Intro to Mountaineering on the Isle of Skye
Learn essential climbing skills in the spectacular Cuillin Mountains and tackle the renowned Inaccessible Pinnacle
What's Included?
Small Like-minded Groups
Solo-friendly by design, join our small n’ sociable groups of up to 8 like-minded, active and outdoorsy people…
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What's it like?
Have a go at climbing the 'Inaccesible Pinnacle', Scotland's most notorious munro, and abseil off the top
Learn key mountaineering skills with a guide to climber ratio of 1:2 providing all the flexibility you need to tackle the climbs
Hike through the indescribable beauty of the Isle of Skye, the most stunning island of the Inner Hebrides
Key Information
Day 1
Plan, prepare and get ready
Your Scottish climbing adventure begins. Meet your guide at your overnight spot in Broadford. All that’s left to do now is settle in, grab some dinner with your fellow adventurers and get ready for the challenging days ahead.
Day 2
Fairy Pools and into the Cuillin Range
Hiking
You'll head off early this morning and start by hiking past the famous Fairy Pools before getting into the Cuillin Mountains and up close with the craggy peaks that will be your focus for the weekend. After a couple of hours hiking you'll do an easy scramble where you'll get kitted up and start to learn the basics - how to belay and how to abseil. Taking on The Spur is a great introduction to climbing in Skye.
Day 3
The ridges of the Black Cuillin
Hiking
Another early morning, this time for a bit of a tougher day. Armed with your new-found skills, you'll step up the terrain and tackle something a little more technical today. You might head to Clach Glas Blabheinn Traverse, a classic Skye scramble along a fantastic airy ridge with a couple of harder pitches of rock climbing, or you may end up doing a climb of the Dubh Slabs and abseil from Sgurr Dubh Beag and walk down. Another option will be to learn some climbing skills on the sea cliffs of the Suisnish Pillar - you might even take on the officially named 'Much Better Adventures' climb route, aptly named by an MBA group in early 2021!
Day 4
The Inaccessible Pinnacle
The big one. This is what your previous days learning have all been about - your chance to attempt to scale the sheer flanks of the Inaccessible Pinnacle, a holy grail for mountaineers. The second highest summit in the Skye Cuillin, rising from the summit of Sgurr Dearg, this is no mean feat. It is the only munro that can only be summitted by a technical climb - for those that make it to the top, the fabulous view of the spurs, summits, crags and corries emerging from the cloud make it all worthwhile. You'll hike back down with a pocketful of memories and some stories to tell.
The Area
Logistics
Starts
Broadford, Skye
15:00 on Day 1
Ends
Broadford, Skye
18:00 on Day 4
Transfers
The start and end point of the trip is in Broadford, Skye. Buses are available from Inverness and Fort William for those arriving by air or train. For those driving - you can head straight to Skye. The exact meeting point and hotel will be confirmed prior to the trip.
Travel options
Regular trains and flights run to Inverness from across the UK. You can also drive directly to Skye if you wish.
Day 1
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 2 – Day 3
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 4
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
What is the food like?
For breakfast expect a typical Scottish buffet breakfast. You will be able to sort packed lunches out before heading out each day and dinner will be in the town where you can find a good cosy pub and local ales. Most dietary requirements can be accomodated, including vegetarian and vegan diets.
What is the accommodation like?
Broadford, Skye
You'll be staying in a small locally owned guesthouse in Broadford, likely either the Dunollie Bespoke Hotel or Broadford House B&B. As Skye can be very busy in the summer season, the exact accommodation will be confirmed closer to the time of departure. You will stay in a twin-share rooms.
Upgrades
We are not able to offer single room upgrades on this trip as accommodation on the Isle of Skye is in high demand and guesthouses charge a flat rate per room regardless of whether there are one or two occupants, which makes it unfeasible.
Epic adventure on the Isle of Skye. Our guides were brilliant, particularly John, and created an itinerary for us which fit our experience, intentions and the awful weather! We climbed the Inaccessible Pinnacle on the first day, and then did two other climbs on the other days (Lochan Traverse and then Pinnacle Ridge). Both days were challenging, and but were made possible with such supportive and knowledgeable guides. There was a problem with the guesthouse booking, so we stayed at a beautiful self-catering cottage in Portree. There were plenty of places to eat, although do book a table in advance as the island is very busy. I can't recommend this adventure highly enough. It was a challenging but well-supported and fun introduction to mountaineering. Five stars to John the guide!
