Cuillin

This article is about the Cuillin of Skye. For the Cuillin of Rùm, see Rùm.

Sgùrr nan Gillean and the Pinnacle Ridge from Basteir gorge

The Cuillin (Scottish Gaelic: An Cuilthionn or An Cuiltheann) is a range of rocky mountains located on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The true Cuillin is also known as the Black Cuillin to distinguish it from the Red Cuilin (na Beanntan Dearga, known locally as Red Hills) across Glen Sligachan. The Red Cuilin hills are lower and, being less rocky, have fewer scrambles or climbs.

The highest point of the Cuillin, and of the Isle of Skye, is Sgùrr Alasdair in the Black Cuillin at 992 m (3,255 ft). The Cuillin is one of 40 National Scenic Areas in Scotland.

Black Cuillin

The main ridge

The peaks of the Black Cuillin are mainly composed of basalt and gabbro. Gabbro a very rough black igneous rock which provides a superb grip for mountaineers. The summits of the Cuillin are bare rock, jagged in outline and with steep cliffs and deep cuts corries and gullies. Twelve Munros are Black Cuillin peaks, though one of them, Blaven, is part of a group of outliers separated from the main ridge by Glen Sligachan.

The scrambler can access most of the individual peaks by their easiest routes. Only the Inaccessible Pinnacle is a graded rock climb (moderate) by its simplest line but several of the other summits require scrambling skills.

Munro	Grade of easiest route	Easiest route(s)
Sgùrr nan Gillean	Grade 3 scramble	West or south-east ridges
Am Basteir	Grade 2 scramble	East ridge avoiding the "Broken Step" on the left
Bruach na Frìthe	Walk	Ascent via Fionn Choire
Sgùrr a' Mhadaidh	Grade 2/3 scramble	North-west or south ridges
Sgùrr a' Ghreadaidh	Grade 3 scramble	North ridge
Sgùrr na Banachdaich	Walk	Ascent via Coire nan Eich
Sgùrr Dearg	Moderate rock climb	East ridge of Inaccessible Pinnacle
Sgùrr MhicChoinnich	Grade 2 scramble	North ridge
Sgùrr Alasdair	Grade 2 scramble	North-east ridge from top of Great Stone Chute
Sgùrr Dubh Mòr	Grade 2 scramble	West ridge
Sgùrr nan Eag	Grade 1/2 scramble	South ridge
Blà Bheinn	Walk	Ascent via Coire Uaigneis

There are no natural sources of water on the ridge (except for winter snows and melt water): all water must be carried by the visitor.

Climbing the Black Cuillin Traverse

On the Cuillin Ridge

In addition to climbing individual peaks, there is the challenge of a full traverse of the ridge. Although only seven miles in length, the average traverse is likely to take 15–20 hours from sea level at Glenbrittle to the bar of the Sligachan Hotel owing to the difficulty of the terrain and route finding problems. The first recorded traverse in under 24 hours was in 1911 by L Shadbolt and A McLaren. The record for the full traverse, set by Finlay Wild in October 2013, stands at 2 hours, 59 minutes and 22 seconds (though this time is from Gars-bheinn to Sgùrr nan Gillean and does not include the initial ascent from Glenbrittle or the final descent to Sligachan).

A longer traverse of the Black Cuillin, (including all the Skye Munros, though omitting some gabbro outliers) is the Greater Traverse; this involves continuing on to Clach Glas and Blaven. This traverse was first done independently by two parties, in the summer of 1939, with I Charleson and W Forde claiming precedence over W. H. Murray & R G Donaldon a few weeks later. - (see Bill Murray's book for details of his traverse).

Some believe the ultimate mountaineering experience of the UK is the full traverse under winter conditions. The Isle of Skye's position in the warm Gulf Stream makes genuine winter conditions rare, and the very short winter days probably make a 24-hour traverse impractical. The first recorded, over two days, was in 1965 by D Crabbe, B Robertson, T Patey and H MacInnes.

