had. I can't even imagine the experience. You guys have my great respect. Very well done indeed.

[sheepdogcatfish]

Nice one Doogz

I would say though that it's worth going back in decent weather as the views, and drops, are incredible.

There's certainly nothing even close to Skye as far as scrambling for a hillwalker goes

So it's less than 100 to go Doogz? Compleation this year then

[dotty]

WOW!!!!!!!!! Fantastic, absolutely fantastic. I was gripped and even had a lump in my throat at the end.Well done, you guys!!!!

[Borderbagger]

I backed out of Skye this weekend because of the weather forecast and you're up there bagging all the Munros in the same weather, what can i say. Congratulations, well done, fantastic, superb!
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