UKC

My last question about Skye honest.

What's the best way to descend back to the Coruisk Hut from the top of the Dubh Ridge? Is it best to come down Coire an Lochain? Or the hideous sounding An Garbh Coire or is there another way? Gars Bheinn maybe?

Most guidebooks describe descending to Glen Brittle so just trying to get others experiences of descending back to Coruisk.

If it's been done to death I apologise mind.

In reply to Kid Spatula:
I don't know the Cuillin well, but I was just there last week staying in the hut and did the round up the Dubh Ridge, across to Gars Bheinn, down it's SE ridge and back to the hut. (In glorious sunny weather, lucky sod.)

Would you be looking to head back down directly from the top of the Dubh Ridge, or to carry on around to Gars Bheinn anyway?

From the top of Sgurr Dubh Beag, or rather just after the abseil (or the retreat and traverse to avoid it), you could head back down Coir' a' Chaoruinn. After Sgurr Dubh Mor, Coire an Lochain probably is your best bet.

Trying to get down into An Garbh-Coire directly from either is probably a tad dodgy in any case without coming around to Bealach a Garbh-coire first. (My guidebook says "not recommended", and once you get around beyond the Bealach and look back it isn't hard to see why - rather steep and a tad loose by the looks.)

I think I must have got a bit lost, because the descent from Gars Bheinn was a wee bit hairy in places the way I did it. Steep scree, with a lot of false summits, and much that was boggy, soggy and slippy. I think I must have missed a turn towards the hut and carried on a bit too far directly down towards the sea - later on I stumbled across a narrow, slightly indistinct path traversing and descending the hill back towards the Mad Burn and the hut, marked with the odd cairn. Probably would have done well to spot it earlier.

You can see the whole route up the Dubh Ridge, around via Gars Bheinn and back from the summit of Sgurr na Stri. If you're staying at the hut, arrive with a bit of time to kill and have decent visability the views from the summit are well worth the effort to walk up there.

In reply to Kid Spatula:

When I did it we continued to Gars Bheinn and it made a superb finale to the route - a wonderful walk with space, sea and islands all around. The descent down Coire Beag (starting in a gully just a bit before the actual summit of Gars Bheinn IIRC) to Coruisk is a bit rough but OK

In reply to deepsoup:

Not sure exactly where you would have gone there but the way we went was basically NE down a gully from just before the summit, down into the bowl to the west of the hut, and then following the Allt a Chaoich to the hut

In reply to Kid Spatula:

Not by Coire an Lochain if its getting dark for sure. We had enough of a faff in June with plenty of daylight trying to find and follow the (allegedly) cairned route out of the coire to Loch Coruisk. Lots of slabby sections to negotiate a route through.

In reply to Jimmy D:
The guidebook I was using (a fairly old selected Scottish scrambling guide) suggested descending from Gars Bheinn down either it's NE ridge or it's SE ridge, with the SE ridge being the easier of the two.

The NE ridge would have been parallel to the way you came down I suppose, the one on your right as you headed down Coire Beag.

I opted for the SE option, so having reached the summit of Gars Bheinn carried on in the same direction and down to the little summit at about NG475183. From there carried on in the same direction for a slightly sketchy and very steep further 500m or so, before turning left (North) and contouring more around and down the hill.

It was ace, but I did find bits of it quite hard work on tired legs, and slightly unnerving here and there picking my way down through the crags. Don't know, but possibly would have enjoyed the descent more if I'd taken your route down.

In reply to deepsoup:

Too late to edit, but just to add...

Hang on a minute. I was carrying a GPS, so can show you exactly which way I went if you're interested. (Or even if you're not.)
This should work: https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/osmaps/route/802969/Dubhs-Ridge-Gars-Bhein...
Looking at that, the bit where I turned sharply left was where I met the path, perhaps I should have gone a bit more towards the South to meet that path a bit earlier. Or maybe you just need to sketch your way down through the slabs a bit whichever way you go there.

In reply to Kid Spatula:
I carried on to the main ridge and down from the bealach a garbh choire. It wasn't too bad as far as I remember, just scrambling over big boulders.

Concur with previous posters on the routes I've ascended/descended;

An Garbh Choire from An Caisteal: Navigationally and route finding Straight forward, but the route is entertaining over, round and for the comedy value under huge boulders.

Coir An Lochain: Requires keen route-finding, if dark or misty divineing rods and a crystal ball handy. I will probably incur other posters wrath if I mention that I enjoyed the sporting route finding challenge, and got down without issue. However I know a total four friends whom on differing occasions have rolled into the hut well beyond the witching hour having been caught out and then engulfed either by mist or darkness (in one case both!). Oh how we laughed.....

NE ridge of Gars- Bheinn; possible but, and I quote from an old guide has 'a fearsome summit head wall' which on ascent is outflanked by a shelf. Since this route is rarely ascended it's unlikely there will be many hints on the ground to help pick up the descent. Jimmys route it Coire Beag would be worth bearing in mind, if on appraisal you don't want to try the NE ridge. Can't give any further advice as its twenty years since I've been up that way, however I've looked down from the summit many times and wondered where I actual came up.

In reply to Kid Spatula:

Contratry to expectations, we found the An Garbh Coire a delight every step of the way. It negotiates terrain that renders the use of the phrase "rough ground" completely inappropriate for any other wasteland in these isles. Quite magnificently chaotic that it would be a shame not to visit. But step carefully. 1.5 hours if you're nimble.

The longer round and return via Garsheinn is a delight however. Look for a surprisingly wide shelf below and before the summit headwall which deposits you magically on the steep ridge down to the Mad Burn. There are loose stones but you can pick your way down into the coire and easier ground soon enough. Turn right at the depression and descend the burn to Loch Scavaig.

In reply to Kid Spatula:
I bailed after the slabs due to incoming bad weather and made the mistake of accepting the guidebooks suggestion of Coire a Chaoruinn.

To be fair it was mostly OK, but there were some tricky rock steps toward the top that were easier to abseil and the boss was not impressed. I think carrying on would have been easier.

In reply to Kid Spatula:

Thanks all. As per usual some great advice. Garbh Choire it is by the sounds of it. Can't be worse than some of the awful moraine shite I've come down in the Alps...