The Spur, Sgurr an Fheadain, Isle of Skye
Grade 2 Scramble
On a clear day, the view of the Skye ridge from Glen Brittle is
breathtaking. All the way along the Glen Brittle road corries offer access
to the ridge itself vis paths along the side of streams that drain the
higher areas of the Black Cuillin. Each of these corries has it's own
character and Coire a Mhadaidh is one of the most pleasant. The back of
the corrie is split by a large promontory/ridge - Sgurr an Fheadain -
which makes a great means of reaching the ridge between Sgurr a Mhadaidh
and Bruach na Frithe.
Ian and I set off from the little parking spot on the western side of
the Glen Brittle road early in the morning. The sun was shining and with
around 850 metres of ascent to go to the main ridge we were well stocked
up with water. The first part of the walk into Sgurr an Fheadain follows a
good path on the true right bank of the Allt Coir a Mhadaidh. This part of
the stream is marked on the Harveys map as 'Fairy Pools' and is a lovely
stretch of stream. A series of small waterfalls and pools lead gently up
and the water is throughout a pure turquoise colour. Unlike most of the
corries on Skye ascent here is gradual and it hardly feels like a Skye
walk-in. Sgurr an Fheadain is obvious with it's characteristic gully which
runs down the front. This is Waterpipe Gully - a classic scramble in the
traditional mould.
The Spur begins on the left hand side of the large sweep of slabs that
guard the bottom of the mountain - well to the left of Waterpipe Gully.
The rock here is some of the most solid and helpfully grippy that you will
come across and we made good progress up the first part - mainly padding
up forty-five degree slabs. After just a few minutes of this we reached an
obvious path that cuts hard right to reach the crest of the ridge itself.
Having gained the ridge we sought out the best scrambling line over short
steps separated by easy walking sections. The top of Sgurr an Fheadain is
reached soon at 688 metres and a short descent on the right hand side of
the summit leads to a col. From here, more excellent scrambling leads
upwards to another col and excellent views across Coire a Mhadaidh. It is
possible to traverse left from here to avoid the tricky tops of Bruach na
Frithe but an easy ridge leads to the main ridge itself to join south of
Bruach na Frithe. We went right along the ridge, dropping down to Bealach
na Glaic Moire before descending the side of the Bealach na Glaic Moire
slabs and walking out.
Click [here]
for a few photos.
Join us for our Scrambles
on Skye course for routes like this.
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