Hills of Britain and Ireland
OS Map of Sgurr Alasdair
The climb to Coire Lagan, the Great Stone Chute and Sgurr Alasdair, second from right, 993 metres, 3,258 feet, Black Cuillins, Isle of Skye, Scotland.
Poem. Serrated, dog-tooth ridge. Wall of rock. Gabbro and basalt. Ten mile volcanic tee. Remnant of a super-volcano. Glacially scoured. Massive striated bluffs. Pot-bunker-like corrie lake of Coire Lagan. Great Stone Chute. Two thousand foot boulder path of ice-riven debris. This is what makes such a climb memorable and magnificent.
27-May-07 • Scotland by NJC. • flickr
isleofskye scotland unitedkingdom 54386980902
At Coire Lagan we were 1,500 feet above our campsite at Glenbrittle beach. Now we had over 1,700 feet to climb, including the incredibly rugged Great Stone Chute, a massive scree slope, left, to reach the summit of Sgurr Alasdair at 3,258 feet.
Commentary. This 300° wall of steep, rugged mountainous slope and ice-shattered scree is a horse-shoe of awesomeness. Only a few places in Scotland can match it for grandeur and breath-taking scale:- the north face of Ben Nevis, Lochaber, the north face of Liathach, Torridon, the north face of An Teallach, Dundonnell, mountains of Glencoe, Lochaber and Coire Adair and Creag Meagaidh near Loch Laggan. It is overwhelmingly magnificent. But still, realistically, only just the half-way marker to reaching the summit of Sgùrr Alasdair. That goal must be met because the views from the summit on a clear day are simply unparalleled and totally unforgettable.
27-May-07 • Scotland by NJC. • flickr
isleofskye scotland unitedkingdom 54366757988
Incredible summit view from Sgurr Alasdair, highest point on the 6,000 offshore islands of Britain. Left to right, Isles of Eigg, Soay, Rum, Sanday, Canna and Outer Hebrides. Glenbrittle and beach, bottom right.
Commentary. 08:00, my son, James, and I left base-camp at Glen Brittle beach. Ninety minutes in and the gentle foothills are behind us. As we stare into Coire Lagan, Sgurr Alasdair looks awesome, impenetrable, and unclimbable. As we summit the corrie’s smooth-rocked, ice-scoured lip to the corrie lake the basalt and gabbro wall of rock shows a thin grey streak of ice-shattered scree. The two thousand foot, “Great Stone Shoot,” gives a narrow but climbable rocky desert. Three hours in and we reach the col at the base of the summit. One final scramble and this view south welcomes us at 11:22. On top of the world, level with powder-puff clouds we peer down on a balmy Hebridean Sea, Rum, Soay, Rubha an Dunain peninsula, Loch Brittle and the beach campsite. Further on the horizon the southern end of the Outer Hebrides, as far as Barra, can be seen, over eighty miles distant. How this feels like a God-like throne – Shared by us – mere mortals. Panorama from Sgurr Alasdair, 993 m. (3,258 feet), Isle of Skye. Poem. A seat with the Gods. Brush the clouds. Touch the sky. Nigh on one thousand metres up on precipitous ridges of gabbro, basalt and bands of quartz. On the serrated, pinnacled, fragmented remnant ridge of a long-time extinct and exploded super-volcano. Having clambered past the Fairy Pools, The Cioch, Coire Lagan, the Inaccessible Pinnacle and two thousand foot of sharp, shattered scree making up the Great Stone Chute and the final summit arête, this is the view southwards. To stand here. And see this. It is surreal. Spiritual. An honour. A privilege. A sight that relatively few have seen. But those that have seen it, will not forget. To see for 40- 80 miles in all directions. To see Ben Nevis, An Teallach, Ben More on Mull, Canna, Rum, Eigg, Muck and Soay. And to see a large part of the incredible Isle of Skye, itself, and the Outer Hebrides. It is too much to take in, too much to believe. I shall have to return and confirm that it was real, not, merely, a wonderful dream!
27-May-07 • Scotland by NJC. • flickr
isleofskye scotland unitedkingdom 54374938380
Incredible summit view from Sgurr Alasdair, 993 metres, highest point on the 6,000 offshore islands of Britain. Left to right, Isles of Eigg, Soay, Rum, Sanday, Canna and Outer Hebrides. Glenbrittle and beach, bottom right.
