First ascent
you got a rope?
Hopping ashore we soon find ourselves surrounded by great implacable rocky peaks
There isn't a tree in sight
and little vegetation of any kind
This feels like an alien, hostile environment
And then we come in view of the last loch of this grand tour
Loch Coruisk
which in Gaelic, means the quarry of the waters
to my mind this is the most dramatic stretch of fresh water in Britain
It's actually 150 foot deeper than sea level
Is it really?
Yeah the ice has scooped it right out
After a 20-minute hike
we reached the start of our climb
the Dubhs ridge
Mike tells me what to expect
Mike we've walked along the shores of Loch Coruisk
fantastic, beautiful setting
and we're at the bottom of the climb
this is the Dubhs ridge
That's it we're on rock from the loch side
and we're heading up there
The secret Mike tells me
is to keep upright and resist the urge to go on all fours
Stand up right
head above
Now I do feel more of a quadruped to be honest
I think it's simian knuckles
scraping off the rock
Faith in friction
faith in friction
faith in friction, here we go
That's the one
And we did it
Thank you Mike
I wouldn't have done that without you
That's for sure
Excellent, that's a nice little test piece, isn't it?
It is, test piece
Well that was quite tricky
Yeah you did great
I'm not convinced that I need, or can take further testing
But the crux of the climb still awaits
To go up we first need to go down
over a vertical cliff
Good luck Paul
Thanks very much
Mike makes it safely to the bottom
then it's my turn
That's good
I see so it is in fact
just a drop
Yeah yeah
When get to the edge of the drop get your knees against the rock
OK
like this
OK
and then just
Then just down a bit and then you'll get your left foot in under the roof possibly
just watch your top knuckles don't crush on the rocks
I've got you
hold it there just let it run
gradually let that run through your hand
Well done
Hey it's burning my hands
OK chief
Well that was fine
thank you very much
Well done
After five hours of lung busting effort
we're almost there
and it just keeps on getting better and better
Wow
I feel the top of the world here
Yeah look at this view
Leaving Mike to coil the rope
I get to the top ahead of him
Now the last few feet
one foot in front of another
the end of an exhausting day
because this
is the summit of Sgurr Dubh Mor
which marks the end of my grand tour of the lochs of Skye
and I have to say this is a remarkable place to be
fantastic if slightly precarious
and the views from here
are just absolutely breathtaking
probably the best views anywhere in Scotland
if not the whole of Great Britain
how's that for drama