Skye – The Cuillin Ridge Traverse

 

There can be no doubt that for the ultimate mountaineering experience in the UK you must look to the Cuillin Ridge Traverse on Skye.  The ridge consists of continuous scrambling and climbing over multiple Munros with constant care needed, the situations are spectacular and exposed.  This alpine scale ridge on a Scottish Island gives a unique challenge and is top of the tick list for even experienced mountaineers across the UK.

The 11km ridge traverse involves 4000m of ascent and descent over its length. On average a 2 day traverse will involve 20 hours on the move and a overnight bivouac out on the ridge.  11 Munros will be taken in on a full traverse as well as climbing up to Severe (S).  Key sections involving graded climbing are the TD gap, Kings Chimney, the Inaccessible Pinnacle and Naismiths route on the Bhasteir Tooth.  Whilst the rest of the ridge is not a graded climb it is continuously technical, with either graded scrambling or at the very least rough walking giving the odd break!

The traverse of the ridge is a big undertaking and we recommend getting out with us for a training course (this can be on the mainland or Lake District) or at least a day in the hills to meet, look over rope-work essentials and get familiar with the way we will tackle the ridge.  Where someone has a lot of experience of this type of terrain we will take a 2 day ridge booking without training days but we will need to talk over prior experience.

Flexibility with the weather is something we build into any ridge traverse, whilst you book 2 days we will keep other days free either side of your booking to allow adjustment if its an option for you.  We will also accept rescheduling the traverse if we feel the weather is not adequate or we will reduce the cost of your 2 days to our regular private guiding rates (£180 per day) and give bad weather options on Skye or other mainland options if the weather looks better elsewhere, your choice…

To discuss options for the ridge please get in touch.

All technical equipment can be supplied at no extra charge.

Prices below are based on a 2 day ridge traverse and bivouac out on the ridge

1:1 – £600
1:2 – £650  (the cost can be shared at £325 per person)

Note – We run ridge traverses at a 1:2 client to guide ratio max.  We can supply additional guides for larger groups and in exceptional cases (where 3 people have climbed together a lot previously for example) will accept a 1:3 ratio.  It should be noted that the greater the number in a team the less the chance of a complete traverse.