Saturday 10 April 2004
We go up the Sgumain Stone Chute, with difficulty and watching out for stones toppling down on us from above. Not the easiest way to access the Ridge as every step forward you slide back by 2 steps it seems. This takes us into Coir ‘a Ghrunnda. The sun shines on the ridge above and we sit a while at small beach in the sun, beside the lochan, before fetching drinking water from a spring nearby that feeds into the lochan. From here we climb up onto Caisteal a Garbh Choire, and scramble up the front, before moving along towards Sgurr Dubh An da Beinn, which we climb, 938m, and from there scramble to the top of Sgurr Dubh Mor 944m, where we find patches of snow. We double back towards Sgurr Alasdair, avoiding the TD Gap. Up to the Bealach we climb via the Stone Chute. We get onto the ridge and have a look at the scrambling on the Bad Step, before turning around and rumbling back down the stone chute to Coir a Grhundda. We get back to the hostel about 8.30 which is civil twilight. (Jim has been studying the twilight so that he knows exactly how long we would have on the ridge in daylight on any given day) Jims pasta is a massive improvement on yesterdays tea, and yet more surprise wine comes out of the big green holdall. No wonder he couldn’t carry it.
Peridotite Boulders of strange shape in Coir’ a Ghrunnda
We make our way up the Sgumain Stone Chute
The Sgumain Stone Chute
The scrable up into the upper Corrie at Coir’ a Ghrunnda
Scrambling up the front of Caisteal a Garbh Choire
not at home 