Hills of Britain and Ireland
OS Map of Mullach an Rathain Far East Top
Into the unknown
Heading towards the 'Am Fasarinen pinnacles' section on Liathach, hoping that advice I'd read from others ("go over the pinnacles, they're ok, and the bypass path is worse!") was true and they weren't as bad as they looked! Trouble is, you never know 'til you get there and try for yourself...
07-May-24 • OutdoorMonkey • flickr
liathach torridon ridge mountain scotland highlands munro munros amfasarinen pinnacles scramble scrambling outside outdoor rural nature natural scenic scenery wild wilderness remote mountaintop 53731805433
Liathach panorama
A view from the 'Am Fasarinen pinnacles' section of Liathach's ridge, looking west towards Mullach an Rathain (one of its munro summits, somewhere in the cloud centre-pic).
07-May-24 • OutdoorMonkey • flickr
liathach torridon ridge mountain scotland highlands munro munros amfasarinen pinnacles scramble scrambling outside outdoor rural nature natural scenic scenery wild wilderness remote mountaintop 53731806248
Liathach ridge path
One of the more straightforward parts of Liathach's ridge, in that it didn't involve scrambling!
07-May-24 • OutdoorMonkey • flickr
liathach torridon ridge mountain scotland highlands munro munros amfasarinen pinnacles scramble scrambling outside outdoor rural nature natural scenic scenery wild wilderness remote mountaintop 53730683117
Last pinnacle
Looking west on Liathach on a traverse of the ridge, with the last of the Am Fasarinen pinnacles in view, the second (western) munro peak Mullach an Rathain beyond that to the right, and Loch Torridon in the distance.
07-May-24 • OutdoorMonkey • flickr
liathach torridon ridge mountain scotland highlands munro munros amfasarinen pinnacles scramble scrambling outside outdoor rural nature natural scenic scenery wild wilderness remote mountaintop 53732030580
Looking back
A view back to Liathach's Am Fasarinen pinnacles and eastern munro peak Spidean a' Choire Leith. It was a view of some considerable relief and elation! The scrambling up and down the pinnacles had been pretty straightforward, I hadn't got myself crag-fast anywhere, the exposure / drops hadn't been too bad, and I was back on more substantial ground! It was also funny to see how short a section the pinnacles are (a few hundred metres?) vs how long it had taken and how engrossing the whole experience had been.
07-May-24 • OutdoorMonkey • flickr
liathach torridon ridge mountain scotland highlands munro munros amfasarinen pinnacles scramble scrambling outside outdoor rural nature natural scenic scenery wild wilderness remote mountaintop 53730683527
As the autumn sun sets and the mist falls around the Pinnacles of Liathach the atmosphere fills with unspoken threat and foreboding, Wester Ross, Scotland.
Poem. Like a mist-shrouded, castellated fortress, belonging to a giant, the “Pinnacles of Liathach” loom with sinister intent. Will they impale the unwary? Will climbers be swallowed up by awesome chasms? Will the mist blind their step, and they fall a thousand metres to the valley floor? Like a scene from a grotesque fairy-tale or a prison within “Middle Earth,” this mighty serrated ridge stands ominous and threatening above Glen Torridon. Climbed from this spot nearly forty-five years ago, 1,055 metres (3,461 feet) to the summit, past the “Pinnacles.” But that was a blue-sky, clear day. Views – stupendous. Today, took the image and remembered!
28-Oct-10 • Scotland by NJC. • flickr
54127354624
OS Map
This is OS mapping. In some areas, OpenStreetMap shows more footpaths
Spatial NI has online OSNI mapping. Click "Basemap Gallery" (4 squares icon at the top).
Now would be a good time for a cup of tea.
GPX Editor
Record map clicks
Reload map
Photos
Please tag your photos and upload them to the British and Irish Mountains group on Flickr
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.
Into the unknown
Heading towards the 'Am Fasarinen pinnacles' section on Liathach, hoping that advice I'd read from others ("go over the pinnacles, they're ok, and the bypass path is worse!") was true and they weren't as bad as they looked! Trouble is, you never know 'til you get there and try for yourself...
07-May-24 • OutdoorMonkey • flickr
liathach torridon ridge mountain scotland highlands munro munros amfasarinen pinnacles scramble scrambling outside outdoor rural nature natural scenic scenery wild wilderness remote mountaintop 53731805433
Liathach panorama
A view from the 'Am Fasarinen pinnacles' section of Liathach's ridge, looking west towards Mullach an Rathain (one of its munro summits, somewhere in the cloud centre-pic).
07-May-24 • OutdoorMonkey • flickr
liathach torridon ridge mountain scotland highlands munro munros amfasarinen pinnacles scramble scrambling outside outdoor rural nature natural scenic scenery wild wilderness remote mountaintop 53731806248
Liathach ridge path
One of the more straightforward parts of Liathach's ridge, in that it didn't involve scrambling!
07-May-24 • OutdoorMonkey • flickr
liathach torridon ridge mountain scotland highlands munro munros amfasarinen pinnacles scramble scrambling outside outdoor rural nature natural scenic scenery wild wilderness remote mountaintop 53730683117
Last pinnacle
Looking west on Liathach on a traverse of the ridge, with the last of the Am Fasarinen pinnacles in view, the second (western) munro peak Mullach an Rathain beyond that to the right, and Loch Torridon in the distance.
