The Black Ridge, Simon Ingram
The Black Ridge, Simon Ingram
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The Black Ridge

Author: Simon Ingram

Narrator: Richard Burnip

Unabridged: 24 hr 32 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/19/2021

Synopsis

‘Will undoubtedly become a classic narrative of this scenically magnificent, legend-rich and geologically unique part of Scotland’ Cameron McNeish, Rising a kilometre out of the storm-scoured waters around Scotland’s Isle of Skye is a dark battlement of pinnacles and ridgelines: the Cuillin. Plagued by ferocious weather and built from rock that tears skin and confounds compasses, a crossing of the Cuillin is the toughest mountaineering expedition in the British Isles. But the traverse is only part of its lure. Hewn from the innards of an ancient volcano, this mountain range stands like a crown on an island drenched in intrigue. While nineteenth-century climbers flocked to the Alps, the ridge lay untrodden and unyielding. When a generation of mountaineers did come, they found a remarkable prize: the last peaks of Britain to be climbed – peaks that would be named after those who climbed them. Along the way, many others, from artists and poets to mystics and wanderers, have been lured by the Cuillin’s haunting beauty and magic. Those who have been seduced by the deadly magic of these mountains attest to the complexity of humans’ relationship with the intrigue of our wildest, most dangerous places. The Black Ridge is a journey through the history and into the heights of the Cuillin of Skye – from the ridge’s violent birth to the tales of its pioneers, its thrills, its myths and its monsters. From a night spent in a cave beneath its highest peak to the ascent of its most infamous pinnacle, this is an adventure on foot through all seasons across the most mesmerising mountain range in Britain.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Siobhán on March 06, 2024

I started this book on the Isle of Skye but it was just too dense, too informative, too cool to read it quickly. Simon Ingram has done a great job, "The Black Ridge" is both history and personal account. I have been travelling to the Isle of Skye since I was a kid but this book has taught me a lot.......more

Goodreads review by Jamie on May 02, 2022

This is one of the best books I've read in some time. Simon Ingram has been one of Britain's best writers about the natural world for some time, and this is his magnum opus. It's about the most interesting mountain range - and ridge - in the UK, but full of history, amazing characters, bravery and d......more

Goodreads review by Guy on November 02, 2021

If you have the stamina for 500 pages on The Cuillin Ridge, this is a hugely rewarding read. The climber's adventure across the ridge is gripping and a real page-turner. It's interspersed with lovingly told stories and histories of the mountain range, the island, the people and the mountaineering pi......more

Goodreads review by Steve on September 08, 2022

This book gives some fascinating background on the Cuillin ridge - it's history, geology, and exploration. It is written in a very engaging style, and is up there with his other book, 'Between the Sunset and the Sea'. This took me back to my own trips to the ridge, our many escapades, and eventual f......more

Goodreads review by Richard Rees on August 02, 2022

Excellent. So much detail about the ridge including history and geology interspersed with Simon Ingram's personal experience.......more

Quotes

‘Thrilling’ ‘Delicious… evokes the weather and the rocks and the people of the Skye I know better than anything else I’ve encountered’ Neil Gaiman 'An utterly enthralling tale to read. About passion, love, mystery, human nature… an important addition to the canon of mountaineering literature about Skye.’ magazine ‘The depth of research is extensive, yet his writing is so poetic that the pages fly by.’ Rosie Morton, ‘A hillwalker’s paean to the Cuillin blends scenery, folklore and wonder … The Skye Cuillin has obviously captured Simon Ingram’s heart and that fact resounds from every page … [] will undoubtedly become a classic narrative of this scenically magnificent, legend-rich and geologically unique part of Scotland’ Cameron McNeish, ‘[Ingram’s] Cuillin journey makes riveting reading … It’s unputdownable’ Maggie Fergusson, ‘Brilliant’ Jamie Collinson, Caught by the River Praise for Simon Ingram’s Between the Sunset and the Sea: ‘Wonderful’ Clare Balding ‘This is the work of a polymath mountain-lover with a backpack-sized curiosity and the stamina to take notes when most of us would be gasping for breath. It’s not just painstakingly researched, it’s also well written … an intrepid, original book’ The Times ‘A welcome and refreshing addition to the increasingly crowded field of New Nature Writing. Warm, poetic and humane yet shivery with the vertiginous thrill and allure that mountains cast over some of us.’ Stuart Maconie ‘Almost Tolkienian in delivery … Between the Sunset and the Sea turns mountain climbs into a form of poetry.’ BBC Countryfile ‘Rich, thought-provoking and lyrical.’ Scotland Outdoors ‘Accessible and refreshing … written in an engaging style that quickly takes the reader into its confidence. The endearing confession of an authentic mountain addict.’ Country Walking

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