We slogged up the steep hillside out of Glen Shiel in thick wet cloud and arrived on the ridge soggy and breathless. Things soon started to improve though as we got through the freezing level, the ground firmed up and there was a glimpse of blue sky to the north.
First signs of a clearance
Unfortunately this didn't last and the cloud soon rolled back in. However, the ridge was quite interesting at this point so we were concentrating more on where we were going. The underfoot conditions were quite tricky - too icy not to have crampons on but too rough and rocky to walk easily in them.
Sporting route we found up Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe
The rest of the day continued in much the same way with bouts of frustration with the underfoot conditions soon disappearing whenever the views appeared. By mid afternoon we had to start retracing our route to get back to the car. We were not looking forward to the steep descent down an unknown slope but what looked like a good line on the map turned out to have an excellent old stalker's track down it, not marked on the map. A very good end to a fine day out, then back for tea and birthday cake.
View down Loch Duich, showing the contrast between north and south facing slopes
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