UKH

Hi All

I'm looking to do the Cullin main ridge traverse in May and was wondering about footwear.

I've taken to wearing my approach shoes on just about everything as I find them good for walking/scrambling/climbing on most terrain, but I am aware that the Cullin is something a bit special and I have't done it before.

Any thoughts and advice (including more general ones about the traverse) very much appreciated.

Thanks
ml

In reply to Mountain Lass:

I found my 5.10 guide tennies to be perfect for the cuillin.

In terms of other advice - recce some/all of the complex navigation parts beforehand if you get the chance, wear gloves to prevent shredding your fingertips (gabbro is very rough - I've used black & decker work gloves before, ideal for the job and only about £3 a pair), find yourself a good weather window, and enjoy it - it's an amazing ridge!

In reply to Mountain Lass:

Did it in very old comfortable Suede Brashers .Ideal

In reply to Mountain Lass:

Excellent advice both - thanks!

In reply to Mountain Lass:

I second the gloves advice, a thin pair of leather palmed cycling gloves did me proud. As far as footwear goes, it is very much personal preference, I have family on Skye and so tend to do a bit of scrambling up there, including a Ridge traverse and found a lightweight pair of leather walking boots with a goretex liner the ideal footwear for me. The pair I used were light, very comfy, and cope with the lower boggy ground well but still have an edge to climb on, making steeper bits like TD gap feel relatively easy, plus theres the added bonus of ankle support on the decants and scree slopes at the end of a long day.
As Mike said, for the ridge, do some recce's and pick your weather window wisely, it can change pretty quick up there…

Paul

In reply to taddersandbadger:
Lots of advice here if you search... Bob W's linked website was my favorite resource when I did it.

We did it lightweight in a day and used approach shoes and would never consider the loss of feel of gloves when climbing or serious scrambling. Also the onsight attempt was a vital part of the challenge for us, so no reccees. The all day effort ( carrying prior injuries), the complex nav and the exposed scramble descents were the crux for us (in retrospect the idea of doing these with the heavy rucksack of a two day traverse would have been pretty scary).

In reply to Offwidth:

I'll save the OP the chore of searching for my page http://bobwightman.co.uk/climb/skye_ridge.php & http://bobwightman.co.uk/climb/gear.php?p=skye_ridge_gear_tips

In reply to Mountain Lass:

Approach shoes worked well for us - La Sportiva Boulder X and 5.10 Camp 4s. If you have a pair you're happy scrambling in, go with that, but expect them to get a good bit of wear from the traverse!

We did it in May 2013 and were extremely lucky as there were still a few snow patches left from the winter that provided us with extra water, but not so much snow that it affected the route. Hope you get similarly good conditions this year!

In reply to Mountain Lass:

Approach shoes definitely. I did it in leather walking boots (approach shoes hadn't been invented at the time) and wished I had something lighter.

In reply to Mountain Lass:

Do NOT do it in anything other than walking boots!! the scree is brutal and if you go over on an ankle in trainers/approach shoes it's a long and painful walk out. Speak to any of the Skye guides and they will agree with this. Was up there last September and this was one of my queries before I left and I am so glad I took boots and not shoes...

Good luck - may see you up there.

PS if you've not been before Nav is tough and would also advise scoping out various sections of the ridge before going for it as a one-er

In reply to jlmaskey:

I'm not entirely sure, I took Nike trainers up last year after loads of trips in boots - and preferred the trainers. Only thing they didn't do so well was edge on small holds so I'd like to get a pair of shoes that can do this.

In reply to Mountain Lass:

Anything that emulates a pair of 1985-1990 suede Walsh Raids. Perfect.
DC

In reply to Mountain Lass:
I would go with boots and not expensive ones either as there going to get a trashing.

A bit of advice regarding timing. If possible do the traverse spring time when there's still some snow patches on the ridge. Water is something you don't want to be lugging in great quantities.

In reply to Mountain Lass:

Walshes resoled with dotty stealth in my case. Perfect for the job. Approach shoes should be fine, although expect them to take a beating from the Gabbro.

Guides might suggest boots since they habitually deal with the sort of person that needs a guide.

My main advice: don't stint on the fitness training. It's 10 000' of up and down and a long day for mortals.

Good luck with the weather.

In reply to Mountain Lass & In reply to jlmaskey:

That's my general thoughts and I've never used anything other than full leather boots in Skye. That said it is personal - I have weakish ankles especially when they tire and so never walk the hills in approach shoes unless at lower levels. I also like boots for the loose stuff and the scree.

However, if someone walks and scrambles in approach shoes normally, and for endurance type hobbies, then Skye is little different for alot of the ridge length, and most of the scree is not usually done in the traverse. Also, guides regularly take clients up in approach shoes. They would not do that if it was a significant risk? I think it all depends on what you normally wear and how you feet, ankles, etc., normally cope with long challenging terrain.

