Extract from The 1033 High Hills of Britain

Skye

Hill areas:        5

High hills:        35

Highest:           Sgurr Alasdair, 992.0m

Lowest:            Glamaig, 775m

Busiest:            Blabheinn (602)

Quietest:          Bidein Druim nan Ramh North Top (42)

The Cuillin hills are at the sharp end of hill bagging. All but one of the most difficult dozen high hills are on Skye. This is where hill walking merges with scrambling and touches on easy or moderate rock climbing. This is where hill baggers have to assess how much exposure and fear they can handle, how much nerve and confidence they can summon, how much they need a helping hand or a reassuring rope. This is where the spectacular becomes scary and the inspiring becomes intimidating. This is where it is easy to get into trouble and difficult to get out of it. The Cuillin hills are wonderful and threatening, appealing and repelling, challenging, exhilarating and rewarding but not relaxing. They are unlike anywhere else in Britain.

Gars-bheinn is the highest point at the south end of the ridge, prominent in photographs of Coruisk from Elgol. Sgurr a' Bhasteir features in classic views of Sgurr nan Gillean from the northern end. Sgurr Thuilm looms massively above Glen Brittle. The sharp peaks of Bidean Druim nan Ramh dominate the lowest section of the main ridge. Sgurr an Fheadain is familiar to thousands of tourists as the split peak beyond the Fairy Pools, but is only 689.2m high. All these peaks are key features of the Cuillin, visually and topographically, but are much less popular than the higher summits.

Peaks that are high enough but not prominent enough include Sron na Ciche, Sgurr na Bairnich, An Stac, Sron Bhuidhe and the west top of Sgurr Dearg. Blabheinn is so separate from the main ridge that it has its own hill area. Glamaig is the lowest of all the high hills and is different in character from the others on Skye.

There are more stories included from the Cuillin than any other area because there is more to tell. They illustrate what it can be like for newcomers to the Cuillin. Failure and fear are part of the picture, and different story tellers have different perspectives. The good news is that the summits become easier to reach as we can gain experience and knowledge of where the main dangers lie. Easier, but not easy.

Survey results show that the spot heights on OS map 32 are remarkably accurate, though the map is little use for route-finding along the ridge. The OS 1:25000 map of the Cuillin is almost unintelligible, probably the least useful map published by the national mapping agency in recent years. Contours are all that’s needed, not useless grey scribble. GPS is useful for showing where you are and where you want to go, but not how to get there. Climbing the hills is hard enough but trying to survey them is harder. Some have as yet proved too difficult to measure. The chapter on Measuring the Cuillin may have some practical value for those wishing to climb the less well-known peaks, as well as recording how they were surveyed.

SK01 Alasdair-gillean

OS map: 32