CHAPTER V

THE EXECUTIONER AND HIS TOOTH

THE two black, jagged rock-towers which, when viewed from Sligachan, appear on the skyline about midway between Sgurr nan Gillean and Sgurr a'Bhasteir, lie under the cloud of a very disagreeable name.

They were christened by some one whose regard for the expression of a resemblance was more truthful than poetic; the sort of person who, when shown one of your most artistic mountain pictures, immediately turns it wrong side up and exclaims, anent a certain small portion of it, "See! what a perfect resemblance to the Pope's head;" or, "Look at that bit of rock! It's just like an alligator!" It seems a pity that people of such a

turn of mind should have been the first to christen a magnificent rock like Am Basteir and its Tooth.

But once such a name is given, its very gruesomeness will cause it to cling. So we must think of these two fine towers as things of impressive grandeur, feel delight in the joy they have given us, and be content to recall them by their Gaelic name, which to us might mean anything under the

sun.

Am Basteir is a vastly bigger thing when viewed close at hand than would seem possible when seen from Sligachan. Its precipices on the north side

are very sheer, and must be over 200 feet high; on the other-the Lota Corrie side-they are on a still larger scale.

The smaller rock under its lee is Bhasteir Tooth, a pinnacle of bare and particularly firm gabbro, traversed by dykes of basalt and diabase. It was first climbed many years ago by Dr. J. N. Collie and John Mackenzie, who scrambled from Lota Corrie to the neck between Am Basteir and the Tooth, and thence along its easily inclined upper edge to the summit.

In following the main ridge along from Sgurr nan Gillean to Bruach na Frithe, it was always necessary, after climbing the Tooth, to retrace one's steps and descend into Lota Corrie. This involved a subsequent ascent of about 300 feet before the main ridge could be regained, an irksome proceeding, causing much useless loss of time and some little annoyance to those climbers who prefer to overcome difficulties rather than to go round them.

To Mr. W. W. Naismith belongs the distinction of "straightening out" this last bit of the main ridge. He led his party in August 1898 straight up the south face, so that nowadays parties can use his route in descending and find themselves, after a most delightful descent, still on the skyline, instead of away down in Lota Corrie with 300 feet of shifty scree between them and their desire.

The dark cave which separates Bhasteir from the Tooth is called Bhasteir Nick Gully. This provides a means of traversing the Tooth from north to south.

The ascent of Am Basteir itself is an easy

scramble up a somewhat exposed ridge, but when once the top is gained the character of the scene changes. Almost straight below is the broad upper edge of the Tooth, and intervening is a sheer precipice of about 80 feet.

The descent to the Tooth then lies on the south or Lota Corrie side of Am Basteir, where the rocks are more broken. A steep drop is immediately reached. This is usually negotiated by a free use of the rope, the last man down hitching it over a spike of rock. In taking the passage in a reverse direction, this short stretch is not quite so easy, and, if climbed unaided, is conducive to hard work. An alternative and more interesting route of ascent from this point will be found by retracing one's steps slightly, when, by way of an awkward corner on the right, a recess under a projecting boulder will be reached. This can be left, and the top soon attained by climbing the perpendicular right wall.

This short stretch is the only difficulty, and after it is passed the descent to the Tooth is just a scramble. Easy rocks then lead straight ahead to the top, where one is greeted by the small stone man built by Dr. Collie on his first ascent. On all sides the drop is, in the expressive letters of the Scottish Mountaineering Club, A. P. (absolutely perpendicular); nay, on one side it is O.H. (overhanging), and the feeling of airiness is delightful.

To lie on one's chest and look straight over the edge into Lota Corrie or Bhasteir Corrie will induce, in people whose "heads" are not very good, all those delightful thrills down the spine