[Trip Index] [Munro Index] [Home] 19th May 2003   Sgurr nan Eag Sgurr Dubh Mor Map A dodgy looking start to the day but I left the bungalow in Portree (it was called Raemore and was owned by Mrs Christine McLeod who had very generously let us stay there an extra night free of charge when I said we were getting there a day early) and drove through the rain to the camp site at the end of Glen Brittle. There I sat in the car watching the raindrops trickle down the windscreen for 15 minutes but when the rain stopped I got booted up and set off (10.05) trying not to be discouraged by the low cloud which was obscuring the mountains above about the 1700 foot level. Setting off from the Glen Brittle camp site Heading east I followed the long path past the Coire Lagan and on past the broad spur of the Sron na Ciche; then past the Coir a' Grunnda and finally round the corner to the southern slopes of Sgurr nan Eag. The path got a bit indistinct at this point - hitherto it had been very good at the start, then distinct but less well paved, and finally a boggy track. Anyway the map seemed clear enough - just keep going uphill. It was a steep ascent passing over some scree in the upper bits and then boulders near the top - quite hard going. I was well into the cloud now, of course, and it rained briefly but subsided to a constant damp mist with little to see by way of landmarks. Reaching the summit at 1.25 I found it to be rocky and bleak with nothing much to see in the mist apart from the well-shaped cairn. Ascending Sgurr nan Eag The summit of Sgurr nan Eag Leaving Sgurr nan Eag I set off NNW through the cloud and after a while an enormous shape loomed up out of the mist directly in front of me - sheer sides and a flat top. It was the aptly named castle, 'Caisteal a' Garbh-choire'. A vast daunting mass but thankfully I didn't have to go up it, so bypassing it on the right I carried on and soon another fearsome shaped loomed. This was the 'top' Sgurr Dubh an Da Bheinn. I climbed it and carried on down, through the mist, then at last my target appeared - Sgurr Dubh Mor. 'My God,' I thought, 'this must be a joke!' For it looked truly awesome. Not having had a chance to see it from afar because of the mist when I did finally see it I was right up close to it. This awful, enormous shape suddenly materialised in front of me, sides near sheer, face near sheer, and summit… I had to tilt my head back to see it! And wished I hadn't. I have to admit my heart sank at the prospect before me but logic told me that if it was really that bad it would have said so in the book. I plodded up to it and found a way to the right - steep and scrambly but possible, or so I hoped. I started up and eventually managed to scramble to the rocky top, a place of adjacent peaks, narrow and not very safe. A nervous 'whew!' I had a quick bite to eat and set off again. I had carried on a bit past the summit to make sure I copped the right peak and then returning I somehow ended up going in the wrong direction. I was sure it was the right way, despite the odd reading from the compass - but because the book said compasses couldn't be relied on up here because of magnetic fields in the rocks I carried blithely on… until after 45 minutes and much descent I came out of the cloud and saw a lochan down on the left of the ridge, another rise ahead and a big loch or the sea to the right. It could only have been Loch Coruisk which dismayed me because it meant I was well away from where I should be and I was getting tired. I was a bit worried I might not have the strength to climb back and find my way down. No choice though - heaven helps those who get off their bums and make the effort, as the saying goes. I phoned Trisha, it was 4.00 pm by this time, and said I'd be down about 8.00. Then I set off, this time paying strict heed to the compass. I managed to reascend Sgurr Dubh Mor and Sgurr Dubh an Da Bheinn and kept on West through the cloud looking for the steep descent from the ridge down to Loch Coir a' Ghrunnda. Instead of coming to the edge as expected, however, I was suddenly confronted by another peak rising up in the mists directly in front of me! Where was I?! I tried to reason it out and thought I must have come slightly north of west and this must be Sgurr Alasdair. In which case I needed to turn south down the steep side of the ridge and Loch Coir a' Ghrunnda should be there. I ventured to the edge and looked over into the void - nothing! All I could see was cloud and more cloud, no lochans or landmarks of any kind. My spirits sank for I could feel my resources getting low now and knew if I went astray again it would be hard to recover. At this point I actually asked God to clear the mist a bit… five minutes later the mist broke briefly and to my relief I could see far below me the shape of the lochan - just where it should be! Very, very relieved - and thankful. The mist closed in again but I knew where I was now and set off downhill to the lochan. Someone had left a rucksack and a bedroll there while off climbing - I called out in the cloud but no answer - I hadn't seen a soul on the hills all day. Descending from Coir a Ghrunnda I continued on down the Coir a' Ghrunnda which was rocky and wet with some of the rock slimy and slippery. There was smooth, broad, flat rock with streams running over it making things a bit tricky because of the slipperiness. I thought I saw a path by a stream on the right-hand side of the valley and followed it down - unfortunately the 'path' soon became the stream, running swiftly on down a gully and I had no choice but to carry on down with it - couldn't fight my way back up against the torrent but I was now in danger of being swept downhill by it. Not my day really - but at least I was still alive. I was walking along on submerged stones now, feet sodden but before it disappeared over a large drop I managed to climb out of the gully and onto the broad flat rock. Treading very carefully on the smooth slabs I looked for a way down and at that point saw the first people all day, threading their way up the Coir about 500 yards below. It was now 8.00 pm. I had come to a ledge with a drop of about 5 feet to the next level and the rock below looked slimy. Decided to sit on the edge and drop. I dropped, slipped and went head over heels but only for a couple of yards. Some cuts and bruises and a ripped Berghaus. I sat on a rock for a couple of minutes to recover while the 5 climbers made their way over to check I was OK. Very decent they were, made sure I had enough drink and gave me a peardrop-flavoured jelly baby. They were going to camp out up there. Looking back up the Coir a Grhunnda on the descent. I was past the worst now though and out of the cloud at last. More rocky descent to the base of the coir then contouring round I picked up the boggy path (it improved as I got further) and commenced the 3 mile walk back to the camp site. The mobile phone wasn't working down at this altitude because of the mountains around me blocking the signal. This meant I couldn't get through to tell Trisha I was OK, despite being an hour and 40 mins overdue from the time I said I'd be down. Got back to the car at 9.40 then went and found a landline to give her a ring. Finally got back to Portree at 10.20 pm, knackered and shaken.