The Cuillin is perhaps the only range in the United Kingdom to approach in sheer jagged rawness (though not of course in height) the mountain experience of such ranges as the Alps or Rockies.

The Red Cuillin (Red Hills)

Marsco in the Red Hills

The Red Cuillin (Na Beanntan Dearga in Gaelic) are sometimes known as the Red Hills. They are mainly composed of granite which is paler than the gabbro (with a reddish tinge from some angles in some lights) and has weathered into more rounded hills with vegetation cover to summit level and long scree slopes on their flanks.

The highest point of the hills is Glamaig, one of only two Corbetts on Skye (the other being Garbh-bheinn, part of the small group of gabbro outliers surrounding Blà Bheinn).

Major peaks

Panorama of the Black and Red Cuillin from Sgùrr Dubh Mòr

Here is a list of Munros, Corbetts and Grahams of the Cuillin. This listing excludes peaks such as Clach Glas which in hill walking/mountaineering terms are considered of significance.

	Peak	Absolute height (m)	Relative height (m)	Cuillin
1	Sgùrr Alasdair	992	992	Black
2	Inaccessible Pinnacle - Sgùrr Dearg	986	182	Black
3	Sgùrr a' Ghreadaidh	973	c. 123	Black
4	Sgùrr na Banachdich	965	c. 114	Black
5	Sgùrr nan Gillean	964	c. 204	Black
6	Bruach na Frìthe	958	c. 125	Black
7	Sgùrr MhicChoinnich	948	c.56	Black
8	Sgùrr Dubh Mòr	944	c. 89	Black
9	Am Basteir	934	c. 55	Black
10	Blà Bheinn - Blaven	928	301	Outlier
11	Sgùrr nan Eag	924	c. 127	Black
12	Sgùrr a' Mhadaidh	918	c. 71	Black
13	Garbh-bheinn	808	172	Outlier (Blaven group)
14	Glamaig	775	c. 480	Red
15	Marsco	736	413	Red
16	Beinn Dearg Mhòr	731	152	Red
17	Belig	702	246	Outlier (Blaven group)

History

The Battle of Coire Na Creiche was fought on the slopes below Bruach na Frìthe in 1601. It was the last Scottish clan battle fought on Skye, in which the Clan MacDonald of Sleat defeated the Clan MacLeod after a bitter feud.

In 2000 the Cuillin were put on sale for £10 million by the Laird in a scheme of land in exchange for repairs to Dunvegan castle. Following a dispute over ownership, a deal was cut for the property to be gifted in return for repairs to the clan castle.

Cultural references

• The Cuillin is a key thematic device in the Gaelic-language family film Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle.
• One of Sorley MacLean's best known poems is the epic The Cuillin.
• The band Runrig recorded the song, "Nightfall on Marsco".
• According to legend, the Cuillin take their name from the Gaelic hero, Cúchulainn, although this is probably a folk etymology. Legend has it that Cúchulainn learned martial arts from the warrior woman, Scáthach, who was said to have a school in Skye.
• The song The Road to the Isles mentions the Cuillin in the first verse and in each chorus.
• The murder mystery novel Wildfire at Midnight by Mary Stewart is set in and around the Cuillin.
• The spy novel Mr. Standfast by John Buchan has a chapter set around The Cuillin ("Coolins" in the book).
• The Inaccessible Pinnacle is the scene of a death in Val McDermid's "Trick of the Dark".
• Brave (2012 film) contains a song which refers to a legendary bear being "bigger than a Cuillin".

Gallery

• 
  The North Cuillin viewed from Portree.
• 
  Glen Sligachan enclosed by the Black Cuillin and Marsco from South Bla Bheinn.
• 
  Marsco (left), Clach Glas and Bla Bheinn from Allt Dearg Mòr path.
• 
  Views of the Cuillin Mountains on the A863 towards Sligachan on the Isle of Skye, Scotland.

External links

• Cuillin walks guide