The traverse of the Rum Cuillin: The west top of Trallval from the east top

Trallval is a Norse name meaning 'Hill of the Trolls', a name given by the Viking settlers on the the island, as are most of the names of the Rum hills. In Norse folklore, trolls are beings living in isolated caves, rocks and mountains, rarely helpful to human beings and therefore to be avoided if possible. One explanation for the association of this hill with the dwellings of trolls is the large number of burrows of Manx Shearwaters, birds which still nest on the island in huge numbers. Manx Shearwaters spend most of their life at sea, only returning to land to raise their young. They return to their nests only under cover of complete darkness to avoid predation and when landing make unearthly sounds which must have put fear into the hearts of the local inhabitants. Despite there being no cairn on the west top of Trallval (seen here), it is the higher of the two tops. Just to confuse matters, the east top has a small cairn, so it's probable that especially in poor visibility this cairn on the east top is taken for the summit if the route guide isn't known or to hand for reference. The west top is an airy perch and the scramble between the two tops is one of the highlights of the traverse of the Rum Cuillin. For better balance and agility, I left my rucksack at this point to scramble out and back (including, I realised at some point on the traverse, leaving behind my camera) so you'll just have to take my word for it that I got to that pointy bit of grass that indicates the summit! The way I took the traverse was on the right side to start with, switching to the left of the crest on starting the ascent. My chosen route included a short OMG section ('slip now and you're dead') with a narrow ledge about one foot wide and six foot long, the drop being probably more than a hundred feet. That's perhaps why I didn't go back to do it a second time with my camera round my neck.