An experienced climber from Skye has shared extraordinary images from the Cuillins after spending a night in a cave during a storm.
Adventurer Adrian Trendall, 61, says he had a “lucky escape” after being forced to seek shelter in the Sgùrr Sgumain bivy cave.
While huddling for warmth during the storm, he received word that his one-year-old kitten, Panda, was gravely ill and might not survive until dawn.
A promising forecast for a three-day hike in the Cuillins
With a good weather forecast at the end of January, Mr Trendall had set out on a three-day climb in the Cuillin Hills.
The experienced climber and mountain guide had long wanted to capture a photograph of the sunrise over the Cuillins.
Mr Trendall, who has lived at Glen Brittle on the Isle of Skye since 2017, said conditions initially looked promising.
He said: “I’d been determined to get out for a few days.”
As an experienced climber, Mr Trendall was well prepared, with a preplanned route.
However, the good weather quickly turned sour as “gusts of wind roared around the coire with alarming frequency”.
Almost 15 hours of darkness on Skye
“Although the cave entrance should, in theory, be in the lee from the wind, the strong gusts were barrelling into the coire, spinning around its contours, then blowing directly into my abode for the night,” Mr Trendall said.
“Whirling dervishes of whiteness forced their way into the black cave, coating everything in snow.
“The strong winds drove the fresh snow everywhere.”
He added: “Dinner was impossible.
“Undoing my bivy bag would have invited entry to a million particles of snow, which would soon melt and soak my sleeping bag
“Bivy bag fully zipped up, I was pretty snug inside.
“Snacking on cold food—salami, flapjacks and oat bars—I dreamed of a hot meal, but using the stove inside the bivy bag would have been impossible.
“With nearly 15 hours of darkness ahead, I was in for the long haul.”
Luckily, he had brought a book – Ian Rankin’s A Question of Blood – and was soon transported Edinburgh and Rebus’ latest case.
Things were ‘grim’ at home and in the Cuillins
Admitting to himself that “things were grim,” he consoled himself with the knowledge that the following day’s forecast was better.
“The cave has great phone reception,” he continued. “I was able to check forecasts and post updates on Facebook.”
At 11.45pm, as the storm continued to rage, he received a worrying message from his wife, Bridgette.
It read: “I don’t think Panda is going to make it. He’s fading fast.”
The couple’s kitten had been unwell for a few days and Bridgette had taken him to the vet.
Sadly things “seemed to have gone downhill.”
Mr Trendall was faced with a dilemma – and even contemplated heading down in the dark.
But he says “a healthy dose of common sense and self-preservation kicked in, and I told Bridgette I’d be down in the morning”.
For Mr Trendall, the rest of the night “seemed endless” as the constant battering of wind and snow kept him awake.
‘Would I have to dig a grave for Panda?’
He said: “I dreaded getting home and having to dig a grave for poor Panda.”
Eventually, he fell asleep but woke at 5.30am to the sound of silence.
Having had no view at all during the night, the twin peaks of Sgùrr Dubh Mòr and Sgùrr Dubh an Da Bheinn were now beautifully silhouetted against a star-studded sky.
He said: “With three hours to sunrise, I dabbled in a bit of astrophotography—the cave entrance framing peaks and stars.
“It was an opening onto a magical, rather surreal world, a far cry from the wind-driven, snow-blasting I’d endured for most of the night.”
Gradually, the bright stars were replaced by dark blue sky.
While there was “no really spectacular sunrise,” the world outside the cave had changed dramatically overnight.
Mr Trendall said: “There had been a lot of fresh snow, a lot of spindrift swirling in all directions.
“All trace of my passage to the cave had been obliterated.
“Knee-deep footprints in the snow had been filled, the virgin white snow a clean slate as the sun rose on a new day.”
‘It was the news I hoped for’
As he began his walk home Mr Trendall called his wife to ask after Panda, fearing what she would say.
But he told us: “It was the news I had hoped for, and combined with the bright sun, it lifted my heart.
“Knowing the descent would be hard graft in the fresh, unconsolidated snow, I told Bridgette I’d take things easy but get down safely and surely.”
“Once out of the coire, I stopped for a brew and to shed a few layers.
“Setting a pretty quick pace, I headed homeward under the hot sun and blue skies.
“It was so good to see Panda, even if poorly, to stroke his beautiful coat and look into his eyes.
“He is still far from well, and things could still go either way, but at least I got to see him again.
“Here I was, stroking his silky soft fur when I’d feared I’d be digging him a grave.
“I think both Panda and I had lucky escapes.”
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