This is the day for doing the InPin - it's gorgeous. The sun is out and I can feel the bloody thing laughing at my discomfort - some day mate , some day!
Anyway, today we're going for some hard Grade 2 and 3 scrambling. Sgurr nan Gillean is our initial target and once we get to the top, we'll abseil down a gully to pick up the path to Am Basteir - the tooth.
Finally, we'll drop off the the top of the tooth and retrace our route back around Am Basteir's base to tackle Bruach na Frithe.
All of us except the bold Ginja, feel the effects of a scorching day.
We get to the ridge where we start our summit route and in a moment of madness (or is it Verdes?) I agree to lead the group up through the scrambles.
Why? I'm still asking myself. But as we make our way ever upwards, with the exposure getting more and more extreme, I can't help smiling. To hell with the don't look back and don't look down motto. If you look down the adrenaline kicks in immediately and you just want to keep going.
A couple of hairy bits and we're there - the summit. We all have 'shit eating grins' on our faces and wonder how the hell we're going to get off.
More adrenaline is the answer and after a bit more scrambling, the bold Ginja leads us to a 30m chimney that is our route to the path.
Gulp!
We get roped up and set off. This is Verdes after all... it's easy!
Ginger poses for the camera on a pedestal with about 1000ft of drops to all sides and then we set off for Am Basteir. The views are stunning and we can see the whole Cuillin range arrayed before us.
And there, on the horizon is the InPin. Even at this range it freezes my heart.
My dread for this damn thing looms larger than ever and I'm not even near it.
Am Basteir looks scary too and very, very pointy.
However, once you get to the base, the summit is quickly achieved, with only one really tricky step involved. In itself, this step is ok, then you realise you're coming back this way and you're going to have to climb it!
After a safe passage we found ourselves at the base of Am Basteir ready to ascend the scree path to the top ridge of Bruach na Frithe. This is really hard going with one step up and two back and I must confess to having to cut my shreddies off at this point, continuing in the commando fashion.
Bruach was straight forward from the ridge and after a big photo shoot, we took the ridge line escape to reach sea level.
It was a scorcher of a day, so bad in fact that John D decided to grace the river with his presence. Luckily, the sea eagles were either roosting at the time or maggots are out of season, because he returned unscathed...
A well deserved slap up meal in the bar was in order as we planned the next stage of our mission.
InPin Revisited..... Coz the weather forecast looks ok.
Will I ever stop fearing this bloody thing?
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