19 years past, I discovered paradise for real when I left the car and ventured into the glens of Torridon and scaled the mighty Liathach and her sisters in splendour. It was a cracking week with the sun splitting the rocks and warming the heart of any hill walker. In particular there was one moment that will always stay buried within me. That final pull up the path into Coire Mhic Fhearchair where the massive gothic towers of the triple buttress on Beinn Eighe edge back from a glass mirrored lochan. The perfect setting for one of the finest sights in the whole of Scotland. The furthest thing from my mind then, was that one day I would climb that central tower.

However the usual progression from hill walking, Munro bagging, rock and winter climbing ensued and the opportunity or excuse arrived when I was reading through the list of routes set out for a "climb through history". Piggot's Route, it hadn't been claimed. I couldn't believe my luck, quick phone call to the MCofS and it was mine, perfect. The first thing I noticed about the climb was that it required a week to dry out after a prolonged rain, well 2000 had been a good year and hadn't I claimed the Chasms scalp on the Buachaille in near perfect conditions and in the Clachaig gully three quartered topped out deliriously dehydrated!

I began planning the big day, as the clocks were about to go back I pencilled in the following July or August. This was one to be savoured. My partner was to be that mean Creag Dubh soloist Bruce, a few pints and he would be hooked. The hour duly arrived and we hiked in the night before only to be eaten alive by midges at our make shift bivy site. Next morning the sky looked rather dull but the forecast had indicated it would stay dry. As we made our way along the track things were looking bad to the north and as we entered the corrie it was like stepping into an abyss on a bad day. Quick change of plan retreat to the car over to Newtonmore and bagged King Bee, so all was not lost, or so we thought. What followed was months of poor weather, tendonitis in both wrists (Falkirk climbing wall!) the usual family commitments and so on. Alas, a week of fine weather arrived and we were back in Torridon hell bent on success.

We were not to be disappointed this time, the buttress looked magnificent, clear blue skies overhead, no rain had fallen for 5 days, perfect. We had planned to share this day with two friends who would climb the Eastern Buttress and we parted by the small lochan en route to our respective lines.

Bruce and I attacked the red Torridonian sandstone cautiously, as we new it would require respect, this well weathered skin. Vertical walls separated by narrow ledges loomed. There followed 500ft of interesting climbing between the black congealed streaks that soaked out from the turf ledges.

The real fun for the rock connoisseur follows on the silver grey Quartzite above. From the broad terrace I led a steep symmetrical grove for sixty feet on good rock. Bruce followed then traversed left on to the face before moving up and on through a tight awkward chimney which cracked the second tier for us. Moving together we reached the final tower which looms steeply up to the roof of the buttress, impassive in appearance and quite intimidatingly loose; unstable angular boulders of dangerous beauty perch precarious and wickedly inviting, however it provides the key to a successful day that can only be relished by that final effort.

Three memorable pitches later we topped out to a melting autumn sun of burning amber. We soaked in the views and revelled in our desolate surroundings. The end to a perfect day, which had given us a route to be recommended and although kind to us, never underestimated. There's a lot of loose stuff up there!

(Footnote)
As we lay basking in the glory of our day's success little did we know that an epic was being fought out behind us on the Eastern Buttress, resulting in one unfortunate climber spending 17 hours on a twelve by six inch ledge. The Mountain Rescue aided by a Coastguard helicopter, finally pulling him to safety the next morning. Funny old game this climbing!