Skye's Cuillin Ridge Traverse. Adrian Trendall

requires boiling water and can be made in a cup – consider adding cranberries or sultanas to it as well. Drink as much as is available. Breakfast bars are good but some can be a bit dry.

      Miscellaneous

      Depending on the time of year, consider taking a head net and/or some sort of repellent like Smidge to counter the midges. Remember, they don’t fly if the wind is 4mph or more so exposed bivi sites on the ridge may be midge-free.

      Besides midges, the other wildlife worry on the ridge is ticks, which may well latch onto you especially lower down on the walk in where deer are prevalent. Tick cards are worth their weight in gold to remove these stubborn blighters and are available from chemists.

      Toiletries should be kept to a minimum – you shouldn’t really carry more than a toothbrush and a small container with enough toothpaste for the team, toilet paper, sunscreen (if the weather’s good) and lip salve.

      Take a phone for emergency use and possibly to check the weather forecast on a multi-day traverse. Mobile phone reception is poor to non-existent in Glen Brittle, Elgol etc but pretty good when on the ridge itself. Check your particular network has coverage before you set off. You might find a small camera useful to record events (or you could rely on your phone).

      Make sure there is no duplication of unnecessary gear between partners. It may sound excessive but to save weight and bulk consider taking things out of individual stuff sacks and containers. Thus, there is no need to keep a bivi bag in a stuff sack. Unless there is a forecast of heavy rain, don’t bother with a dry bag but use the bivi bag as a pack liner and bundle things inside it.

Navigation

      Should you be lucky and have great weather with wall-to-wall visibility, you may well wonder what all the fuss is about. More likely, visibility will be less than ideal and you will immediately realise why people talk about the complexities of Cuillin navigation.