October 27, 2020

Episode 7 - Winter Greater Cuillin Traverse with Will Rowland

1 hour 34 minutes

Last winter Will Rowland pulled off an incredible traverse of the Black and Red Cuillin in a two day journey starting and finishing at Sligachan. Based on a summer linkup his father Clive Rowland pioneered almost 40yrs ago, we believe this is the first winter completion. It was a pleasure to chat to Will about his experience, as well as talking generally about the Cuillin and the history of the various traverses and 'records'.

I apologise for the mic 'buzz' - I couldn't fix it for this episode but will do shortly...

Corrections and clarifications:

I said Garbh-bheinn once when I meant Bla Bheinn.

For those without a map in front of them, Gars-bheinn is at the southern end of the main Cuillin ridge, Bla Bheinn is the 12th Cuillin munro which stands away from the main ridge across Glen Sligachan (and includes the sub summit Clach Glas), and Garbh-bheinn is a lower summit between the Black and Red Cuillin (which is included in the Greater and the Greater Greater Traverses!).

Also, when I say myself and Tim Gomersall carried 'one good axe each' - we had one tech axe and one light axe each, so for the TD gap I could lead with both tech axes.

Since this chat I have discovered that Harry Holmes did the Ben Nevis 5 Ridges Winter linkup in 2014, perhaps other climbs will let us know too for the leader board!

Traverses we talk about:

Main Cuillin Traverse

Greater Cuillin Traverse (main + Clach Glas- Bla Bheinn traverse - also usually includes lower peaks Garbh-bheinn and Sgurr na h-Uamha)

Greater Greater Cuillin Traverse "Sligachan Horseshoe" (main + Bla Bheinn - Clach Glas + all Red Cuillin) [FA: Clive Rowland summer. Will Rowland Winter]

Extended Greater Greater Traverse! "Cuillin Round" (main + Bla Bheinn - Clach Glas + all Red Cuillin + most other 'tops' along the way eg Sgurr na Stri) [FA: Rob Woodall summer]

Greater Greater Greater Traverse - mythical holy grail proposed by Ali Rose = all the above plus kayak to Rum to do Rum Cuillin too!!

For more info on the different records, please see:

SMC 'Skye Scrambles' guidebook

Scottish Hill Runners 'Long Distance Records' tab

Go Far website for Rob Woodall's write up and notes, including a link to PDF 'Long Days in the Cuillin' which gives a detailed history with dates of the different Cuillin extensions.

'The Black Cuillin' book by Gordon Stainforth, 1994

Andy Hyslop's Rockfax guide to the main Cuillin Ridge

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By Finlay Wild

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