While I already climbed the three northernmost peaks of the Cuillin ridge in August 2017, the eight other ones remained to be visited, with the most tantalising of them all, the Inaccessible Pinnacle! Also known as Sgùrr Dearg. And The Pin. The ICMS workshop was a unique opportunity for this. Which called for a guide in order to maximise the chances of success and also minimise the weight of my bag. In retrospect, given the wet and windy conditions that day, I could not have climbed the Pin by myself… There was no technical difficulty, plenty of holds for feet and hands, and the two pitches were quite short. But climbing with wet gloves, frozen hands, and hiking boots, under a strong wind, made it a wee bit challenging, with the protection set midway by the (free-climbing) guide reassuring. The abseil was short (20m) and straightforward, even though the gale was pushing us sideway. It took less than one hour from the bottom of the pinnacle to the top and back to said bottom. Luckily, there was no other team before us, as we passed two of them on the hike up, and thus we did not have to wait in miserable conditions. And, bonus!, we were finished early enough to scramble to the nearby Sgùrr na Banachdaich (with some route finding skills required from Adam, my guide, in the relentless mist) and be back at the car in less than six hours. A terrific experience, fully enjoyed, if sadly missing the views (and hence the pictures!) since we stayed in the cloud the entire day. It is most unlikely that there will be another ICMS workshop to visit the other Skye Munroes before I retire!
