Skye Day 4 - Two More Down, One to Go

After having ticked 9 munros off the list within the first three days, today was a more relaxed venture up the remaining two on the Cuillin Ridge. I was really glad about this as thighs felt better today but my knees where really starting to bother me.
Still the fantastic weather persisted and we started from Glenbrittle Youth Hostel up along Allt a'Choire Ghreadaidh. I just got out of the car and was changing from trail runners into walking boots when immediately hordes of midges were swarming around me. ARG. How do you tie your shoelaces with hundreds of those little buggers landing on your face and arms biting lustfully into your skin. I tried to get away as fast as I could and we started walking up the easy path into the coire straight away just to be rid of the tiny buggers.
The approach was not as long as the days before and we soon found ourselves once more in an amphitheatre of rough rugged rock with no easy route up to the ridge.
The only way to a notch in the ridge called An Dorus was up another steep scree slope. Yay... My knees were moaning straight away about having to go down the same way. The slope wasn't as long as the ones the days before so we reached An Dorus around 11am and immediately set to climb Sgurr a'Ghreadaidh. Apart from the first bit which is a grade 3 scramble the rest of the scrambling up to the top was rather easy and we enjoyed the view with Loch Coruisk glistering in the sun below, trying to name all the other peaks of the ridge.

Loch Coruisk

Someone sitting on the south col of Sgurr a'Ghreadaidh

Down to An Dorus we scrambled again, secured on the rope for the last bit, then headed up Sgurr a'Mhadaidh on the opposite side. Again the first bit was rather tricky and the rest fairly easy. We dumped our sacks halfway up and were down by 12 for a small lunch before we tackled the dreaded scree slope on our way back.
My knees were complaining a lot and I was glad that this was the last time I had to go down scree. Eventually I reached the bottom and trodded along the path out of the coire back to the hostel.
With the last three days in my bones my legs felt a bit wobbly again and I was happy to have my poles to support me. But hey, I did f..ing 11 munros in not even four days!!! And they are pretty much the hardest of the 282.

By 2:30 I was back at my bunkhouse, had a shower and some food down at the Inn, then a nap and a short visit to the Talisker distillery just a minute's walk away. Felt like a granny wobbling along the road with stiff knees. There were no more tours today but I had a look around the shop and would've bought pretty much all of their non-standard whiskys along with nice glasses and shirts, ahhhh. Settled for the smoother Distillers Edition matured in port casks.

Glad bout the off-day tomorrow which is dearly needed. Hope my knees will get better over night. Right now walking feels awkward and walking down a slope or stairs is nothing I'd volunteer for.
The weather is said to change over night so my plan A is having a lazy morning moving from one room to another as mine was fully booked tomorrow night when I made my reservation and then drive down to Portree and just wander around, do some window shopping, have coffee somewhere and just relax. If weather and knees play along I might drive further up to The Old Man of Storr and for once be a proper tourist looking at some famous landmark just because it's famous, haha.

Munros: 11/12
Midges bites: Err... stopped counting at 40...