Main Areas This guide illustrates all the great boulders climbed to date in the Coire Lagan area of the Cuillins. A unique climbing experience, thousands of gabbro boulders lie among the glaiated slabs, between the altitudes of 200m and 600m, giving some of the finest mountain bouldering in the country. Only the most obvious routes have been climbed so far, leaving hundreds more,in more remote areas, unclimbed. The rock is generally solid and clean, although new climbs may need some hard brushing. Due to a lack of weathering, there are rarely any features on the roofs and steeper walls, so alot of the problems tend to be on lip traverses, arĂŞtes, thin faces and sometimes cracks. Gabbro is well known for its incredible roughness; many a bouldering trip has been abandoned early due to raw fingertips, so gloves/finger tape is advised. A bouldering mat would also be useful, as the landings are usually either in a bog, stream or on rocks.
Uig
Dunvegan
How To Get There: Glen Brittle is a tiny village at the south-west of the Cuillins (NG 41, 21). -Marked on map as Coire Lagan From Sligachan, drive west towards Carbost and turn left onto a single track road. Follow this to the end (8 miles), and stop in the car park by the beach. Alternately, there are two buses daily from Portree via Sligachan to Glen Brittle (Highland Country Buses - 01478 612622). Accommodation can be found at the campsite (01478 640404) and the Youth Hostel (01478 640278). There is a small but well stocked shop at the campsite. Bar meals and good beers can be found at The Old Inn at Carbost The Boulders: Use the base map below to locate the main bouldering areas. Walk through the campsite, the path into the hills starts from behind the toilet block. Dogs should be kept on a lead at all times. Culnamean (418, 201) is closest area to the campsite with a 15 minute approach, but has only a couple of decent boulders. The Ghrunnda boulders (431, 198) have an easy 30 minute walk in and enough problems to keep you busy for days. An Sguman (445, 186) is another 30 minutes beyond The Ghrunnda Boulders, and is mostly undeveloped. Coire Lagan (444, 207) is the most popular area with a 40 minute approach and loads of good clean boulders.
Right now, several square miles of wild boulderfields are lying amongst scree slopes and moorland on the Isle of Skye. Finally the mystery of these notoriously hard to find boulders is yours to unravel. Including accurate new maps at 1:2500 scale, with all the boulders plotted using GPS, and 39 diagrams showing the lines of 150 problems.
Portree Sligachan Bridge
Coire Lagan Sleat
Culnamean.
An Sguman East
Behind the toilet block, get onto the wide track heading south down the coast. After 5 – 10 minutes, you will see a long, narrow stretch of boulders on the left.
1 Supercrack Area The largest boulder you can see is a beautiful looking south-west facing slab,with a dark roof lurking behind. Go there. 1.1 Sunshine Slab This 7m slab has loads of great routes at about V0.*** 1.2 Pump up the Jam V5 (Font 6c)**** In the shady overhang behind the slab, climb the 10m deluxe jamming crack diagonally across the 45º wall. There are more good sized boulders south of here.
1. Triangular Boulder
The lowest boulder has a good traverse on the NE face. 1.1 Fairy Liquid V3 (Font 6a+) From the left, drop onto a line of good edges, then up to a big sloper and a 1 tricky top out. 1.2 Traversing the face right to left is a little harder, with a reachy last move. Just uphill from here are three small boulders, the top one has a pleasant L-R traverse with an incomplete ending and there are easy problems on the other two.
2 Easter Egg 10 meters downhill from Supercrack area. 2.1 V4 (Font 6c) From awkward slopers low on the steep face, gain the lip and pull through. 2.2 V4 (Font 6b+) The precarious right arête starting on a thin seam.
2. Bob the Boulder
The big heather topped boulder with overhanging sides. 2.1 V3 (Font 6b)* Sit start on a low ledge on the west side, move left over the bulge, passing a slanting edge and a sloper. 2.2 V3 (Font 6b)** The original and best line. From 1 2 3 the same start reach up right for a rough ledge and an explosive leap for the top. 2.3 V4 (Font 6c)* The right traverse from the base of the thin crack, all the way to the right side of the face.
3. Middle Boulder
Has a small tuft of heather on top. 3.1 The Vandals V5 (font 6c+)* Sit start on sharp edges on the west (lowest) side, reach for the lip and traverse left, along the north face, to finish on the highest point. 3.2 Elvis has left the building (V3 Font 6b) From the same start, mantle off right at the lip.
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3 Very Hard Unclimbed Route Boulder Can be seen 10m below the path when walking to the Supercrack area, it has a huge projecting prow and steep, blank faces. 3.1 The Easy Way Up 3.2 Very Hard Unclimbed Route 2
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About 400m west of the stream, where there are stepping stones through a bog (4410, 1914), turn right across the moorland. The first boulders you will come to are a pair sitting in a pool with a stream running in. The one on the right is the Swamp Donkey.
