Mature Flâneur

Climbing Stac Pollaidh: One of Scotland’s Most Challenging Mountains

At age 65, a man takes the measure of a mountain, and the mountain takes the measure of the man.

First view of Stac Pollaidh, my photo from 2017. All photos by Tim Ward

Seven summers ago I climbed Stac Pollaidh (“Stack Polly”) in Coigach, in the northwestern Highlands. It’s billed as one of the most challenging mountains in Scotland (according to AllTrails.com). That climb was truly one of the most memorable and dazzling of my life, for in just a few hours one gains views of the surrounding wilderness to rival anything I have seen climbing in the Himalayas, the Rockies, or even Mount Kilimanjaro.

Tim at the top of Stac Pollaidh in 2017. All photos by Tim Ward

We returned to Scotland this summer, my beloved spouse Teresa and me, and have been staying this past week just down the road from Stac Pollaidh. I’m 65 years old now. At sixty, I tore the meniscus on my left knee and had to give up running. I’ve been hiking more to compensate for not being able to run anymore. Then I developed bursitis in my left hip as a result of climbing one mountain too many last summer. So now when I hike, I have to be careful not to stress the old hinges.