To OP, use footwear you are happy with and know that supports your feet/ankles bearing in mind that the terrain/route is hard and relentless and will take its toll on all gear, take some gloves (preferably very cheap ones if your a very hands on scrambling person), watch out for lack of water and take enough or have some placed along the route, research the route beforehand the best you can remembering that paths and tracks go all over the place in the Cuillin - the actual route is not obvious in places.

Mike Lates, Skye Guides, has on his website useful info - http://skyeguides.co.uk/information/the-cuillin-traverse/ and http://skyeguides.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/2007_Ridge_Download.pdf .

In reply to Mountain Lass:

la Sportiva Boulder X are the shizzle.

In reply to jlmaskey:
That advice is plain wrong. If you are an adventure climber normally you will do a lot of scrambling and easy climbs in approach shoes and they will be the ideal footwear. If you have weak ankles or are less experienced you may prefer boots of varying types. As for guide advice I guess they have sometimes have to default to the most bombproof option at the expense of potential convenience: I know Mike Lates and it's laughable someone as knowledgable on the ridge as him would consider approach shoes unsuitable for the likes of me. There is no significant scree that you have to trudge or run on the traverse (thats part of the joy of it) and the roughness of the rock isn't an issue for wearing out shoes on a single traverse unless you seek the scree that is bypassable. I mentioned earlier that for me the safer option with hindsight was light and fast as carrying a heavy rucksacks in clumpy footwear on broken descents would have been quite scary in places, enough to consider roping up occasionally. I chose light and fast as my knees were not up to lugging extra weight and it incresed chances of success.

In reply to Offwidth:

Despite thinking that the best footwear for the ridge would be Walshes or similar, I actually did it in fairly heavy walking boots. The reason was that a week before I'd sprained my ankle so needed some support. The other three in the party all wore Walshes. Towards the end of the ridge and definitely on the trudge back to Sligachan, I wished I was also in Walshes as the weight on the end of my legs was knackering.

We took 16hrs in total: 2hrs for the approach; 12hrs for the ridge; 2hrs to Sligachan. It's a hard day out.

One point to consider is that you need to be able to climb in whatever footwear you do eventually choose - you are just wasting time if you have to change in to and out of rock boots for each climb.

In reply to Mountain Lass:

Lots of conflicting here comparing the benefits and demerits of approach shoes and walking boots. Both have their virtues and I have climbed all the Skye summits multiple times in both. So you can definitely choose whichever you prefer to wear for a long day.

Personally, I rate these well above anything else:

http://www.scarpa.co.uk/mountain/rebel-lite-gtx/

They keep your feet dry on the approach/descent, well supported on unstable ground and are simply incredible on the harder scrambling sections, particularly the downclimbing, of which there is a lot!!

You get the precison and edging of a boot for little more than the weight of an approach shoe. Under £200 online.

In reply to Offwidth:


Advice is many things, but it's never plain wrong.

Each to our own

In reply to imkevinmc:



I thought I had some wrong advice concerning an investment. Should I give the compensation back?

In reply to Turdus torquatus:

If it was "plain wrong", your choice

Now head up Cuillin in what's right for you

In reply to Mountain Lass:

My first time along the ridge I used a pair of tennis trainers. My thinking was that they were light, comfortable and responsive.
I carried a light pair of climbing slippers for the gap, inn pinn and the tooth. This was for confidence on my own.
I've used similar footwear on subsequent occasions, in fact I don't think I'd ever consider using walking boots. They'd be too heavy and don't offer the same sensitivity and feedback.
Jase

In reply to imkevinmc:


No, it's plain wrong when, in stating 'Do NOT do it in anything other than walking boots!!', it's dogmatic and inflexible where you more reasonably say 'Each to our own'.

Anyway (FWIW), I'd normally but not always go for shoes and can quote my good friend Noel Williams (who knows the ridge better than most) as only half-jokingly suggesting one shoe and one boot for the TD Gap!

In reply to imkevinmc:



Ok. I found Sportiva Boulder X to be brilliant for my weird skinny feet, much better than the 5.10 alternative and I suspect a bit lighter.

In reply to Climbing Pieman:


Ankles tend to strengthen if you were footwear that isn't supporting them i.e boots. Wear your approach shoes more and your ankles should get stronger.

In reply to Mountain Lass:

If your approach shoes are comfortable wear them, I used these http://www.sportiva.com/products/footwear/climbingapproach/ganda-guide and found them to be fine but comfort is really the most important thing.

In reply to Mountain Lass:
5.10 Guide Tennie is the way to go. I have the older model which is good for smearing but the newer ones are stiffer and hold onto edges better but should still smear reasonably well. Never known a grippy rubber like the Stealth stuff which 5.10 uses, even good on damp or wet rock. I've climbed all of the harder parts of the ridge a few times (excluding TD Gap) in my Tennies and they are great for the job. If you are used to wearing them around the hills for scrambling and easy climbing in the summer time then your ankles will be good to go. For me, boots are uncomfortable and clumpy and don't find them necessary when I can quite happily climb Severe in my trainers.

Have a great trip, you'll love it!