Intro to Mountaineering on the Isle of Skye
Learn essential climbing skills in the spectacular Cuillin Mountains and tackle the renowned Inaccessible Pinnacle
Intro to Mountaineering on the Isle of Skye
Learn essential climbing skills in the spectacular Cuillin Mountains and tackle the renowned Inaccessible Pinnacle
DURATION
3 nights
LOCATION
United Kingdom
ANNUAL LEAVE
2 days off work
SEASON
April-Oct
GROUP SIZE
Up to 8 people
MEETING POINT
Broadford, Skye
ACCOMMODATION
Classic
Guesthouse
DIFFICULTY
Challenging
Be prepared. This is a real challenge with some full-on sections, but the view from the top is worth it
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
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
6hrs · 10km · 800m up
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
8hrs · 9km · 1100m up
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.
Included
Guides
Local, certified mountain guides (1:2 ratio)
Accommodation
3 nights in a guesthouse
Meals
Proper breakfasts to fuel you up the mountain
Equipment
All the technical equipment needed including helmet, harness and ropes
Not Included
Some meals as described
Travel to and from the start point
Personal expenses
Travel insurance
Visas where required
Day 1
Guesthouse · Twin or triple share
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 2 – Day 3
Guesthouse · Twin or triple share
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 4
Departure day
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.
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.
Enjoy 12.5% Off Outdoor Gear
In need of a few more items? All bookings receive a 12.5% discount to use at Cotswold Outdoor, Snow + Rock and Runner's Need.
What's included?
- Climbing harness
- Climbing helmet
- Belay device and carabineer
- Ropes and all other climbing gear
Your host will also carry essential group equipment such as a first aid kit and group shelter.
Please bring your own helmet and harness if you have them.
What do I need to bring?
- Rucksack (we recommend 40 litres) with liner
- Waterproof hiking boots (not shoes)
- Thermal base layer
- Fleece top – not cotton
- Polyester, fleece or woollen trouser and tops (no jeans)
- Heavy-duty waterproof jacket and trousers
- Hat without bobble so helmet can fit
- Thick waterproof ski gloves and warm liners/2 pairs of good gloves
- Neck buff plus spare
- Head torch
- Flask or water bottle
- Energy snacks
- Whistle
- Sunglasses and sun cream
- Towel
- Emergency survival bag (6’ by 3’ orange poly bag available from any outdoor store)
- Walking poles (if you like to use them for hiking sections)
- Approach shoes (these will be useful if you have them already, if not your hiking boots alone will do)
Pre/Post Accommodation in Broadford (Single) From:
Payable Before Departure
Pre/Post Accommodation in Broadford (Single) From:
… Per Night
Pre/Post Accommodation in Broadford (Twin/Double) From:
Payable Before Departure
Pre/Post Accommodation in Broadford (Twin/Double) From:
… Per Night
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 :)
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.
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!
Great trip I would definitely recommend
I had an absolutely wonderful time mountaineering on the Isle of Skye. Connor and team did a great job of making sure we got the best experience, working around the weather forecasts to maximise the climbing experience. The focus was on the climbing and we were taught what we needed to know when we needed to know it. All the instructors were safety focused and everything was done absolutely professionally. I will definitely do more trips with them.
Had an amazing time met some great people , The guides were very friendly and knowledgeable . Anyone can try one of these trips even if you are a beginner it is paced out very well
I'd recommend this trip to others in a heartbeat. It was a thoroughly exhilarating and rewarding experience, even in the rain. I booked the trip with a friend expecting a smaller party but in the end there were eight of us and four guides. Before the trip I was reluctant to share the experience with six complete strangers and four experts, but in the end it became one of the most rewarding aspects. I've done a lot of scrambling and hill walking in different parts of the UK and in all seasons but the experience of scrambling and climbing on the dramatic Black Cuillin ridge knowing we were in safe hands at every turn with Connor and his team of mountain guides, was second to none. Overall the trip was really good value and Much Better Adventures and Connor and his team were a pleasure to deal with.
The trip with Conor and team was perfect - great challenge and guides!