1 3 2
5. Cube
Small block 10m beyond Top Boulder. On the downhill face, there are some one move problems; sit starts on both arêtes and in the middle, start with left hand in the higher crackand right hand in the lower crack, and throw to the top
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An Sguman West.
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4. Top Boulder
Large, paler grey boulder 60m further up. 4.1 The Nose V1 (Font 6a) On the SE face, traverse the lip R-L from a sit start to the hanging arête. 4.2 V2 (Font 6a) Climb the arête using edges on the left. There are easy problems on the big blocky wall left of this.
An Sguman
2
LH RH
(see section to the right)
This is another vast bouldering area,but most of the problems are still unclimbed . Approach as for theGhrunnda boulders and continue along this pathfor about 30 minutes. Where there is a fork in the path , go right.The path only goes as far as theCoire a Ghrunnda burn (446,189), and this will be the main point of re ference. Within this area there are two main boulderfields: An SgumanWest is the section stretching from the flat area,500m before the stream (440, 192) to the obvious marshy pools, 800m downhill (443, 184). An Sguman Eastis a smaller cluster of boulders 300m east of the stream (448,187).The path becomes a muddy track after the stream. The main boulders are centered around some holly trees.
2 Swamp Donkey (4424, 1890) 2.1 Swamp Donkey Traverse V2* Traverse the north face R – L, staring on a jug above a small rock in the pool. 2.2 Project. 1m left is a desperate sit start dyno. Go down the alley between the boulders, to where they have split. 2.3 Right Arête V3 (Font 6b) The slopey awkward right arête of the split. 2.4 Thin Fin V0 The arête left of the split. Layback against the other boulder. 2.5 V0 Left again and dyno from the big block to the lip. 3 Rowan Boulder (4423, 1881) 80m downhill from the Swamp Donkey, this is the next big boulder you come to. There is an orange stripe across its leaning west face, and a mound of vegetation on top including two little rowan trees. 3.1 Orange Stripe Pretty Hard.
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4 Hooded Boulder (4422, 1880) 10m south of Rowan Boulder, this has a small roof and wide crack on the north. 4.1 Crack V0 Starting low, climb the crack 4.2 Extreme Spinach V1* Start low in the crack and move left to a good hold over the lip. 5 Phantom Boulder (4423, 1866) From Hooded Boulder, continue downhill towards the marshy lochs. This incredible boulder has a big, black, leaning east face 5.1 Phantom Face V6 Font 7a*** From a crimpy right hand sidepull and undercling, reach up left to a slopey sidepull and the jug up right.
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Mal Meech develops octopus hands...
This beautiful area covers about one square mile, and the problems are all on superb rock. Follow the main path uphill from the campsite. After about 30 minutes, you will pass the Picnic Boulder next to Loch an Fhir - bhallaich. Another 5 minutes beyond the loch, take the rough track branching off right, towards the Cioch Buttress. The boulders are on the far side of the Lagan burn.
Future Bouldering in the Cuillins.
There are still a lot of unclimbed problems in the areas mentioned here, most of which are higher up the walls around the Coire Lagan area. From the base of the Cioch Buttress, up the Sgumain Stone Shoot, and left again, across the broken slabs towards the lochan, there are good steep walls worth exploring. There are unclimbed boulders in An Sguman and up the side walls of Coire a Ghrunnda. By far the best undeveloped area in the Cuillins is An Garbh – Choire (46, 20), approach by Coire a Ghrunnda, and east over the bealach. The upper part of this coire, between 550m and 850m, consists of the fantastically grippy Peridotite, a type of gabbro which mainly features jugs, pockets and huecos. Further down the coire (463, 198), there are about a dozen big gabbro boulders, and the best routes look very hard. There is a small cluster of boulders low on the west crest of Sgurr Dearg at an altitude of 330m (427, 216), approach by the Coire na Banachdich path from the BMC Hut. Further north, there are a couple of large boulders north west of the Inaccessible Pinacle, in Coireachan Ruadha (451, 219) and one or two at the top of the Bhasteir Gorge (471, 259), but not much else in the western Coires. Around the Coruisk Hut (487, 197) there is excellent climbing on the steep sculpted slabs, but surprisingly little around the loch itself. If all else fails, there are plenty of good boulder problems up on the main ridge, so keep exploring...
adventure bouldering in An Garbh Coire
Coire Lagan
The Last Page
Bouldering Outwith the Cuillins.
main bouldering area
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Thief Butt.
