BLAVEN
The moment of the start partly concealed by midges. Photo Pippa Weir
10.1 miles 1997 metres
Start Saturday 02.34
Blaven 03.29
Sgurr nan Eag 05.54
Sgurr Dubh Mor 06.26
Finish 07.07
Squares: green - start, yellow - changeover. Circles summits: green - this leg, purple - to do. Courtesy Colin Matheson
Time: Estimated 3.00 Actual 4.33
It was a beautiful clear night, and I ran up the path with the light good enough to be only slightly slowed on the rocky bits. The enormity of what I was starting combined with the hatred of midges sped me upwards, and I was into the big corrie before I started to walk. As the cairns disappeared, it was still too dark to read the map properly, and I was a little concerned not to turn up too soon, but soon the familiar stony gully appeared, and I was standing on top of Blaven at 3.29. A cool wind made my tee-shirt only just adequate, but the pre-dawn sky was beautiful – the whole Cuillin ridge was absolutely clear.
Tony had described the Camusanary ridge which I had never done as a motorway, but I should have anticipated the sections of loose rock which slowed me down on the 3000 ft descent. Running across the flat grass at the bottom was a delight with beautiful dawn light (late here because of the brooding shadow of Blaven.) The run round to Coruisk never lacks interest but by the time I started the climb up to the main ridge I was feeling really tired.
I had not found anyone who knew anything about the slabs east of Sgurr nan Eag, so as I went up the corrie I scanned them. They looked formidably steep catching the early morning sun and I decided to go the long way round to the Eag Dubh saddle. I had been scheduled to do this leg in 3 hours, and whilst I never expected to make it, I felt that schedule put pressure on me, so when I got higher and I saw a likely looking gap in the cliff I risked cutting straight up. The smooth gabbro slabs were, except for the slimy bits, affording excellent grip. The gap in the crags turned out to be an easy route, but I still did not reach the summit until 5.54.
“Another half hour,” I thought. Soon I was thinking that my memory of this part of the ridge was very faulty. Mostly it was my shoulders that were protesting at the unaccustomed use they were being put to scrambling up and down. I had completely forgotten the castle on the saddle, and found myself perched out on tiny holds above Coire a' Ghrundda before finding the easy track round it.
The out and back to Sgurr Dubh Mor was far bigger and steeper than I'd remembered, but I really put in an effort, and managed to do it both ways faster than a group coming the other way did it once.
However to the Thearlach Dubh gap, I was on new ground. In the final exhausted effort, I failed to follow the polished route, and found myself yet again standing on small knobs of rock above Coire a' Ghrundda. By this time Bryn was directly above, waiting with a rope down into the Thearlach Dubh gap. I called up for a description of the route, which sent me back to find an easy route up the rock I was now on. However I then met the final exposed bit which I had not anticipated, and I was still shaking from tiredness and the recent exposure. Knowing Bryn was so close, I chickened out and called for a top rope. This was costly in time, as he had to rearrange the ropes, already set up for my abseil. By the time the rope appeared I knew I no longer needed it but it was still comforting.
More time resetting the ropes for the abseil, then I was ready to go. Used to using a low friction figure of eight, I was somewhat awkward starting off, and Bryn insisted on a further delay whilst he gave me a top rope. I found that with my light weight I needed to actually push the rope through the friction device, but once I had got the hang of it, it was a quick enjoyable drop to a cold Ian. I had been in the sun for a while but the gap was a cold dusty hole.
Peaks done 3 time taken 4 hours peaks to go 274
I was off down the gully into Coire a' Ghrundda before Ian had started following Bryn up the climb. The walk out to Glen Brittle seemed an awfully long way without even great news to report. The first leg was 50% over schedule – carry on at that rate and we'd be 24 days. Still we always knew the time allowance had been wrong for this one, and I expected Ian to make up the lost time on his seven and a half hour schedule.
It was very strange to arrive in a camp site and see people still getting up and frying bacon, when I felt like going to bed.
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