Something different
Our transport
Usually I spend all my time on dry land however  for the Last two weeks I have tried my sea legs.  We have toured around the west coast of Scotland looking for sea cliff and sea stacks, wild life and island life and meeting some great people on the way, we got some climbing in along the way but we has such a busy itinerary we had to keep pressing on.  From Ballachulish we sailed up to Skye and the surrounding Islands, past Rassay and onto Harris.  From Harris we went to two very remote islands, Sula Sgeir and Rona and onto Orkney.  We were rained off the Old Man of Hoy, got a kreel caught in the propeller so had to get towed in by the coastguard (see the pic below).  After some repairs, we then went up to Shetland Island, Over the North Sea to Floro in Norway and finally down to Began via some fantastic Fjords with hugh granite walls.  Lots to talk about but I will let the photos do the talking.
Our navigation system

John plotting the course, Angus making brews

Under the Skye bridge

Rassay or Rona...cant quite remember

Climbing on Harris

John bridging on Harris

Yet more crags

The brewing storm never caught us

Amazing cliff on Rona (near to Sula Sgeir)

The Old Man of Hoy

The bad climbing conditions, the kreel and our tow



Oil rig in the North Sea

Nice wee house in Norway

Lots of big boats

Somewhere in Norway


I caught all of this! Yum

A floating bridge

Boats...cable layers for the North sea.

Tower Ridge
Lovely morning
Carn Dearg looking pretty dry
Finally back on the main land and back on Ben Nevis today.  Its been a while but fortunately I was working with Bruce for West Coast Mountain Guides and we took 4 keen hill walkers up Tower Ridge for a change of pace.  It was quite amazing how much snow is still up there, we were able to avoid it and didn't need an axe or crampons.  We came off a very busy summit and down the CMD arête which was also clear of snow.  A beautiful clear day and really good fun spending it on one of the best mountaineering days out in Scotland.


Douglas Gap



Lots of snow up there

The team on the CMD

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Ben Nevis
Successful Ridge Traverse
Neil and Wallace on peak number 1 
Lovely day to be on the ridge
Wallace on the In Pinn
It all worked out, this time Neil and Wallace got to celebrate their success on the Cuillin Ridge Traverse.  We had perfect weather on the first day making good progress and ticking off 6 Munro's on the first day in sunshine and light winds.  Our bivi was one of the better one's, chilly but dry with lots of grub to keep our energy levels up.  Day two was also nice, threat of rain was around us but never really developed.  The clouds dropped down in the early afternoon but fortunately we were in the pub.  The 5am start was worth it.

Bivi
This traverse marks the end of this stint of work on Skye (back next month) so now back over to Fort William for some work on Ben Nevis.
Nearly there
Not a bad day

Pinnacle Ridge
Today I was out with Neil and Wallace who are up from the South to complete the Cuillin Ridge.  The finest way is by a traverse so with this forecast it was game on.  Today was not such a nice day so we went for a training day on Pinnacle Ridge.  This gave us a chance to coach some scrambling and climbing, get to grips with the rope work, practice abseiling, spend time with gear and chat about the upcoming two days.  As it was so wet I didn't get any photo's today.
Quick up and down on Skye
Today I was back out with a group who have been on the Island all week bagging the Munro’s and today I helped the team of 4 touch the cairns on Sgurr Mhadaidh and Sgurr a Ghreadaidh.  Strong gusts and driving rain made for some interesting moments as we were getting blown away but as time ticked away the weather did improve slightly.  Unfortunately not enough for me to take photos but enough for me to take my hood down for an hour.  The last 3 days I have been working for West Coast Mountain Guides No pics today either.
North End on Skye

Hmmm...ok, maybe yesterday was too nice!  Today was quite the opposite!  Will and Laura were keen for more and we had David along.  David is on the final 10 of his Munro campaign and he wanted to join up on Am Basteir and Sgurr nan Gillean, as his previous attempt was unsuccessful.  It was constant rain today and cloud down to 300m.  A stark contrast to what Laura and will had yesterday but a very memorable experience.  We succeeded in our summit pushes and David bagged 2 more Munro’s, Will and Laura explored more of Skye and got to grips with wet scrambling and I had my work cut out keeping everyone moving and keeping them warm.  A good challenging day washed down with a coffee, a Talisker and a beer in the Slig! No photos today
Mega day on Skye
Laura and Will feeling good
Laura and Will with our next objective in the background
What a difference a day makes!  I always say it and I always mean it!  One nice day on the Cuillin makes up for 10 wet, windy and grotty days.  Today was the nice day.  I was accompanied by Laura and Will who had made their way up from Portsmouth to explore what Skye has to offer.  With no fixed objective and very limited scrambling experience we aimed for some nice Munro's, with nice scrambling and breathtaking views.  Sgurr MhicChonnich, Inaccessible Pinnacle and over to Sgurr Banachdich and finishing down the brilliant east ridge to Sgurr nan Gobhar.  The mountains were alive with explorers seeking out the delights of the Cuillin, every summit I could see held climber taking in the views to the outer Hebrides and the mainland.


Inn Pinn

We did that!! 

Our route behind
Coire Lagan Round
Andy on the Cioch
So with the forecast as it was there was going to be no window for a ridge traverse with Andy.  So today we went for the brilliant round of Coire Lagan, a route that pick’s out some of Skye’s most iconic rock.  Unsurprisingly the forecast was deteriorating so an early start saw that we got up and off the Cioch and over Sgurr Alasdair before we donned our waterproofs.  From Sgurr MhicCoinnich all hell broke loose, heavy downpour which didn't stop, clouds rolled in thick and fast leaving only a view of our close proximity.  The desire to climb An Stac and the Inaccessible Pinnacle was not strong with Andy.  With a desire to climb these sections with a nice view he promised to return to Skye and with that pact, he headed down the An Stac screes and out to the car.  Unsurprisingly we didn’t see or hear anyone in the mountains.  The last 3 days I have been working for Skye Guides.

Andy heading up Sgurr Alasdair

Andy....somewhere