The Cuillin Ridge of Skye is considered a real test piece for the budding mountaineer. For decades it has been a place for people to come and hone their craft in the mountains and be measured against a standard. It remains a mountain range of full value and represents the closest thing to an alpine environment that the UK has to offer.
For those with a high level of fitness and a good bit of experience in other mountainous areas, my favourite outing is a traverse of the northern three Munros on the ridge.
These Munros are often bagged from Coire a Basteir with some out and back excursions over grade 3 scrambling terrain, however my preferred way of tackling these three peaks is to link them in a traverse. Starting from Sligachan it is a full value mountaineering experience, the route can take 7-10 hours depending on personal fitness and it takes in plenty of roped scrambling terrain, abseils, walking and even a short section of caving thrown in for good measure!
The three summits reached are Sgurr Nan Gilean, Am Basteir and Bruach Na Frithe, the three Cuillin peaks seen from the road at Sligachan. The day is immensely rewarding and there's nothing better than sitting in the garden of Seumas Bar in sligachan looking back over the line you have taken, knowing it was a day well spent!
