Cuillin Ridge greater traverse
A rather unnatural extension to the Cuillin Ridge Traverse which involves dropping virtually to sea level (70m) in Glen Sligachan and adding the extra peaks of Clach Glas (786m), and Bla-bheinn (928m). This challenge was first met in June 1939 when Ian Charleson and W.E.Forde completed the route in cold and wintry conditions in 20 hours. They prepared carefully, spending a week on recce and laying down food caches, and pitching tents under Gars-bheinn and Sgurr na h-Uamha. Most impressively, they carried a full-size alarm clock round the entire route! A month later a group from the Wayfarers Club completed the traverse, and in August Bill Murray and R.G. Donaldson went round in 19 hours, a record which was to stand for 5 years. Those two were fortified by the infamous Mummery's Blood, a concoction consisting of equal parts Navy Rum and Bovril, guaranteed to "lower angles, shorten distances, and improve weather". This "mountain elixir" seems to have fallen out of favour with modern day endurance athletes who now prefer staminade, maxim, or some other such bland powder which doesn't have quite the same romantic style.
In August 1944 Sydney Thomson from the Yorkshire Ramblers completed the traverse (end to end) in 11 hours 40 mins, leaving Glen Brittle at 4:50 am (12 miles/13,200 feet of ascent). His schedule is detailed below [Refs. BH, WHM]:
Sydney Thomson — Aug 1944
| Location | Time | Split |
|---|---|---|
| Glen Brittle | — | — |
| Gars-bheinn | 2:30 | 3:30 |
| Sgurr Alasdair | 4:05 | 1:35 |
| Sgurr Dearg | 5:15 | 1:10 |
| Bidean DNR | 8:00 | 2:45 |
| Sgurr nan Gillean | 10:10 | 2:10 |
| Bla-bheinn | 14:10 | 4:00 |
| Glen Brittle | 20:20 | 6:10 |
The record for female completions of the Cuillin Greater Traverse is extremely sketchy. It is rumoured that Anne Littlejohn was the first on 20th July 1956 doing 23 hours 45 mins [Ref: LSCCJ April 1959, thanks to Dave Hewitt pers comm. for info.]. Winky O'Neal went round in about 12 hours, excluding Garbh Bheinn [Pers. comm. Rob Woodall].
The exact route of the Cuillin Greater Traverse has never been formally established, and we had no 'official' fastest time recorded (except that above) until recently. Sub-12-hour peak-to-peak traverses must be not uncommon — Mike Lates achieved 11 hours 15 mins in September 1993 including Garbh Bheinn (12 miles/14,700 feet of ascent) 'in leather scarpa boots, dodging TD & Naismiths' [Ref: GS and personal communication]. But the fastest floor-to-floor (and peak-to-peak) traverse we've heard of is that achieved on 15th June 2015 by Johannes Felter and Tim Gomersall, taking 11 hours 50 mins road-to-road and 9 hours 24 mins peak-to-peak. Which now sets a pretty clear marker since they included 'everything' — Sgurr Dubh Mor, TD Gap, King's Chimney and Naismith's Route, plus Garbh-bheinn on the re-climb out of Glen Sligachan [Ref: personal communication from Johannes Felter]:
Johannes Felter & Tim Gomersall — 15th June 2015
| Location | Time | Leg Split | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glen Brittle Campsite | 03:12:00 | — | — |
| Gars-bheinn | 04:56:00 | 01:44:00 | 01:44:00 |
| Sgurr Alasdair | 06:19:02 | 01:23:02 | 03:07:02 |
| Sgurr Dearg (In Pinn) | 07:00:10 | 00:41:08 | 03:48:10 |
| Bruach na Frithe | 09:06:10 | 02:06:00 | 05:54:10 |
| Sgurr nan Gillean | 09:56:24 | 00:50:14 | 06:44:24 |
Gars-bheinn to Gillean (Sgurr Dubh Mor, TD Gap, King's Chimney, Naismith's) 05:00:24
| Location | Time | Leg Split | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sgurr Beag | 10:13:39 | 00:17:15 | 07:01:39 |
| Sgurr na h-Uamha | 10:36:42 | 00:23:03 | 07:24:42 |
| Garbh Bheinn | 12:48:15 | 02:05:33 | 09:36:15 |
| Bla Bheinn | 14:20:22 | 01:32:07 | 11:08:22 |
| Road at Loch Slapin | 15:02:31 | 00:42:09 | 11:50:31 |
Gars-bheinn to Bla Bheinn 09:24:22
Page updated 27th July 2015