The Black Cuillin: One of the UK's Most Difficult Climbs

[@matterhorn8420]

this guy is a bit of a legend

[@philipholt6094]

I've been up the Cuillins with Paul and the guy is spot on. Great climber and great guide.

[@MIBIncomeEncourager]

wonderful......wonderful....I shot a film up there....it was some of the best weeks of my life...mooring the boats in scavaig natural anchorage and setting camera up the scramble to the ridgeline ....I felt over awed by the raw beauty there.....it almost gives you a sense of a lunar landscape and i can see why Ridley Scott shot scenes for Prometheus around the Old Man Of Storr.....It is a magical place. I have just spent 10 days at my friends house in Camasunerie ...female red deer came to within 3 metres of my window in the evenings, it is rather like being at the end of the earth....a magical location visited by the vikings and old scots clans...whilst climbing up to the ridge we encountered boulders the size of a mini car....curious gabbro rock with almost a tacky sharp feel.....I am in love with this place and the views it has to offer.....it will leave you with a magical over awed sense of love and respect for the earth and it's kept beauty......lovey video ......really lovely!

[@WyeExplorer]

Epic terrain and equally epic story with a twist of humour. Loved the cinematography. ATB Mark.

[@AnEmptyHeadFullProduction]

It's quite a shame this video has only got 1.1k likes out of 126k views. Watched this loads of times, brilliant short film... only person at that time to traverse the Ridge twice in a day, probably still is ! Respect to your skills and energy ! And if course the the film making !

[@alvshill]

The chap in this video must have had his nervous system removed

[@shukeelc5177]

Stunning footage and what an amazing climber

[@B.A.512]

I'm in love with Scotland, will ever be. Beautiful video! Did someone see Danny Macaskill's "the ridge" too?

[@fastidioussloth6013]

I feel really dizzy. You wouldn't catch me up there. Trees are safer. I'm going for a cocoa.

[@protarget1]

There's a .saying in Scotland "if you don't like the weather, just hang around for 20 mins" LOL

[@allybally0021]

Aye....it'll get worse....and then the night falls.

[@hgoutdoors8890]

This is the most perfect place in the world

[@frederickmagill9454]

Truly an astounding athletic performance. However the Cuillins, for me, should be slowly traversed so that one savour the place like a vintage wine.

[@toomuch9762]

Traversed slowly? Ya good one mate ridges this high and exposed are places to hang about and stroll around. Weather can change in an instance and if you get stuck up there you’re in a world of hurt.

[@frederickmagill9454]

@@toomuch9762 have8 you ever climbed in the cuillen, I have many times over a long period, summer and winter.

[@amandatoulmin8855]

Is this climb suitable for myself, i have done the likes of snowdon, Nevis, scafell, helvellyn via striding edge?, is this possible for someone like me? Thanks for any advice

[@stevie2686]

@@amandatoulmin8855hi . It would be advisable to get yourself a guide if you are not familiar with this area. So easy to take the wrong paths and routes on those ridges , They defo are no place to be if not familiar . Weather can change so quick as well

[@ZEGTHEFISH]

@@amandatoulmin8855 If you go with someone who has done it before and know how to absaill across the course of two days in a nice weather window. Or you can climb individual sections in a day and then once you get a feel for it try the traverse.

[@samconduct1356]

This is probably the best video of the Cuillin.

[@T2Sbadger]

Beatiful views and song maches perfect with the environment, ..... could anybody tell me the name of the song? PS: On a climbing scale this is what? ...like a B 2 ?

[@ButtleCreative]

Wow, enjoyed that, great video and what a legend

[@victorianidetch]

Wow, nicely done, what a excellent climber!

[@MrHistorian123]

Those sub-titles are hysterical.

[@HW-kf7hi]

He is fearless. Might not be that technical but that is some serious exposure without ropes!

[@davetynan5045]

Super fit matemage

[@MAURITS_BIKE-HIKE]

Awesome. Love it. What a cheerful video.