Commentary. 08:00, my son, James, and I left base-camp at Glen Brittle beach. Ninety minutes in and the gentle foothills are behind us. As we stare into Coire Lagan, Sgurr Alasdair looks awesome, impenetrable, and unclimbable. As we summit the corrie’s smooth-rocked, ice-scoured lip to the corrie lake the basalt and gabbro wall of rock shows a thin grey streak of ice-shattered scree. The two thousand foot, “Great Stone Shoot,” gives a narrow but climbable rocky desert. Three hours in and we reach the col at the base of the summit. One final scramble and this view south welcomes us at 11:22. On top of the world, level with powder-puff clouds we peer down on a balmy Hebridean Sea, Rum, Soay, Rubha an Dunain peninsula, Loch Brittle and the beach campsite. Further on the horizon the southern end of the Outer Hebrides, as far as Barra, can be seen, over fifty miles distant. How this feels like a God-like throne – Shared by us – mere mortals. Panorama from Sgurr Alasdair, 993 m. (3,258 feet), Isle of Skye. Poem. A seat with the Gods. Brush the clouds. Touch the sky. Nigh on one thousand metres up on precipitous ridges of gabbro, basalt and bands of quartz. On the serrated, pinnacled, fragmented remnant ridge of a long-time extinct and exploded super-volcano. Having clambered past the Fairy Pools, The Cioch, Coire Lagan, the Inaccessible Pinnacle and two thousand foot of sharp, shattered scree making up the Great Stone Chute and the final summit arête, this is the view southwards. To stand here. And see this. It is surreal. Spiritual. An honour. A privilege. A sight that relatively few have seen. But those that have seen it, will not forget. To see for 80-100 miles in all directions. To see Ben Nevis, An Teallach, Ben More on Mull, Canna, Rum, Eigg, Muck and Soay. And to see a large part of the incredible Isle of Skye, itself, and the Outer Hebrides. It is too much to take in, too much to believe. I shall have to return and confirm that it was real, not, merely, a wonderful dream!
27-May-07 • Scotland by NJC. • flickr
54260478257
Summit view from Sgurr Alasdair, Isle of Skye, to the Mainland with patches of cloud-burst rain. Bla Bheinn is an outlier Black Cuillin on the left. Long. thin peninsula is Sleat. Right of centre mainland is the mouth of Loch Hourn.
Commentary. Starting at Glenbrittle Beach at 08:00 on Sunday, 27th. May, 2007, my son and I climbed 3,258 feet (993m.) from sea-level for nearly four hours. As my eyes focused on the summit, they witnessed ten other climbers who had stopped to feed, drink and relax on this magnificent summit. This was a surprise initially, but given that the summit can be approached from several starting points, perhaps not quite so surprising after all, particularly on a glorious day of clear blue sky, on Skye. We had only seen two other people near Coire Lagan approaching 1,870 feet or 570 metres. It was a privilege to hear their disbelieving stupor at the glory of this view. There were literally too many places that could be seen. From left (North) to right (South) some of the places that can be seen in shot include:- Bla Bheinn, mountain on Skye, separate from the Black Cuillin Horseshoe. The Sleat Peninsula. The Sound of Sleat. The entrance to the fjord Loch Nevis with Ladhar Bheinn, (1,020m.) above. Loch Nevis and Mallaig. The islands of Soay and Eigg. Morar and Arisaig beaches. The Ardnamurchan Peninsula and the Island of Mull. Beyond this shot, westwards and north-westwards the Outer Hebrides and the whole of the Island of Skye could be seen. Southwards, Ben More on Mull is clear, and even Ben Cruachan, in Argyll, can be seen. Northwards the Torridon Mountains, An Teallach and even some of the isolated monoliths of Sutherland can be distinguished. The extent of this view is bewildering, bemusing and incredible. What lucky people, we all were, to witness a view to die for!
27-May-07 • Scotland by NJC. • flickr
54229359336
OS Map
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Photos
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The other photos have been geo-tagged as on or around the summit. For less busy mountains, it can be a little hit and miss.
