Am Basteir Route Information

Home Glossary

Am Basteir

Quick Facts

This is the summed total of all the climbing within a route and is a good indicator of the strenuousness of a route.

Total Ascent

925 m

An estimate of the time taken based on a derivation of Naismiths rules. Our calculation is based on the horizontal and ascent components of a climb, we do not make a reduction for descent.

Registered users can customise these walking times by specifying their own walking and ascending speeds. They can also add a fixed time period for stoppages.

Route Time

4 hrs

The horizontal distance of the route.

Route Distance

10.94 km

The UK is covered by 204 Ordnance Survey Landranger 1:50,000 scale maps. Maps numbered 1 to 86 cover Scotland but for the highest mountains (Munros) only 23 maps are required. The name given roughly describes the area covered by the map.

You can click on the map name to purchase the map for £6.29 including postage which is one of the cheapest prices we have found.

OS Landranger Maps Required

32	South Skye & Cuillin Hills

Only £6.29 (£13.49 Laminated) from

A brief summary of this route.

Our summary will always contain one of easy, moderate or hard to indicate the severity of the route.

Notes

The Cuillin should not be attempted unless you are comfortable with scrambling and exposure. You are recommended to purchase and study a higher scale map of the Black Cuillin of Skye before attempting an ascent.

Here we provide the nearest town to the start of the route where you will find basic services.

We then give directions from that location to the route start. Your approach route may differ.

Travel Information

Head to: Sligachan

From Sligachan Hotel (A863) head W 200m to start of path.

Route Waypoint Map

The total ascent is 925 metres. Allow 4 hours to complete this 10.94 km route.

In winter months please check the local snow conditions at sais.gov.uk.

The hillphones service can inform you of stalking activities in the area.

Usually the shortest way to climb the mountain, making best use of tracks and paths to gain altitude. Route navigation requires map reading skills and an ability to navigate with a compass.

The information given here will enable you to annotate your map and plan your route. We do not give anecdotal descriptions on where to find the paths, worn by the feet of previous mountaineers.

Where the access routes are few or the ridge is narrow, paths are generally obvious. On open ground, following paths without using your compass may get you lost in poor visibility.

Route Information

Waypoint Detail

	Start from A863 road 200m W of Sligachan Hotel
		NG48342970	Distance	Altitude 20 m

1	Cross S over Allt Dearg Mor and continue SSE to bridge over Allt Dearg-beag
		NG47472787	Distance 2.25 km	Altitude 90 m

2	Cross river and head S 1km
		NG47602692	Distance 1.02 km	Altitude 280 m

3	Leave path and ascend WSW on base of ridge
		NG47142666	Distance 0.54 km	Altitude 400 m

4	Ascend S on west of ridge to reach Coire a' Basteir
		NG47162579	Distance 0.86 km	Altitude 654 m

5	Ascend S using scree slope
		NG47092551	Distance 0.32 km	Altitude 800 m

6	Traverse SW to reach ridge near Bealach a Bhasteir
		NG46842528	Distance 0.34 km	Altitude 782 m

7	Scramble (difficult!) W to summit of Am Basteir
		NG46572530	Distance 0.28 km	Altitude 934 m

8	Return by same route
		NG48342970	Distance 5.33 km	Altitude 20 m

A selection of weather forecasts local to this route.

Weather

North West Highlands
by MWIS (PDF format)

West Highlands
by Met Office

Sgurr na Banachdich
by Metcheck

Images of Am Basteir

Am Basteir, Sgurr a' Fionn Choire and Bruach na Frithe from the summit of Sgurr nan Gillean.

Image by Peter Burgess

The summit of Sgurr nan Gillean from the south-east ridge; 28 May 2014.

Image by Roger Vander Steen

The Bad Step on Am Basteir from above (Pinnacle ridge of Sgurr Nan Gillean in the background).

Image by Gary Mirams

Looking down the east ridge of Bruach na Frithe to Sgurr a' Fionn Choire and Am Basteir, with Sgurr nan Gillean behind.

Image by David S Brown

Route Area Map

Legend

Munro

Corbett

Graham

English/Welsh Top

Accommodation

A selection of local accommodation options who advertise with Munromagic.com.

Where to Stay

We currently have no
sponsored accommodation listings for this area.

Rating & Reviews

Rating & Reviews

Rated:

from 6 votes

Click Stars to Vote
Your Rating

Written by Sc Joss on 30 May 2012:

The avoiding route is ok in the dry with good visibility. Just takes a bit of time to pick your way around the bad step. We avoided climbing down it on the ascent and then climbed over it easily enough on the return journey. but it was dry!

Written by Brian Howarth on 09 Sep 2011:

Harder than most books make it sound. Taking bad step descent directly with a rope is better than trying to skirt it, as the alternative is wet and slippery. Hand and feet holds on bad step on return are more obvious than you think. Everyone's different, but my advice is dont go near this without a rope, we scrambled the ascent without, but felt a lot better on return once we had roped up for bad step descent. (Bad step is a lot like that on the saddle, which is easily by-passed and less exposed), we scratched our heads for ten minutes before donning harness and rope.

Written by Chris Bowles on 04 Jun 2009:

Completed a magnificent circuit by ascending Bruach na Frithe, by an easy scramble up its west ridge before traversing over the Basteir tooth and Am Basteir. To climb the tooth we ascended via Lota corrie which was a moderate rock climb. From the tooth to Am Basteir requires one difficult pitch but then becomes an easy walk up a scree slope to the top. We then traversed over the 'bad step' to the Basteir/Gillian col and descended into Coire a' Basteir. The climb of the tooth requires a strong head for heights as it was very exposed.

Written by Roger Green on 28 Jun 2007:

The route described here seems to head a closer to pinnacle ridge on Gillean than I would expect. The most obvious walk in is to head for the beallach by passing to the left (West) above Basteir gorge on a good (if occasionally faint) path. Either way the scrambling is excellent and quite easy until the crux of the route is reached - the infamous Bad Step. If tackling the step head on a rope must be regarded as essential.

Written by David S Brown on 19 May 2006:

The crux is passing the 'Bad Step'. Finding a lower route on ledges (see Comment of a second David Brown 23/08/02) is NOT easy! At the Bad Step, follow edge of this wall from crest of ridge South about 8m to a slight hollow. 1.5m below you will see a platform big enough for both feet. Facing wall, climb onto this, then down more and traverse left until feet are on a small shelf of brown-stained basalt. Traverse this further left and down until hands are on the brown shelf and feet on whiter basalt below. Traverse more left and step off onto sloping slabs, and thence scramble to the summit.

Disclaimer. The details provided above are an aid to planning an expedition, but all distances, altitudes and bearings must be considered approximate. You must navigate with the appropriate map, a compass, your navigation skills and common sense, MunroMagic.com accept no responsibility for your interpretation of our route information.

Cookie Policy