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The 'In-Pinn', Skye 2010
By July 2009 only 5 munros were left to compleat my 14th round, all of which were on Skye. The intention was to summit them on the day after the Glamaig Hill Race, but the poor weather put pay to that. Another trip up to Skye in October saw Jon and myself head onto the ridge, however damp rock meant I just wasn't comfortable on Sgurr Mhic Choinnich or the In Pinn, tho we did get along Bannachdich to Mhadaidh.
On Friday 4th June the weather looked as if it would hold for a day or so, so I sped up in the morning to Glenbrittle. On arriving the cloud was above the summits, tho the sky was dark and rain wasn't too far away to the west. On the path into Coire Lagan and up the An Stac screes got me onto the ridge at the col between Sgurr Dearg and Sgurr Mhic Choinnich. Rock was dry and grippy - perfect ! Over to Sgurr mhic Choinnich without difficulty, just the Inaccessible Pinnacle left to do !
A return along the crest and up to the base of the In Pinn, three guys were approaching the summit and two others had just began to climb roped together. The guy at the back asked if I wanted to head up before him, but the thought of negotiating around a rope, just put me off, so I politely declined and waited my turn. He also said he'd been climbing a lot in The Lakes, but this was his first Munro ! It took around half an hour for the two climbers to ascend the crest, requiring a belay point half way up. I was joined at the bottom by two other folk and they watched as I got myself onto the rock. It's pretty straightforward, except for one tricky move, just don't look down ! It took only a few minutes to get up. The people behind me didn't come up
- I wonder if they were put off with my ungainly scrambling technique ?
Getting off the short end was eventful - one the two guys were beginning to abseil off, but the rope had snagged and he was stuck.
The other had to use my rope to get down and free him. Once down off the In Pinn, a pleasant walk was enjoyed back to the campsite while taking in the views, before driving back home for a more relaxing weekend.
Some more photos on my Flickr site.
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The Pocket Mountains guide to the Classic Hill Runs and Races in Scotland by yours truly is now on sale in bookshops, outdoor, running and sports retailers, and can be ordered from Amazon or direct from the publishers Pocket Mountains
GPX downloads for all the routes contained in the book are available from the Pocket Mountains page. Have a look inside :
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