[@DickusCopernicus]

I recognise the talent of people who can even stand on such heights, never mind run over them. I am just not able to handle these heights and exposure. By the way, what is that music that accompanies his rushing over the ridge?

[@newmanj8690]

how the hell did he get a bicycle up the inn pinn?

[@Alphanatrix-ks2vo]

I was there about 12 years ago and we saw a rockslide it was very scary also extremely dangerous

[@corinamusgrave8508]

Great video! What a legend 🤩

[@beatbasher]

One day I will do this. It's definitely on the bucket list.

[@tullochgorum6323]

Unless you're Danny Macaskill, taking a mountain bike up the Cuillin is about as pointless as it gets. What next - first person to do the ridge carrying an anvil? Whatever turns you on I guess - freedom of the hills and all that. But there's a certain point at which it just gets stupid...

[@flippy66]

Even Danny doing it was pretty pointless, he didn't exactly ride much of it, it was just a stunt.

[@bam-skater]

I think the point is Red Bull gave him a big phat chek for it

[@tullochgorum6323]

@@flippy66 Of course it was a stunt. And it produced a truly beautiful film with my favourite singer on the sound-track. He was sponsored by a fizzy drink company and I think they got their money's worth. It's had 80 million views and become iconic. It's also boosted tourism on his home island. So what's the issue?

[@flippy66]

@@tullochgorum6323 What makes you think there was an issue? Sounds like the issue is that you got butthurt when you inferred that someone didn't like the same thing as you. My point, if you had read the thread properly, was that taking a mtb up a mountain is generally pointless because you will spend most of your time carrying it. But to address the empirical claim you made about tourism, as someone working in Scottish tourism I can tell you that film hasn't boosted Skye's tourism whatsoever (unless you have evidence to show otherwise?), and Skye needed absolutely no boost in tourism. We get well over half a million visitors a year, on an island that can barely cope with that number - HC are actually looking at how they better manage and reduce the number of tourists, particularly in hotspots and places that inexperienced people shouldn't go, like the Cuillin ridge.

[@doubleyellows6742]

@@tullochgorum6323 I'm also super interested to know why you think it boosted tourism. Skye's footfall has been increasing steadily for years for all sorts of reasons. You can argue that it contributes, but you can't say it "boosted tourism". Whether the film is "beautiful" or not is totally subjective. It's a mainstream film which appeals to people who don't know about biking and sells a fantasy. It's not a good bike film. I'd also agree that lugging your bike up the Cuillins is pretty pointless.

[@michaelking9772]

Great Video,Skye looks awesome.!!!!

[@AScottishOdyssey]

I have to admit, I could never climb things like the Cuillin range. I'm too scared of heights.

[@jamesgallacher1930]

Top Class Paul ps Music Amazing Also Maaaaaaagical.*****

[@korkey001]

Wow ! simply amazing, stunning scenery, this guy has got to be slightly crazy but with massive balls !!! haha

[@victorkorol220]

Beautiful shots

[@oswaldalexander253]

Brilliant-Cheers.

[@shauncampbell279]

The chap with the bike was probably Danny Macaskill, I'm sure these were the mountains he cycled along the ridge. Theres a fantastic video avaliable on youtube of him doing so.

[@OutsideWatch]

Outside TV has a "making of" film about The Ridge. Here's a sample - kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZWyXpuaibSLbsU

[@l2e9aL]

Outside Television Please can you tell us what the opening track is? Cheers in advance!

[@johnmercer7421]

God, I miss this place so much.

[@davidsomerville3890]

Really enjoyed that but I’ll leave the bike at the bottom.

[@jonnyweber496]

Amazing video! Is this guy related to Chuck Norris!? 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@kentcan46]

What is the opening soundtrack?

[@russfewtrell5835]

Beacons, Richard Lacy, Teryl Bryant

[@momentsintime341]

What is that track called ?

[@thecheviotyeti5690]

What is the song on this video ?

[@fastidioussloth6013]

7:53 for music credits.