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main cliff Carn Liath
Skinidin (224, 478) From Colbost, go about one mile back towards Dunvegan, park in a dirt lay-by next to a corner. This one-route-craglet is about 10m west of the road, over the fence. Look for a short right leaning arête: Caramel Creamy Crunch V5 (Font 7a)*** Climb the leaning arête. From a crouching start, with left hand on the arête, and right hand in a slopey sidepull, move dynamically for the tiny triangular edge in the middle of the wall and grunt to the top.
Elgol (516, 124) From Elgol jetty at the end of the road, walk one mile south along the clifftop passing the popular sea cliff Suidhe Biorach and Prince Charles’ Cave. The sandstone outcrops are scattered along this south facing bay and routes are mainly about 4b – 5c on small roofs and plenty of jugs. There is similar bouldering up the shore from Schoolhouse Buttress (the one you can see from the parking area).
An Caol, Raasay (608, 528) Lots of caves and thin walls on this Lewesian gneiss at the northern tip of Raasay. Take the Ferry from Sconser (www.calmac.co.uk) and when you get off, follow the road into Inverarish, go left over a bridge heading towards Raasay Outdoor Centre. Keep going north until the end of the road, at Arnish. Take the footpath signposted Fladda / Torran and at the old schoolhouse, turn right uphill. Stay on this path until the bothy (612, 526). The bothy has a green roof. The Cave Looking out from the bothy door, the most westerly bit of sea you can see has the silhouette of a rock buttress on the right. Go there.
The most western point of Skye is well known for its excellent sea cliffs, long, exposed trad routes. There are boulders stretching from the Financial Sector to the Green Lady. They are mostly dirty with bad landings, but once they are cleaned up, some good routes will emerge.
Claigan Lochs (235, 518) From Dunvegan Castle, continue along the single track road towards Claigan, park at the second loch, Loch Corlarach. Hop over the electric fence to the mini crag at the south of the loch.
Talisker. (349, 309) Halfway down the single track road between Carbost and Talisker bay, there is a big crumbly looking cliff called Na Huranan with half a dozen good dolerite boulders at its base. The crag will be visible on the right once you pass a red tin shed, park in a passing place, the boulders are on the right hand side
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Lee Robinson for graphic design and technical support throughout the project, and John Watson, Dave MacLeod, Si O Connor, Ben Wear, Ally Fulton and Mal Meech for written and photographic contributions.
CONTACT If you would like to get in touch, to report a new problem, or query existing ones, please contact: lee@betaguides.com. I might even spill the beans on some super special boulders that were too hot to mention here...
Ben Wear aborts his attempt on the Chieftain.
BELOW map of Carn Liath (see section above)
Neist Point (129, 485)
Pump Up The Jam, the immaculate hand crack in An Sguman East
Sometimes the Cuillins are covered in big black rainclouds while the rest of Skye is perfectly dry so it’s worth knowing about the other areas where you can tear your skin up Carn Liath (495, 563) see map below This is perhaps the most dense and concentrated assortment of boulders in Scotland, so dense in fact that it becomes hard to find any problems. In the middle of the boulderfield the landings are terrible, so a crashpad is essential. Also the area is nearly impossible to map as there are few features for identification, apart from the main climbing cliffs, so first time visitors will get a bit lost. The rock is a grippy dolerite which dries quickly after rain. Drive 13 km north of Portree towards Staffin, about 1 mile past the Old Man of Storr. Before Rigg and the conifer plantations, park on the left, where two burns run parallel under the road (513, 563). Follow the central grassy ridge up to the west onto the flat boggy moorland, the main cliff is visible high up ahead. Aim for a mini col at about 300m, right of the cliff. From here you can see a couple of thousand boulders, the main bouldering area is on the flat area at about 250m. More highballs and danger routes can be found on the pinnacles higher up towards Thief Buttress and the Main Cliff. Truly mental.
“There are big scary problems, and then there’s the Chieftain.Thankfully it’s possible to stick to some fairly improbable holds on the gabbro so don’t be put off, it’s steady as she goes and the edges keep coming. Just don’t throw away your composure when you reach the rail below the top; it’s not the thank god hold you want it to be!” Dave MacLeod
“Snake Attack is a classic Coire problem and aptly named. An alluring crack runs into surprised slopers, forcing you to coil into a ‘strike’ position, which doesn’t always catch it’s prey... if you do catch the hold out left, remarkable gabbro friction helps you slither over the arete.” John Watson
“Pump Up the Jam is all about the blood and grissle. It starts all sweet and innocent, crossing through snug little fingerlocks, but pull away from the midway rest and your left index finger has lost a knuckle. Now the crack bites in, the back of your hands are dented and baggy, right pinky bursts. After more furious plugging, swing a stylish heelhook and casually pull over, licking your wounds in joy.” James Sutton
© James Sutton 2006