OS Map of Sgurr na Banachdich Central Top

Descent to Coire Lagan

Near the bottom end of the Great Stone Chute above Coire Lagan on Skye.

15-Sep-23 • OutdoorMonkey • flickr

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Coire Lagan, Isle of Skye

This wee lochan sits at 1900 feet up in the Cuillin Mountains on Skye, surrounded by these amazing peaks.

12-Sep-23 • marlesghillie • flickr

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Edita, Dave and me on the summit of Sgurr a Ghreadaidh (Photo: Edita Horrell)

Sgurr na Banachdich a Sgurr a Ghreadaidh

17-Sep-20 • markhorrell • flickr

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L'oreille Gauche.

28-Nov-19 • Marie-Laure Even • flickr

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Coire Lagan corrie lake at 570 metres above sea-level, Isle of Skye, just over half-way up to the summit of Sgurr Alasdair, 993 metres, 3258 feet. The islands of Cannay and Sanday are clear on the left and the Outer Hebrides are right, 40-50 miles distant

Commentary. On first view, is this a massive lake divided by a band of rock? No. The foreground lake is a mountain corrie produced by a glacier flowing out and down from a massive mountain wall in the shape of a horse-shoe, over a rocky lip. When successive ice-ages became more temperate, conditions left a cup-shaped enclave. Rocks were smoothed and rounded by this continuous flow. Where the ice had stones frozen into its base these engraved the rocks with parallel grooves or striations. Coire Lagan is a small corrie lake, probably no more than 50 metres across and 10 metres at its deepest point. It is set within the massive Coire Lagan that is famous for its vast scree slopes including the Great Stone Chute, a white line of massive ice-shattered, angular boulders at nearly 1,500 feet in vertical height. Opposite the Chute is the imposing and challenging “Inaccessible Pinnacle.” On the south-east face of Coire Lagan is the protruding rock called “The Cioch.” In the film “Highlander” two key characters have a sword fight on this precarious ledge. Ultimately, the loftiest peak on Skye and on any island offshore from Britain, proudly looms over Coire Lagan, namely, Sgùrr Alasdair at 993 metres (3,258 feet). Incredibly rugged, bare, rocky, craggy and austere but overwhelmingly magnificent.

28-May-07 • Scotland by NJC. • flickr

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Coire Lagan corrie lake at 570 m. above sea-level, Isle of Skye, just over half-way up to the summit of Sgurr Alasdair, 993 metres, 3258 feet. The islands of Cannay and Sanday are clear on the left and the Outer Hebrides are right, 40-50 miles distant.

Commentary. On first view, is this a massive lake divided by a band of rock? No. The foreground lake is a mountain corrie produced by a glacier flowing out and down from a massive mountain wall in the shape of a horse-shoe, over a rocky lip. When successive ice-ages became more temperate, conditions left a cup-shaped enclave. Rocks were smoothed and rounded by this continuous flow. Where the ice had stones frozen into its base these engraved the rocks with parallel grooves or striations. Coire Lagan is a small corrie lake, probably no more than 50 metres across and 10 metres at its deepest point. It is set within the massive Coire Lagan that is famous for its vast scree slopes including the Great Stone Chute, a white line of massive ice-shattered, angular boulders at nearly 1,500 feet in vertical height. Opposite the Chute is the imposing and challenging “Inaccessible Pinnacle.” On the south-east face of Coire Lagan is the protruding rock called “The Cioch.” In the film “Highlander” two key characters have a sword fight on this precarious ledge. Ultimately, the loftiest peak on Skye and on any island offshore from Britain, proudly looms over Coire Lagan, namely, Sgùrr Alasdair at 993 metres (3,258 feet). Incredibly rugged, bare, rocky, craggy and austere but overwhelmingly magnificent. .

28-May-07 • Scotland by NJC. • flickr

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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

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Coire Lagan lochan was already over 1,500 feet above our base at Glenbrittle beach. Still 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

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The Gabbro and Basalt wall. Corrie lake in Coire Lagan and the Great Stone Chute beneath Sgurr Alasdair, 993 metres 3,258 feet, the peak just left of centre.

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

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The Black Cuillin Ridge is rough, rocky and rugged but the views are simply magnificent. My fellow climber, Bob and I needed a breather on the peaks.

Commentary. Probably the finest ten-mile ridge of 1,000 metre plus mountain-climbing in the U.K. The Black Cuillin are the truncated base of a 20,000-foot plus Super-Volcano that blew its top over 60 million years ago. The force would have matched the Krakatoa explosion and sent lava over 40 miles in some directions. Today, this Gabbro igneous rock, with basalt intrusions and dykes, is a traverse, par excellence. What makes it outstanding is that it occurs on the Isle of Skye, one of the most outstanding islands in the world. Views take in expanses of over 100 miles from Sutherland to Mull, Rum and Eigg to the Outer Hebrides, Ben Nevis to Slioch and An Teallach. Bays, cliffs, beaches, headlands, peninsulas, islands mountains, glens, forests, lochs, rivers and coastline along a hundred-mile stretch of the North-West Highlands. Truly world-class, and totally awesome!

04-Aug-82 • Scotland by NJC. • flickr

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