Stac Pollaidh

“… is a perfect mountain in miniature” ⁽¹⁾

Stac Pollaidh

After a five year absence my climbing club was returning to the SMC’s Naismith hut in Elphin, a super little hut in magnificent Assynt.  It’s a long way from Liverpool but the journey is well worth the reward as there are magnificent mountains to be climbed.

We split the journey with an overnight stop at the Alex MacIntyre hut in Onich before the final leg to the far north.  Most of those on the meet had been up Stac Pollaidh before but I found a couple of willing volunteers to accompany me.  After donning the boots we started to make our anticlockwise way on the pitched path which gradually winds around to the back of the hill, avoiding the horribly eroded direct ascent which is now actively discouraged as a way up.  The path carries on to surround the hill but at some point you have to decide on a way up to the crest.

There are tantalising glimpses of a ruggedly crenelated ridge above but it is only when you arrive that you can start to fully appreciate the landscape.  A 360 degree panorama of the Assynt peaks rising out of the surrounding moorland evokes a longing to extend your visit to climb them all; the walking in this far north-western citadel of Scotland is superb.

Quinag, Suilven, Canisp, Cul Mor

The scrambling on the ridge can be as easy or as hard as you choose to make it.  I made a long step across an exposed gap only having to reverse it when I encountered some far more exposed moves shortly after.  I’m sure that I wouldn’t have thought too much of the seriousness of the moves if I had a harness on and was attached to a rope but the lack of that security gave me pause to consider the seriousness of a slip.  So I dropped down to path that traverses under the crest to avoid unknown difficulties.

An easy scramble up the top of the old ascent gully regained the ridge an easier ground led to the crux of the route.  At this point it is reputed that many who ascend regard the moves ahead to the true summit as too hard and claim the tick as the ridge hereabouts is almost as high.  Ralph Storer says in his guidebook⁽²⁾ that “perhaps more expletives are uttered here than on any other Scottish mountain” which may be true considering that the moves to gain the true summit are graded “Difficult” in rockclimbing terms.  Claiming an ascent of Stac Pollaidh when only this point has been reached is a cop-out; the summit is the highest point and only surmounting this difficulty will lead there.

Although only a few moves long, the way up the final obstruction will feel a lot easier to someone who has rock-climbing experience.  It’s been a few years since I have done any serious climbing but I was happy that I’ve got a reasonable number of mountain routes under my belt.  A steady nerve is needed to find the best holds before arriving at the gentle stroll along to last few yards to the summit cairn.  After taking the obligatory photos of the view it was time to consider reversing the crux moves !

Cul Beag from the ridge

Now is the time not to panic – climbing down is always harder than climbing up.  But traversing in from the right (facing out) makes the most of some good ledges before getting to the hardest moves.  At this point you’ll be facing the rock and if you can find the good hidden sidepull handhold on the right your way down to the notch will be a lot easier.

At some point further along the ridge a decision has to be made about where to descend back to the main path.  There are many options and if you choose wisely you’ll back on it in a matter of minutes.  From this point you can relax and enjoy looking up towards the pinnacles of the western slopes.

Pollaidh's pinnacles

Stac Pollaidh is a TRAIL 100 mountain and is fully deserving of its inclusion in that list.  It may be just a few feet higher than 2000 feet and is little more than a half-day’s walk, but it is worth the long journey.

⁽¹⁾ & ⁽²⁾  quoted from     “100 Best Routes on Scottish Mountains”

            author              Ralph Storer