Blà Bheinn or Blàbheinn, also known as Blaven, is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

on the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It is usually regarded as an outlier of the

Black Cuillin The Cuillin ( gd, An Cuiltheann) is a range of mostly jagged rocky mountains on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The main Cuillin ridge is also called the Black Cuillin to distinguish it from the Red Cuillin ('), which lie to the east of Glen Slig ...

range. It is a

Munro A Munro () is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nevis ...

with a height of . North of the summit is the ridge of Clach Glas, which leads to the peaks of Garbh-bheinn (808 m) and Sgùrr nan Each (720 m). It is mainly composed of

gabbro Gabbro () is a phaneritic (coarse-grained), mafic intrusive igneous rock formed from the slow cooling of magnesium-rich and iron-rich magma into a holocrystalline mass deep beneath the Earth's surface. Slow-cooling, coarse-grained gabbro is che ...

, a rock with excellent grip for

mountaineers Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

and scramblers. The name is thought to mean "blue mountain", from a combination of Norse and

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

. Whereas in

Modern Norwegian Modern Norwegian ( no, moderne norsk) is the Norwegian language that emerged after the Middle Norwegian transition period (1350–1536) and Dano-Norwegian. The transition to Modern Norwegian is usually dated to 1525, or 1536, the year of the Pro ...

means "blue", the Old Norse word could, however, also refer to the colours blue-black and black. The

normal route A normal route or normal way (french: voie normale; german: Normalweg) is the most frequently used route for ascending and descending a mountain peak. It is usually the simplest route. Overview In the Alps, routes are classed in the following way ...

of ascent for walkers is from the east. A path leaves the B8083 on the shores of Loch Slapin about 4 km after the village of

Torrin Torrin ( gd, Na Torrain) is a settlement on the island of Skye in Scotland. Geography The crofting and fishing village of Torrin lies on the eastern shore of Loch Slapin, southwest of Broadford (''An t-Àth Leathann''), on the road to Elgol ...

. The path follows a burn, the ''Allt na Dunachie'', into the corrie of ''Coire Uaigneich''. From here a short steep route along the

ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

leads to the summit. A small amount of scrambling is needed to reach the true top of the mountain. Alternative routes follow the south ridge, or come from the north having traversed the

Clach Glas Clach Glas is a mountain on the Black Cuillin of the Isle of Skye, Scotland. Its elevation is 786 m (2,579 ft) and the name translates as The Grey Stone. It is often traversed as a sustained scrambling route to Blà Bheinn, mostly at a ...

ridge which links to the

Red Cuillin The Cuillin ( gd, An Cuiltheann) is a range of mostly jagged rocky mountains on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The main Cuillin ridge is also called the Black Cuillin to distinguish it from the Red Cuillin ('), which lie to the east of Glen Slig ...

peaks. Blaven stands in the Strathaird Estate, owned and managed since 1994 by the

John Muir Trust The John Muir Trust (JMT) is a Scottish charity, established in 1983 to conserve wild land and wild places for the benefit of all. The Trust runs an environmental award scheme, manages several estates, mainly in the Highlands and Islands of Scot ...

. File:Blaven Phi1free.jpg, Blàbheinn from the east File:Bla Bheinn upper east side lower left south side lower right west side.jpg, The mountain from three sides

In popular culture

Blaven is depicted in Mary Stewart's 1956 thriller novel ''

Wildfire at Midnight ''Wildfire at Midnight'' is a novel by Mary Stewart which was first published in 1956. Stewart herself described the book as "an attempt at something different, the classic closed-room detective story with restricted action, a biggish cast, and ...

''.

References

External links

Blaven.com

John Muir Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bla Bheinn Munros Marilyns of Scotland Mountains and hills of Highland (council area) Mountains and hills of the Isle of Skye