The Ring of
Steall Skyrace has been my main goal for the year. At 29km and 2500m ascent
over rough mountain terrain, with some scrambling sections this was always
going to be a tough race. In contrast to a traditional fell race, this race is
part of a huge event – ‘Skyline Scotland’ – with seven races over 3 days, big
sponsors, cash prizes, and a social media frenzy.
It is a
testament to the power of marketing, plus perhaps the attraction of a fully
marked route, that over 700 stood on the start line having paid £99 (myself
included), whilst 136 started the Arrochar Alps race where the entry fee was a
mere £10. Looking around at the start it seemed like a younger field than a fell
race, with the vast majority seeming to be in their twenties or thirties. I
definitely helped to push the average age up!
And we're off |
It was a
beautiful cloudless day when we set off from Kinlochleven. The first couple of kilometres
of the route headed out along the West Highland Way through the forest before
turning up over open hillside towards the ridge between Sgurr an lubhair and Am
Bodach. The path became increasingly steep - sometimes muddy, sometimes rocky. With
such a big field, it was pretty much single file all the way up to the col
which I reached after about an hour and twenty minutes. Here the views opened
up and we had a panorama of the entire route – Breathtaking! We turned left
along the ridge to the first top - Sgurr an lubhair.
View from the col |
Then next
stage follows the ‘Devil’s ridge’, a narrow arete descending first and then
ascending and crossing the top of Stob Coire a'Mhail. Although quite exposed, it was easier than I
had expected, the path avoiding some of the difficulties on the crest of the
ridge, with only a couple of places that really felt like scrambling. Then
onward to the first Munro of the day, Sgurr a’Mhaim 1099m.
Devil's ridge |
From Sgurr
a’Mhaim it was the first big descent of the day – 1000m down to checkpoint 3 in
Glen Nevis and the race’s only food and drink station. The descent started on
scree then changed further down to a bit of everything – rock, bog, grass. It
was hard trying to keep a decent speed on the descent, I felt my focus waning
and paused to eat a couple of gel blocks. With the support point in sight I
turned my ankle. Ow! But fortunately, there was no sprain and I could walk it
off in a couple of minutes.
On the descent to Glen Nevis |
There was a
bit of a queue at the support point but I was soon on my way again following
the river Nevis a few kilometres. It was easy running here but my legs felt
trashed after the long descent. We forded the river just beyond the spectacular
Steall falls – wet feet! Then came the second big ascent up to the second Munro,
An Gearanach. This was hard going; I felt I was struggling and it was
definitely the low point for me. Those around me didn’t seem to be faring any
better either. In the shadow of the mountain it felt chilly in the wind, and
the climb seemed to go on for ever – this was definitely type 2 fun – and the
only thing to do was to tough it out.
River Nevis crossing |
Eventually
I reached the summit at 982m. What a relief! I was back in the sun and I rested
for a minute or two, ate some food and took in the amazing views. Next came the
rocky ridge of An Garbhanach which, although straightforward, seemed more of a scramble than the
Devil’s ridge earlier in the day and it was good to concentrate on this rather
than thinking about being tired. The route continued along the ridge, down and
then up again over Stob Coire a'Chairn.
View from An Garbhanach |
One more
Munro to go – Am Bodach, 1032m. It looked quite dramatic from Stob Coire
a'Chairn but in reality was
not so bad with only about 200m re-ascent and a bit of easy scrambling on the
rocks at the top.
On Am Bodach |
It was good
to know that all the ascent was done for the day now, downhill all the way from
here although still quite a long way back. First down to the col and then back
down the same way as we came up in the morning. The descent went well – if not exactly
fast. I’d taken a gel at the col and another roughly half way down, and they
seemed to do the trick. I even managed to overtake a couple of others on the
way down.
Descent to Kinlochleven |
Finally, I
was down on to the road and although the last few hundred metres into
Kinlochleven seemed surprisingly long I was cheered on by Hanne here on the
final stretch, and then it was around the corner to the finish. I’d done it.
7:14:28, slower than I’d hoped and an incredible 4 hours slower than Nadir
Maguet’s winning time, but still a reasonably respectable placing – 434th
of 691 finishers (742 starters) overall, 9th out of 20 in my class.
Finish line! |
Time for
food, a shower and a rest. What a superb route, and what incredible weather. We
had been blessed with blue skies and stunning views all day. But a tough day
out!