12-13. Garbh Choich Mhor (116), Sgurr na Ciche (92) (P600 9) (5/07/2006)

The first part of today was a ridgewalk and, not having done much of it before, this seemed like an excellent ridge to walk. It was steep in places and narrow in places and rocky all the way. Garbh Choich Mhor was the highpoint of this ridge, from where we had a excellent view of our goal - Sgurr na Ciche, one of the remotest of Scotland's munros and a very sharp example of a mountain at that. From this viewpoint, there looked to be no way up short of rock climbing, even though we were supposedly facing the path up. When we descended the hidden dip before the final ascent, we left our bags and did find the narrow path which wound its way cleverly up through the scree. It was a bit of an effort in the heat of the day, being so steep, but it was a great feeling at the top - such a small area at the summit. We then descended down a stream-filled gully to the original path which winds through to inverie (the village with the pub). We had to traverse a very marshy area, which was all going fine until I uttered the fateful words 'it isn't as boggy as I'd expected' and then went in up to my thigh on the next step. We climbed the final pass into Knoydart, passing ruins of one of the many settlements that used to fill the area before the highland clearences. It was only now that the mist began to descend and the spell of good weather finally came to an end. We crossed into Knoydart in the mist and decided not to attempt another munro nearby, so we instead made camp and arrived a little damp in Inverie the next morning.

Looking back along the ridge from Sgurr na Ciche to Garbh Choich Mhor and Sgurr nan coireachan (note the large gap in the foreground)

The pinnacle of Sgurr ne Ciche