I looked at the possibility of climbing the Graham, Belig, on the Isle of Skye, by its south-east ridge which appeared to narrow and steepen high up. However with a covering of snow it wasn’t the best time of year to tackle this route so we settled for a northerly approach.
We left my car in the parking area on the east side of the A87 Broadford to Sligachan Road at the head of Loch Ainort and just north of Eas a’ Bhradain then walked south along the road and through a rocky embankment.
Beyond, we left the road, crossed some rather wet ground consisting of heather, dead grass and some boulders to reach the Abhainn Ceann Loch Ainort.
Once over this stream we headed for Coire na Selig passing above the gorge of the Eas a’ Chalt having decided due to the strength of the wind not to ascend Belig by its north ridge.
It was gusty in the coire and on a couple of occasions brought us to a halt which wasn’t very encouraging for the higher sections of the route. The gradient increased and the terrain turned rockier before the Bealach na Beiste where there were views across to Sgurr nan Each before the cloud base lowered.
The ascent of Belig’s north-east ridge was over rocks and scree with patches of snow.
Higher up there was a large bank of snow but the ground to the north was clear. Further on the ridge narrowed and an old stone dyke was followed to the summit cairn. On the highest section of the ridge the wind wasn’t too bad but gusty on the summit.
With limited views we left the top and descended the north ridge. The going was fairly easy over stony ground and some snow patches. Well down the ridge the gradient increased and an area of boulders had to be worked through to reach Coire Choinnich.
We then aimed for the parking area walking through heather and some wet ground to reach the Abhainn Ceann Loch Ainort. After crossing it we continued to the main road and the short walk back to the car.
- Time taken – 4.75 hours.
- Distance – 7.25 kilometres.
- Height climbed – 695 metres.