Peaks and pinnacles, jagged crests and fantastic outlines; a wilderness of weird shapes, dark, solemn and awful. Sunshine occasionally illuminates their rugged crests... but the darkness of eternal night dwells in their gorges.
C.R. Weld. The iconic ridge of the Black Cuillin on the Isle of Skye is the UK's most challenging mountain range. Over 11 kilometres long and above 3,000 feet in places, the ridge contains 11 Munros and 16 other summits. In The Black Ridge, Simon Ingram offers a powerful distillation of the atmosphere, history and experience of the ridge: Britain's ultimate mountain range. Split into two parts, the Ascent and the Traverse, the narrative of this book follows a complete, continuous expedition across the treacherous ridge. The narrative of this journey is interwoven with history of the region and of the explorers who have braved the climb, the natural history of the area and its artistic and cultural significance over the ages. The result is the definitive book about the atmospheric experience and cultural history of Britain's most unique and most dangerous peaks. It is simply the hardest place in the lad: a place described by the explorer Frank Smythe as 'Britain's only true mountains'. A powerful distillation of the atmosphere, history and experience of the Isle of Skye's Cuillin Ridge: BRITAIN'S ULTIMATE MOUNTAIN RANGE. Filled with local colour, characters and insight. An exploration in the modern age, but in the classic spirit. A fascinating natural history of the Isle of Skye, how it was formed and what makes it unique in Britain and in the world. Also a human history of the Isle, from the builders of stone circles and the first farmers to later Norse travellers and highland clans.