The climb to Coire Lagan, the Great Stone Chute and Sgurr Alasdair, second from right, 993 metres, 3,258 feet, Black Cuillins, Isle of Skye, Scotland.
Poem. Serrated, dog-tooth ridge. Wall of rock. Gabbro and basalt. Ten mile volcanic tee. Remnant of a super-volcano. Glacially scoured. Massive striated bluffs. Pot-bunker-like corrie lake of Coire Lagan. Great Stone Chute. Two thousand foot boulder path of ice-riven debris. This is what makes such a climb memorable and magnificent.
27-May-07 • Scotland by NJC. • flickr
isleofskye scotland unitedkingdom 54386980902
At Coire Lagan we were 1,500 feet above our campsite at Glenbrittle beach. Now we had over 1,700 feet to climb, including the incredibly rugged Great Stone Chute, a massive scree slope, left, to reach the summit of Sgurr Alasdair at 3,258 feet.
Commentary. This 300° wall of steep, rugged mountainous slope and ice-shattered scree is a horse-shoe of awesomeness. Only a few places in Scotland can match it for grandeur and breath-taking scale:- the north face of Ben Nevis, Lochaber, the north face of Liathach, Torridon, the north face of An Teallach, Dundonnell, mountains of Glencoe, Lochaber and Coire Adair and Creag Meagaidh near Loch Laggan. It is overwhelmingly magnificent. But still, realistically, only just the half-way marker to reaching the summit of Sgùrr Alasdair. That goal must be met because the views from the summit on a clear day are simply unparalleled and totally unforgettable.
27-May-07 • Scotland by NJC. • flickr
isleofskye scotland unitedkingdom 54366757988
Incredible summit view from Sgurr Alasdair, highest point on the 6,000 offshore islands of Britain. Left to right, Isles of Eigg, Soay, Rum, Sanday, Canna and Outer Hebrides. Glenbrittle and beach, bottom right.
Commentary. 08:00, my son, James, and I left base-camp at Glen Brittle beach. Ninety minutes in and the gentle foothills are behind us. As we stare into Coire Lagan, Sgurr Alasdair looks awesome, impenetrable, and unclimbable. As we summit the corrie’s smooth-rocked, ice-scoured lip to the corrie lake the basalt and gabbro wall of rock shows a thin grey streak of ice-shattered scree. The two thousand foot, “Great Stone Shoot,” gives a narrow but climbable rocky desert. Three hours in and we reach the col at the base of the summit. One final scramble and this view south welcomes us at 11:22. On top of the world, level with powder-puff clouds we peer down on a balmy Hebridean Sea, Rum, Soay, Rubha an Dunain peninsula, Loch Brittle and the beach campsite. Further on the horizon the southern end of the Outer Hebrides, as far as Barra, can be seen, over eighty miles distant. How this feels like a God-like throne – Shared by us – mere mortals. Panorama from Sgurr Alasdair, 993 m. (3,258 feet), Isle of Skye. Poem. A seat with the Gods. Brush the clouds. Touch the sky. Nigh on one thousand metres up on precipitous ridges of gabbro, basalt and bands of quartz. On the serrated, pinnacled, fragmented remnant ridge of a long-time extinct and exploded super-volcano. Having clambered past the Fairy Pools, The Cioch, Coire Lagan, the Inaccessible Pinnacle and two thousand foot of sharp, shattered scree making up the Great Stone Chute and the final summit arête, this is the view southwards. To stand here. And see this. It is surreal. Spiritual. An honour. A privilege. A sight that relatively few have seen. But those that have seen it, will not forget. To see for 40- 80 miles in all directions. To see Ben Nevis, An Teallach, Ben More on Mull, Canna, Rum, Eigg, Muck and Soay. And to see a large part of the incredible Isle of Skye, itself, and the Outer Hebrides. It is too much to take in, too much to believe. I shall have to return and confirm that it was real, not, merely, a wonderful dream!
27-May-07 • Scotland by NJC. • flickr
isleofskye scotland unitedkingdom 54374938380
Incredible summit view from Sgurr Alasdair, 993 metres, highest point on the 6,000 offshore islands of Britain. Left to right, Isles of Eigg, Soay, Rum, Sanday, Canna and Outer Hebrides. Glenbrittle and beach, bottom right.