Awesome few days mountaineering on Skye! Be ready for a challenge and don't expect to follow the itinerary given the unpredictable Scottish weather. We conquered the In Pin on day 1 - quite an experience for someone new to climbing! Felt in safe hands with the guides. John was phenomenal offering so many tips and so much support. Highly recommend this trip.
Sick trip! Definitely go :)
This trip was amazing! Connor and his team did a great job at tailoring the trip to the group's needs. The highlight of the trip were rock climbing the Chiogh and of course the In Pinn. Would highly recommend, regardless of the level of rock climbing experience.
I had an amazing time on the trip on the Isle of Skye, the instructors were caring, knowledgeable and tailored the trip to cater our needs and experience. I would recommend this trip to anyone although I will say not to expect the literary on MBA to be much like you will experience. This is not the fault of the host or instructors, it's more to do with catering to the weather and the groups capabilities and desires for the course. MBA stated on the first day we would do a shorter day, instead we climbed pinnacle ridge which although was amazing, completely wiped me out as it a very long hard day for my self. But this was the choice myself and the group made ourselves, so again the instructors listened to us, asked our previous experience and made evaluations based on this. John the instructor I was with for the weekend was not only leading us, but teaching all the time and caring us for us all the way. Definitely recommend this trip. I just advice to be honest about your fittest and expect quite a challenge, Also Connor makes great porridge in the morning and will loosen your climbing gear if you don't eat it (kidding)
Absolutely fantastic experience. The instructors kept us safe whilst sharing their passion for mountaineering and the mountains. I’ve left with a lot of new knowledge and skills and lots of good ideas to continue with mountaineering.
My adventure was absolutely incredible. It was one of the most exhilarating and terrifying experiences of my life...
The Isle of Skye and the Cuillin Hills really speak for themselves as a destination - it is simply a breath-taking part of the UK and the world, and never failed to impress me with it's sheer awesomeness over the course of the adventure.
However, what really brought the trip to life was Connor and his team who were simply fantastic. They really were masters in their field; sharing their experiences, teaching us the ropes (!) incredibly well and accommodating everyone by moulding the trip around what the group and the individual teams wanted to do. Despite finding myself in some of the scariest situations I've ever faced - clinging to the side of a mountain (fully kitted up with ropes and harness, though, of course!) - Connor and the team always had me feeling like I was in safe hands. The instructors are what really justify the cost of this particular trip: I have learnt a lot about mountaineering and about myself.
Connor was a great orchestrator of the itinerary and events throughout the weekend, too, and made sure we were always getting the best experience out of it. He's also a great cook which definitely helped in the mornings with his daily briefing and pep talks! He also kept the group dynamic strong with his own anecdotes and questions and making sure everyone was included.
The group itself was well-rounded with individuals all from different backgrounds, making it a refreshing experience as it was quite unlike any other group of people I've ever been a part of. Though of course we all had the common goal of experiencing how awesome this planet is and what humans are capable of by conquering Skye's mountains as best we could!
My highlight from the trip was probably descending the mountains on days 1 & 3 - knowing that I'd made it to the top having mastered my fears was an incredible feeling of accomplishment, accompanied by spectacular views, come fog or shine.
I'll definitely be checking out more trips from Much Better Adventures - the feeling during and after my adventure is just too good to be missing out in my life going forward!
great trip all round. b&b was super. connor was an amazing guide on and off the mountain and the group was fantastic. skye mountain landscape is awesome. this trip is a no brainer given the lack of 60 metre ladders where i live
Great trip! Even solo there is a fantastic opportunity to learn alot of skill and knowledge about the Monroes, plants and local history around you. Connor is super knowledgeable and talented at telling you stories and transfering knowledge throughout the day. The BnB was amazing, the host is so sweet and really cares that her customers have a lovely stay. Freshly poaches eggs and lots of coffee are a great way to start your day! After climbing, down the road there is a coffee bothy with amazing cake and tea! Happy climbing :)
Amazing experience and trip. The cuillin ridge is totally unique in the UK but be prepared for a lot of hard walking and climbing! Our guides were really knowledgeable of the whole area, always kept us safe and catered the whole trip superbly. In Pinn is the obvious highlight but the whole ridge is totally amazing. Well worth the trip!
Our mountain leader Jack was amazing. We have some experience so were given better challenges to help push our skills. So knowledgeable, we learnt tonnes that we can use going forward. Our B&B was superb and Jacqui was a brilliant host. Our only suggestion is that accommodation is allocated at booking. The late finish on a Monday means that an extra night is pretty much mandatory and we'd booked elsewhere. Would have much preferred to stay at the Tigh Blath for that extra night.
Great trip I would definitely recommend