Sgùrr na Sgine

Sgùrr na Sgine
Ross-shire, Inverness-shire
Sgùrr na Sgine seen from the outlying top of Faochag
Range:	Glen Shiel Hills
Summit:	3,104 feet NG946113 57°8’47"N, 5°23’49"W

Sgùrr na Sgine is a mountain amongst the Glen Shiel Hills, the district packed with high peaks where Ross-shire and Inverness-shire meet near the west coast. Sgùrr na Sgine itself is on the border of the two shires. It reaches a height of 3,104 feet at its summit, and so it qualifies as a Munro.

Five miles south of Shiel Bridge, Sgùrr na Sgine is found is in the Glenshiel Forest at the lower end of Glen Shiel.

Overview

Sgùrr na Sgine is a Munro with a height of 3,104 feet. Though a fine mountain in its own right, it is overshadowed by its near neighbour The Saddle, regarded as one of the finest mountains in Scotland.

Sgùrr na Sgine is not well seen from the A87 road to the north east. The best view from valley level is from the remote country to the south west. It looks particularly fine from the top of the Mam Barrisdale pass from where it takes on a more dramatic appearance than The Saddle. The mountain's name translates from the Gaelic as "Peak of the Knife". This is thought to refer to a wall of rock beneath the summit on its eastern flank which takes on a blade like appearance from some angles.

Geography

The mountain has three main tops:

• Summit, NG946113, 3,104 feet
• North West Top, NG943115, 3,090 feet, a Munro Top
• Faochag, 2,982 feet

Faochag (meaning "The Whelk), is along its north eastern ridge.

The peak, which is seen as a sharp distinctive cone, alongside The Saddle when viewed from the A87 road at the site of the Battle of Glen Shiel) in what is regarded as a classic mountain view. Faochog was for many years classified as a "Top" in Munro's Tables before being deleted in 1974 when remapping showed it to have insufficient height. It is now a "Corbett Top" with a 203-foot prominence.

Sgùrr na Sgine’s steep, narrow north ridge has been christened "Concorde Ridge" by famed hill walker Hamish Brown after he and a companion were startled by a vast flock of terrified ptarmigan when descending in winter conditions. The cliffs to the east of the summit are more precipitous than shown on the map and a direct descent should not be attempted to the Bealach a Toiteil. Walkers should contour round the side of the cliffs to reach the bealach which connects the mountain to the Corbett Sgùrr a'Bhac Chaolais.

Ascents and summit

Sgùrr na Sgine is usually climbed with The Saddle to which it is joined by a col, the Bealach Coire Mhalagain, at 2,293 feet. The mountain can be climbed as an extension of the South Cluanie ridge, a line of seven Munros south of the Glen Shiel road, but this makes for a long, hard day in the hills. A direct ascent of Sgùrr na Sgine is possible from Achnangart Farm (grid reference NG962149) in Glen Shiel, almost at sea level, giving a hard climb up the grassy slopes of the north east ridge to Faochag. From there the gradient eases considerably giving an easier walk to the summit plateau, though with a rocky scramble up Concorde Ridge. A circuit of Coire Toteil can be completed by continuing from the summit to take in the "Corbett" Sgùrr a'Bhac Chaolais before descending to Glen Shiel.

From the summit there is an excellent prospect northwards to the Forcan Ridge on The Saddle. The Kintail Forest Munros are seen to the north east and the remote area of Knoydart is seen to the southwest.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Sgùrr na Sgine)

References

• The Munros, Scottish Mountaineering Trust, 1986, Donald Bennett (Editor) ISBN 0-907521-13-4
• In the Hills of Breadalbane, V.A. Firsoff, no ISBN
• The Munros, Scotland's Highest Mountains, Cameron McNeish, ISBN 1-84204-082-0
• The Magic Of The Munros, Irvine Butterfield, ISBN 0-7153-2168-4
• Hamish's Mountain Walk, Hamish Brown, ISBN 1-898573-08-5