Commentary. 08:00, my son, James, and I left base-camp at Glen Brittle beach. Ninety minutes in and the gentle foothills are behind us. As we stare into Coire Lagan, Sgurr Alasdair looks awesome, impenetrable, and unclimbable. As we summit the corrie’s smooth-rocked, ice-scoured lip to the corrie lake the basalt and gabbro wall of rock shows a thin grey streak of ice-shattered scree. The two thousand foot, “Great Stone Shoot,” gives a narrow but climbable rocky desert. Three hours in and we reach the col at the base of the summit. One final scramble and this view south welcomes us at 11:22. On top of the world, level with powder-puff clouds we peer down on a balmy Hebridean Sea, Rum, Soay, Rubha an Dunain peninsula, Loch Brittle and the beach campsite. Further on the horizon the southern end of the Outer Hebrides, as far as Barra, can be seen, over fifty miles distant. How this feels like a God-like throne – Shared by us – mere mortals. Panorama from Sgurr Alasdair, 993 m. (3,258 feet), Isle of Skye. Poem. A seat with the Gods. Brush the clouds. Touch the sky. Nigh on one thousand metres up on precipitous ridges of gabbro, basalt and bands of quartz. On the serrated, pinnacled, fragmented remnant ridge of a long-time extinct and exploded super-volcano. Having clambered past the Fairy Pools, The Cioch, Coire Lagan, the Inaccessible Pinnacle and two thousand foot of sharp, shattered scree making up the Great Stone Chute and the final summit arête, this is the view southwards. To stand here. And see this. It is surreal. Spiritual. An honour. A privilege. A sight that relatively few have seen. But those that have seen it, will not forget. To see for 80-100 miles in all directions. To see Ben Nevis, An Teallach, Ben More on Mull, Canna, Rum, Eigg, Muck and Soay. And to see a large part of the incredible Isle of Skye, itself, and the Outer Hebrides. It is too much to take in, too much to believe. I shall have to return and confirm that it was real, not, merely, a wonderful dream!
27-May-07 • Scotland by NJC. • flickr
54260478257
Summit view from Sgurr Alasdair, Isle of Skye, to the Mainland with patches of cloud-burst rain. Bla Bheinn is an outlier Black Cuillin on the left. Long. thin peninsula is Sleat. Right of centre mainland is the mouth of Loch Hourn.
Commentary. Starting at Glenbrittle Beach at 08:00 on Sunday, 27th. May, 2007, my son and I climbed 3,258 feet (993m.) from sea-level for nearly four hours. As my eyes focused on the summit, they witnessed ten other climbers who had stopped to feed, drink and relax on this magnificent summit. This was a surprise initially, but given that the summit can be approached from several starting points, perhaps not quite so surprising after all, particularly on a glorious day of clear blue sky, on Skye. We had only seen two other people near Coire Lagan approaching 1,870 feet or 570 metres. It was a privilege to hear their disbelieving stupor at the glory of this view. There were literally too many places that could be seen. From left (North) to right (South) some of the places that can be seen in shot include:- Bla Bheinn, mountain on Skye, separate from the Black Cuillin Horseshoe. The Sleat Peninsula. The Sound of Sleat. The entrance to the fjord Loch Nevis with Ladhar Bheinn, (1,020m.) above. Loch Nevis and Mallaig. The islands of Soay and Eigg. Morar and Arisaig beaches. The Ardnamurchan Peninsula and the Island of Mull. Beyond this shot, westwards and north-westwards the Outer Hebrides and the whole of the Island of Skye could be seen. Southwards, Ben More on Mull is clear, and even Ben Cruachan, in Argyll, can be seen. Northwards the Torridon Mountains, An Teallach and even some of the isolated monoliths of Sutherland can be distinguished. The extent of this view is bewildering, bemusing and incredible. What lucky people, we all were, to witness a view to die for!
27-May-07 • Scotland by NJC. • flickr
54229359336
Glenbrittle Bay, Beach and Glen and Coire Lagan's Corrie Lochan from the summit of Sgurr Alasdair, Black Cuillins, Isle of Skye, Scotland.