The introduction into mountaineering course covered everything I expected it to. Our guide Connor asked us what we wanted to get out of the weekend and he did just that. He gave us the skills and confidence to tackle the "In Pinn" and his knowledge of Skye past and present was second to none. I now have the confidence to tackle other scrambles and have a good starting base of knowledge to progress with climbing and abseiling.
We've crunched the numbers to work out the total carbon footprint of this trip, and plant enough trees to suck 2x as much back out the atmosphere.
What's the number?
It works out on average at 88kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.
The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal for 2023 to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.
But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:
- Driving 1000miles/1609km would be approx. 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person if there was 2 of you in it).
- A return economy class flight London - New York would be approx. 1,619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
- 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approx. 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.
What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. For every person booked with us since 2016 we’re planting enough trees to suck at least 2x more carbon out the atmosphere than is emitted by their trips. All native trees, as part of amazing projects that are re-foresting degraded land, tackling the biodiversity crisis and supporting local communities at the same time. We go further than that too, also funding re-wilding projects worldwide to help protect important keystone species from extinction. See the reforestation and re-wilding schemes we support. See our carbon action plan.
Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.
A good level of fitness is recommended - you'll be out for up to 9 hours in a mountain environment moving over challenging terrain and ascending considerable heights each day. You do not need any previous climbing experience but you should have a head for heights. This is a challenging trip but the reward of bagging a techincal munro and views all across Skye will be worth the effort!
You will have a mountain guide for every two climbers (2:1 ratio) - this gives the flexibilty to the group to break up into smaller groups if needed and allows everyone to go at their own pace as they learn the skills.
In short, no. As the mountain weather on Skye is very unpredictable your guide will be making constant decisions regarding which routes to take and which climbs to tackle. As you will have a guide to climber ratio of 1:2 there will be plenty of flexibility to tackle different routes based on ability and fitness. Your guide will discuss your previous experience with you and you will explore the island based on this and the skills you would like to learn. Your guide will make the ultimate decision on routes based on safety considerations - if you don't manage to climb the Inaccessible Pinnacle you will still be leaving the island with a load of new skills and knowledge.
Each guide holds the Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor Certificate - having been assessed and approved by Mountain Training UK. This is the highest professional certification for Summer Mountaineering in Great Britain. They all hold First Aid certifications as well.
Sure can! Over 50% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.
The Cuillin Hills on the Isle of Skye are among the steepest mountains in the UK and include 15 peaks above 3,000 feet (900 metres). There are two main ridges; the magnificent Black Cuillins and the Red Cuillins around Loch Coruisk to the south. The weather can easily offer all four seasons in one day so you should be prepared as such. Your guides will be assessing the weather constantly and will pick routes based around wind and wet weather predictions. Weather is important in the Cuillin with wet rock taking twice as long to cross as dry rock so this will be factored into the plan for the day.
Our recommended travel insurance provider is Campbell Irvine.
Travel insurance is compulsory on all of our adventures. Your insurance should include adequate protection for overseas medical treatment, evacuation/repatriation, your baggage and equipment and the specific activities involved on your adventure.
Your insurance policy should also include specific Covid-19 cover, including cancellation and curtailment cover if you, your travel companion or a close relative are diagnosed with Covid-19.
We fully endorse Campbell Irvine as their insurance offers all of the above, so get in touch with them or call on 020 7938 1734 to get your insurance sorted. We suggest that you book travel insurance as soon as you book your adventure, just to cover you for any last minute life changes. We know you’re an active lot and injuries do happen!
We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.
If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.
All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. Children can be accommodated on some private departures.
You're in good company. Our adventures are typically made up of a mix of solo travellers and small groups of two or three friends who simply love adventure, pushing themselves and meeting awesome like-minded people. See here for more info about our lovely bunch of Much Better Adventurers.
Want to book a private trip? Just tap ‘Private Group’ in the dates and prices tab.
Your trip is led by carefully curated local hosts and expert guides. See here for more info about the guides we work with.
Pay In Installments
You can choose to pay for this trip in as many installments as you like, with no interest or fees.
Full Financial Protection
Your money is safe. Every booking is fully financially protected.
