The route takes the steep and shady underside of the Cioch itself, following the line of a faint seam running above roofs which leads to a lonely spike in the middle of the wall. The meat of the route (up to the spike) has no protection and sustained 6b a long way above the very hard Cioch slabs below. However, the climbing is awesome - crimping the pock-marked texture of the rock. I top roped the route in 2002 but couldn't return for the lead due to bad weather. This time I had it wired again in an hour and led before the weather had a chance to intervene again. The route is called The Gathering and is about E8 6b (7b+ climbing with a 40 foot fall straight onto the slabs if you fall). The biggest problem for the lead was the slightly scrittly nature of the pocks and smears; there was a tendency for tiny crystals to crumble beneath your feet/fingers as you moved. This happened on the crucial final pocket from which you reach the spike holds. I started the move but a crystal broke, making me wobble slightly. I locked off and blew on the pocket, rechalked and regained composure and kept going. All a bit scary. Hardest route in the Cuillin and on Skye.
Climb up to a ramp, turn left to cracks towards the fault, which is overpassed via a jammed block. Use a flake to go left and up to a second flake. Overcome a series of bulges and a scoop. Traverse right into a hard groove and jugs to finish.
Start up Stumbling Block to its fourth bolt before pulling out left and over the bulge by a powerful sequence and gaining Phantom just before its last bolt.
To the right of the toe of the buttress (right of Supercreeps) there is an overlap. Climb this using the obvious fingerhold and make a hard mantle (f6c) onto it. Move up to find fingertip jugs on the next overlap. Overcome the upper slab and go to the tree of Silent Spring/Medium Cool. From here avoid the runnerl of Silent Spring and the easy terrain of Medium Cool, and instead climb boldly the slab between the two.