Commentary. Rocky summit of the Isle of Skye. Sgùrr Alasdair. Threaded path- our route taken from Glen Brittle Camp Site. Swam in the bay the day before the climb. Water comfortable-15° Celsius-Gulf Stream. Trekked to the corrie loch of Coire Lagan at 570 metres. Blue-sky day, balmy and warm. After Lagan ascended 1,500 foot of scree, the “Great Stone Chute.” One final Grade 2 clamber along an arête and on top of the world. Seeing islands and mountains and bays and headlands from 20-50 miles away. Breath-taking, simply wonderful!
27-May-07 • Scotland by NJC. • flickr
54282773828
Inaccessible Pinnacle from Sgurr Alasdair, Black Cuillins, Isle of Skye, Scotland.
Commentary. The ten mile horseshoe ridge of the Black Cuillins of Skye is spectacular and awesome to the nth. degree. On a clear day they afford views of 80-100 miles, north, south, east and west. Their location at the centre of an amazing island give endless mountain and island-studded seascapes made up of over fifty large, small, mountainous, hilly and flat Hebridean islands. What they lack in the myriad of green, blue, brown, tan and purple hues of the mainland Highlands, these grey volcanic peaks make up for in pure, brutal, raw, breath-taking, magnificence. The drama of their precipitous, angular, serrated ridge is stupendous and unforgettable, even other-worldly. The Inn Pinn, seen here, is often the last of 282 “Munros” to be tackled, due to a marked increase in its technical difficulty.
27-May-07 • Scotland by NJC. • flickr
54271710577
The incredible aretes, peaks and scree slopes of the Black Cuillin range from the highest peak, Sgurr Alasdair, 993 metres, 3,258 feet.
Commentary. The ten mile horseshoe ridge of the Black Cuillins of Skye is spectacular and awesome to the nth. degree. On a clear day they afford views of 80-100 miles, north, south, east and west. Their location at the centre of an amazing island give endless mountain and island-studded seascapes made up of over fifty large, small, mountainous, hilly and flat Hebridean islands. What they lack in the myriad of green, blue, brown, tan and purple hues of the mainland Highlands, these grey volcanic peaks make up for in pure, brutal, raw, breath-taking, magnificence. The drama of their precipitous, angular, serrated ridge is stupendous and unforgettable, even other-worldly. The Inn Pinn, near here, is often the last of 282 “Munros” to be tackled, due to a marked increase in its technical difficulty.
27-May-07 • Scotland by NJC. • flickr
isleofskye scotland unitedkingdom 54438797265
Inaccessible Pinnacle and Great Stone Chute from the col near the summit of Sgurr Alasdair. Rugged grandeur, extraordinaire. Isle of Skye, Scotland.
Commentary. Slate grey basalt and black gabbro, precipitous igneous rocks. The highest ridges of the Black Cuillins. An ancient rocky rim, remnant of a blown super-volcano. Now shattered by global cooling, in the deep ice ages. One thousand five hundred feet of ice-riven rock, provides a rough track in or out. Grand, brutal, stark, awesome. A lift to the body, soul, spirit and mind. Distant views of mountainous islands, headlands, ocean and mainland can distract from the precarious ridge. At your peril !!!
27-May-07 • Scotland by NJC. • flickr
54299870681
Videos
In today's video I will be doing the 3 Southern Munros of the Black Cuillin on the Isle of Skye, Sgurr nan Eag, Sgurr Dubh Mor ...
Sgùrr Alasdair is the highest peak on Skye - and indeed, the highest UK island summit. The tiny summit is an amazing viewpoint ...
Sgùrr Alasdair and Sgùrr Mhic Chòinnich via Collies Ledge. The Black Cuillin on the Isle of Skye. #munro #cuillin #skye.
Ice has immense erosive power, carving out deep and wide valleys, and smoothing the bedrock into gently curving slabs.
Sgùrr a' Mhadaidh and Sgùrr a' Ghreadaidh in the Black Cuillin on Skye. Solo Hike #hiking #skye #munro.
Notes
- Data: Database of British and Irish Hills v18.2
- Maps: We use OS mapping for England, Scotland, Wales, and the Isle of Man. Sadly, Channel Islands, Northern (OSNI) and Southern Ireland (OSI) mapping isn't available online, so we use Openstreetmap.