[@atlantisfunktions]

darude - sandstorm

[@fastidioussloth6013]

To my ears, there is some really hectic & horrible mechanical disco music of that name on KZbin but this is more pleasant to me, played on a potato ocarina: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYnJn6V7nNqbrqM

[@flippy66]

These comments are eye opening. People are absolutely clueless about climbing. This is a stupid clickbait title unfortunately. The Ridge is not a climb at all, it's a scramble other than the in-pin, and that is certainly not one of the UK's hardest climbs. Not by a long shot.

[@CelticMorning]

Very special people. Awesome.

[@shaunhunter1000]

Excuse my ignorance but why would you carry a mountain bike up every Munro? Obviously you cant ride the bike on the way down most of them.

[@davetynan5045]

Did he free climb down the inaccessible pinnacle

[@vincentkrause7097]

Seems so...

[@flippy66]

@@vincentkrause7097 No he abbed off as explained in the video at 6:26

[@m-_-r]

Who is this guy, anyone know?

[@lifearoundus5107]

I was in skye but I missed this one 😓

[@sailingachilles7810]

Dam awesome 👌

[@bennevis6843]

I’m going to solo this one day

[@kj8213]

Ben Nevis I’ll copy you from a distance really want to do this now

[@bennevis6843]

Thirsty Nethers lol come with me

[@kj8213]

Ben Nevis after this corona virus rubbish? Haha

[@bennevis6843]

Thirsty Nethers yes

[@Robsadventures06]

Critical Thinkers ill come

[@MrCeltic1964]

not a helmet , rope or parachute in sight .... ha ha ha , this just gives me the FEAR .................

[@princesswearshikingboots4479]

Respect:)

[@balke7935]

Tat is a legend... but the Cuillin is definitely not one of the UK's most difficult climbs.

[@toomuch9762]

What shite are you talking 🤦‍♂️

[@balke7935]

@@toomuch9762 what don’t you understand about what I said? I’ll describe it in very simplistic terms so you can process it.

[@toomuch9762]

@@balke7935 so youve traversed the cuilin have you?

[@balke7935]

@@toomuch9762 nope, I’d planned to do it a few years ago. I was going to run the climbers route and solo all of the climbs and abseils, but the weather was iffy. I’ll get there one day, but it’s not really top of my list of desirable climbing in Scotland. What makes you ask? You’re implying that I don’t know what I’m talking about I presume?

[@toomuch9762]

@@balke7935 how the hell do you know anything about it so! You were never near the place so you’re opinion is null and void

[@ramonscott6045]

Hardest thing I have ever done

[@bone12340]

Did he down climb the in pin with no ropes! What a lad

[@elizabethwinsor-strumpetqueen]

its really not that hard.....ya wimp!

[@flippy66]

No, he abbed off, as explained in the video at 6:26

[@GregorMorrison01]

@@flippy66 you need to watch it again, in the film he down climbs from the bolster stone on the in pinn at 2:51, at 6:26 he's talking about previously abbing off with a bike..

[@danielmichaellister4625]

I'm thinking I would kill myself if I walked on there

[@a.s.7160]

his eyes are as dead as alex honnold's

[@sherlockholmeslives.1605]

I thought the Cuillins were in Snowdonia. Shows what I know! I imagine these mountains are easily about as high as the GPO Tower in Birmingham, UK, which is 499ft high!

[@SamMiles95]

lol some of the mountains on the Isle of Skye are of over 900m so around 3000ft so quite a bit bigger than the GPO Tower ;)

[@sherlockholmeslives.1605]

Well there are about 345?! Munro's in Scotland! and God knows how many Marilyn's and Corbetts! Happy New Year! Cheers - mike.

[@sherlockholmeslives.1605]

nichdavi04 Well there are 12 mountains over 4 thousand feet high in Scotland. 4 in Lochaber and 8 in the Cairngorms.

