CHAPTER VIII

SGURR A'MHADAIDH

THE Casual visitor to Loch Coruisk, who stands. at the usual view-point at its seaward end, is probably not much impressed by the jagged ridge which fills in the central background of his view. And, indeed, Sgurr a'Mhadaidh does not look its best from here. Its chief claim to notice, that of plunging sheer down into the water of the loch, it does not in reality possess, for a good mile of level ground intervenes before its lowest spur is reached. It is too far away for its contours and buttresses, encircling the beautiful little Corrie of Solitude, to be discerned, and the four massive towers which form its summits are dwarfed and stultified. Its aspect is one of comparative mildness, and few people even trouble to inquire its name.

But from the north, as seen from Corrie na Creiche across the wild upland hollow of the Thunderer (Corrie Tairneilear) its appearance is entirely changed. Gone are the diminutive jags in the skyline; gone is the wall-like, uninteresting appearance of its front, and in their place are two massive rock-towers connected by a wild cordon of shattered precipice, jumbled crags as a whole, but beautifully sculptured in detail, falling a full thousand feet to the huge glacier-worn, boulderstrewn slabs at their base.

Sgurr a' Mhadaidh occupies an almost central position on the main ridge of the Coolin. It is separated from Sgurr a'Ghreadaidh on the south by the Ghreadaidh-Mhadaidh col,' and from Bidein Druim nan Ramh on the north-east by Bealach na Glaic Moire. Its aspect on the two remaining sides has already been suggested, but it may be well to emphasise the fact that the great hollow in its north flank is Corrie Tairneilear, and not, as would naturally be supposed, Corrie Mhadaidh.

Running north-westward from the south peak, the highest summit of Sgurr a' Mhadaidh, is a long sharp ridge which terminates at Sgurr Thuilm, the shapely mountain overlooking Corrie na Creiche and the upper end of Glen Brittle.

From a rock-climber's point of view Sgurr a' Mhadaidh leaves nothing to be desired. The traverse of its summit ridge, from the GhreadaidhMhadaidh col to Bealach na Glaic Moire, affords more hand-to-hand climbing and necessitates a greater time to accomplish than that of any other of the Coolin. Although this is at no point difficult, every yard of it is interesting. Many fine situations are encountered, and when about midway between the peaks the sense of aloofness, of being cut off on all sides, is most striking. Although such a consideration is not supposed to carry much weight with the ardent rock-climber, the views all the way along are such as will, I know, appeal most strongly to my fellow-sportsmen. The route generally taken from Sligachan is by way of Corrie Tairneilear and thence over the ridge of

1 This is marked on the Ordnance Survey as An Dorus, but An Dorus is the gap a few yards up the ridge of Sgurr a'Ghreadaidh.

Sgurr Thuilm to An Dorus. From here the climber works his way over the four peaks, including in the day's excursion, as time permits, Bidein Druim nan Ramh and the peaks northward along the ridge.

The precipices on the north side contain magnificent rock-climbing, much of it still to be done.

The great bastion which buttresses the most northerly peak has been climbed, and affords very fine work for two or three hours, according to the size of the party and the faithfulness with which they follow the ridge. This is called the North-west Buttress.

To the right of it the rocks are much broken up and lack continuity. They are exceedingly steep, however, and appear to be somewhat friable for some distance along, until a wide rocky terrace, starting from near the foot of the North-west Buttress, runs obliquely upward along the face and finishes on the skyline near the junction of the main ridge with the ridge of Sgurr Thuilm. This has been christened the Foxes' Rake.

About midway along the line of cliff, and near to its lowest point, a narrow gully starts upward from its foot. This is in two parts, being intersected about half-way up by the oblique rocky terrace just referred to, and taken together they form, in the opinion of those who have climbed them, the finest gully climb in Skye. And this is saying a good deal. It is known as the Slanting Gully.

The crags immediately to its right are sheer and look quite inaccessible until a black, deeply

cut rift arrests the attention. This is a very obvious-looking climb, and was first visited by Messrs. W. W. Naismith and G. B. Gibbs in the August of 1898. Mr. Gibbs' account of it will prove of interest to those who may go there in the future. "To get above the lowest pitch, we were obliged to climb the side of Thuilm-Mhadaidh ridge, and make a long traverse back into the gully, only to find the second pitch too much for us. The leader climbed to the roof of the cave by 'back and foot,' and worked out to the front, but found it impossible to pass the dependent foremost block. What was seen of a third higher pitch was discouraging, although from the top of the gully, when entered from the Mhadaidh ridge, the higher reaches seemed moderately easy."

Several parties have "tried their hand" at it since then, but none have been successful. The great majority of them seem content to regard the second pitch as unclimbable, but Mr. Shadbolt, who climbed unaided the bottom pitch fairly close in, thinks there is a prospect of "winning through." He noticed a hole in the roof of the pitch, through which a rope might be threaded. This as a safeguard, and possibly as a help, puts a somewhat different complexion on things. I have twice gone to Skye with this gully as the pièce de résistance of the trip, but in both cases the weather turned bad before the end of our stay. It is not a place to attempt in bad weather. The pitch was hidden by a pretty enough waterfall, but waterfalls were at a discount with us just then. From what I saw of the place the party to try it should

have the three following qualifications, at least: the rocks should be dry; they themselves should be in good climbing trim; and, above all, they should be sufficiently experienced men to know when to turn back. The turning back will probably be the chief feature of their expedition. The name of this historic climb-in-embryo is the Deep Gash Gully. To the right of it the cliffs soon abut upon the ridge of Thuilm, where they become more shattered, and, as far as climbers are concerned, lose in interest.

The crags on the Coruisk face are on a much smaller scale, and the only continuous climbing yet done is to be found on the Buttress of the South Peak, which affords about 500 feet of moderately easy sport over good, sound rock.

In common with all the peaks to the north of it, Sgurr a'Mhadaidh is within practicable distance of Sligachan, a strong point in its favour with those climbers who prefer to explore its most remote recesses, and are not content with merely "ridge-wandering" along its skyline, delightful as this undoubtedly is.

The Slanting Gully. Ever since the time, some twelve years ago now, when I first saw the north face of Sgurr a' Mhadaidh it had been my intention to pitch a tent at its foot and explore in detail its seductive-looking precipices. But when a party of four of us, Messrs. Harland, Binns, Bartrum, and myself, proceeded to put my intention into effect in June last year, we little dreamt that all we should have to show for our trouble would be the ascent of