07-May-24 • OutdoorMonkey • flickr
liathach torridon ridge mountain scotland highlands munro munros amfasarinen pinnacles scramble scrambling outside outdoor rural nature natural scenic scenery wild wilderness remote mountaintop 53732030580
Looking back
A view back to Liathach's Am Fasarinen pinnacles and eastern munro peak Spidean a' Choire Leith. It was a view of some considerable relief and elation! The scrambling up and down the pinnacles had been pretty straightforward, I hadn't got myself crag-fast anywhere, the exposure / drops hadn't been too bad, and I was back on more substantial ground! It was also funny to see how short a section the pinnacles are (a few hundred metres?) vs how long it had taken and how engrossing the whole experience had been.
07-May-24 • OutdoorMonkey • flickr
liathach torridon ridge mountain scotland highlands munro munros amfasarinen pinnacles scramble scrambling outside outdoor rural nature natural scenic scenery wild wilderness remote mountaintop 53730683527
As the autumn sun sets and the mist falls around the Pinnacles of Liathach the atmosphere fills with unspoken threat and foreboding, Wester Ross, Scotland.
Poem. Like a mist-shrouded, castellated fortress, belonging to a giant, the “Pinnacles of Liathach” loom with sinister intent. Will they impale the unwary? Will climbers be swallowed up by awesome chasms? Will the mist blind their step, and they fall a thousand metres to the valley floor? Like a scene from a grotesque fairy-tale or a prison within “Middle Earth,” this mighty serrated ridge stands ominous and threatening above Glen Torridon. Climbed from this spot nearly forty-five years ago, 1,055 metres (3,461 feet) to the summit, past the “Pinnacles.” But that was a blue-sky, clear day. Views – stupendous. Today, took the image and remembered!
28-Oct-10 • Scotland by NJC. • flickr
54127354624
The grandeur of Liathach's North Face. Looking west to Mullach an Rathain, 1023 metres, from Spidean a Choire Leith, 1,055 metres, along the summit ridge.
Commentary North face of Ben Nevis. Creag Meagaidh. An Teallach. Aonach Eagach and Bidean nam Bian above Glencoe. Lochnagar in Royal Deeside. All these include mountain grandeur, par excellence. To this list must be added the Torridon peaks north of Glen Torridon, mainly the peaks of Beinn Eighe and Liathach. Rich red, weathered and stepped Torridonian Sandstone, 500 million years old, underpinned by a base rock of Lewisian Gneiss between 2 and 3 billion years old. Many peaks here are capped by white, weathered Quartzite scree that can sometimes be confused with snow. The ridge, seen here, above Glen Torridon is awesome. The very rocky, scree-laden slopes of the hidden north face plummet over 1,000 metres to the cupped, corrie lochan of Loch Coire na Caime.
01-Sep-89 • Scotland by NJC. • flickr
54060051572
The raw, brutal grandeur of the Liahtach Ridge above Glen Torridon, Wester Ross, Scotland.
Commentary North face of Ben Nevis. Creag Meagaidh. An Teallach. Aonach Eagach and Bidean nam Bian above Glencoe. Lochnagar in Royal Deeside. All these include mountain grandeur, par excellence. To this list must be added the Torridon peaks north of Glen Torridon, mainly the peaks of Beinn Eighe and Liathach. Rich red, weathered and stepped Torridonian Sandstone, 500 million years old, underpinned by a base rock of Lewisian Gneiss between 2 and 3 billion years old. Many peaks here are capped by white, weathered Quartzite scree that can sometimes be confused with snow. The ridge, seen here, above Glen Torridon is awesome. The very rocky, scree-laden slopes of the hidden north face plummet over 1,000 metres to the cupped, corrie lochan of Loch Coire na Caime.
22-Aug-89 • Scotland by NJC. • flickr
54111523330
The raw, brutal grandeur of the Liahtach Ridge above Glen Torridon, Wester Ross, Scotland.
Commentary North face of Ben Nevis. Creag Meagaidh. An Teallach. Aonach Eagach and Bidean nam Bian above Glencoe. Lochnagar in Royal Deeside. All these include mountain grandeur, par excellence. To this list must be added the Torridon peaks north of Glen Torridon, mainly the peaks of Beinn Eighe and Liathach. Rich red, weathered and stepped Torridonian Sandstone, 500 million years old, underpinned by a base rock of Lewisian Gneiss between 2 and 3 billion years old. Many peaks here are capped by white, weathered Quartzite scree that can sometimes be confused with snow. The ridge, seen here, above Glen Torridon is awesome. The very rocky, scree-laden slopes of the hidden north face plummet over 1,000 metres to the cupped, corrie lochan of Loch Coire na Caime.
22-Aug-89 • Scotland by NJC. • flickr
53802419566
An ice-scoured landscape matured to beauty. Grandeur of Glen Torridon from near to the summit ridge of mighty Liathach, Wester Ross, Scotland.
Commentary. I have enjoyed climbing many mountains in Scotland, some of them, several times. Rarely can one capture the scale, the grandeur, the humbling texture of rocks that have been metamorphosed and eroded for between 500 million and 3 billion years, almost three-quarters of the age, of this amazing planet. Awesome. Magnificent. Surreal. Moving. Dynamic. Fantastic. Many more adjectives trip off the tongue. No matter how pleasing the image, it comes nowhere near the ecstasy of being there, feeling that stunning reality, that wild, breath-taking beauty. The slope, near right, plunges almost 3,500 feet, straight down to the valley floor. Quite overwhelming. I am truly privileged to have felt this magic, so many times. I wish everyone could be there, and sense these emotions, on such a throne of the Gods. Alas, not possible…… but this, is the nearest that I can offer!
22-Aug-89 • Scotland by NJC. • flickr
54077999239
Videos
None found
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.