[@jimbo1858]

Mike Fuller there are 9 over 4000ft with 5 in the cairngorms. there are 282 munros

[@sherlockholmeslives.1605]

Ben Nevis - 4,406 Ben Macduai - 4,296 Briarach - 4,284 Cairn Toul - 4,2?? Angel Peak?,??? - I Doubt It Cairn Gorm - 4,0?? Anoch Bearg - 40?? Anoch Moor - 4,066 Carn Mor Dearg - 4,0?? I thought there were 12 4,000ft plus mountains in Scotland. Ben Lawyers 3970ft? being the highest point in the British Isles outside the Lochaber and Cairngorm areas. With Best Wishes! Cheers - Mike.

[@theenglishalpinist5031]

Please don't call them 'hills'. They're mountains!

[@michaelcameron2292]

Dangerous

[@Lisnageeragh]

These are serious mountains...if you are not experienced use a guide.

[@rupertgladstone6431]

Please change the title. It is a classic ridge expedition, but calling it one of the UK's most difficult climbs is nonsense. It is one of the easier classic mountain routes in the UK, though of course should be taken seriously.

[@katoomaheaven]

+Rupert Gladstone 9 mile ridge in one day , name one harder please ,you have of course done the ridge Rupert ?

[@JohnnW1]

+Rupert Gladstone One of the 'easier'? I echo what KTM said - I take it you have traversed it? I am struggling to think of what mountain route you would consider harder, and I suspect I have climbed the vast majority of them

[@rupertgladstone6431]

+John Walker Oh, I thought I'd replied already to KTM, but now I can't see my reply so I guess I didn't after all. If it was called "...most difficult mountain ridges" I probably wouldn't have been bothered by it. But by using the word "climbs" it gets lumped in with all the rock climbs in the UK, many of which provide a massively greater overall challenge (even though they are shorter than the Cuillin ridge). Yes, it is one of the most difficult and celebrated multi-peak mountain ridge expeditions in the UK. No, it is not one of the hardest climbs in the UK. Do you see where I am coming from? Maybe it just seems like pedanticism to you! BTW, yes, I have done the Cuillin Ridge. I did it over 20 years ago with a less experienced friend. We took it easy, started very late, enjoyed good weather conditions and bivvied out half way along the ridge. Watching the sunset over the Isle of Skye from high on the Cuillin Ridge with a close friend after some wonderful scrambling is one of my best mountain memories. Not that the fact that I have done it makes any difference to my opinion on this.

[@JohnnW1]

+Rupert Gladstone Fair point I suppose, it is a clumsy title. That said, it was your 'one of the easier classic mountain routes' that rankled with me and which was really just as clumsy - It's simply not, no more than it is the 'hardest climb'.The climb out of the TD gap is HS at least, Naismith's is S, and I know of no other UK mountain route that has climbing at that standard on it, and the length and commitment level required is unparalleled anywhere else in the UK. I see we share a memory of the intermediate bivvy though- Mine on my continuous traverse was at An Dorus, and I too had a stunning sunset over Canna, followed by a full moon that gave the mountain an incredible aura. Let's call it a pedantic's draw shall we?

[@rupertgladstone6431]

+John Walker Ah, it sounds like the grades have gone up a bit since my day! I remember thinking the climb out of the gap was a bit stiff for V.Diff, and Naismith's seemed to be non-trivial for a Diff... sounds like they are more in line with grades elsewhere in the UK now then. As for my other comment, depends on how you define 'classic mountain routes' (the Scoop at Sron Ulladale perhaps?), but at this point accepting your offer of a draw seems wiser than ongoing antagonism... I can't remember names of places very well, so I am not sure where An Dorus is. But we bivvied somewhere on the easy section after abseiling off the steep side of the Pinnacle. I think it was shortly after the next summit.

[@morganreading1127]

It’s hard but it’s no Tryfan 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🇬🇧 Jk this is an insane mountain respect for climbing it 🏔 Tryfan has to go 2nd

[@MichaelNoon]

Ha ha

[@behemothfan1990]

Been up tryfan at least a dozen times, love it, this one looks like a step up from it to be fair.

[@momentsintime341]

Loads worse than tryfan in Scotland esp in torridon.