Sgùrr Fhuaran is a Scottish mountain that is situated on the northern side of Glen Shiel, east south east of

Kyle of Lochalsh Kyle of Lochalsh (from the Gaelic ''Caol Loch Aillse'', "strait of the foaming loch") is a village in the historic county of Ross-shire on the northwest coast of Scotland, located around west-southwest of Inverness. It is located on the Lochal ...

Overview

The mountain reaches a height of and qualifies as 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 ...

and a Marilyn, it is the highest point for a significant distance, having a sizeable

topographic prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest cont ...

of and gives extensive views from its summit. The meaning of the mountain’s name is obscure."The Munros" (page 175) says mountains name is obscure. Sgùrr Fhuaran may mean "Peak of wells or springs" and many streams issue from the mountains slopes. Other possible meanings proposed are that the proper name is Sgùrr Urain, the Peak of Odhran, named after a disciple of

Columba Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is tod ...

,"The Magic of the Munros" (page 134) gives translation as Peak of Odhran. or that the second part of the name derives from "odhran-choin", here meaning "wolf". The mountain is referred to in the

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan, political, commercial, religious, and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the public or a more defined target group. Th ...

"Sgùrr Uaran" of

Clan Macrae The Clan Macrae is a Highland Scottish clan. The clan has no chief; it is therefore considered an armigerous clan. Surname The surname Macrae (and its variations) is an anglicisation of the patronymic from the Gaelic personal name ''MacRaith ...

(which occupied lands in the Kintail area).SGURR UARAN
/ref>

Geography

is one of three mountains that make up the ''Five Sisters of

Kintail Kintail ( gd, Cinn Tàile) is an area of mountains in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland, located in the Highland Council area. It consists of the mountains to the north of Glen Shiel and the A87 road between the heads of Loch Duich and Loch ...

'' (the other two being ' and ') and when seen from ' above

Loch Duich Loch Duich (Scottish Gaelic: "Loch Dubhthaich") is a sea loch situated on the western coast of Scotland, in the Highlands. History In 1719, British forces burned many homesteads along the loch's shores in the month preceding the Battle of Glen S ...

, the Five Sisters are one of the best known views in the Western Highlands of Scotland. The

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

of the Five Sisters of Kintail tells the story of seven sisters, daughters of a local farmer, two of whom married visiting brothers who said they would send their five other brothers for the remaining five sisters to wed. However, no one returned and the five remaining sisters agreed for a local wizard to transform them into peaks in order to preserve their beauty while they waited."100 Best Routes on Scottish Mountains" Page 104 Gives details of legend. Sgùrr Fhuaran is a distinctive peak with steep slopes which drop away to Glen Shiel on its western flank at an angle of over 30 degrees giving the mountain a feeling of great height. It has four main ridges, the best known of these is the WNW ridge which is conspicuous in views from Glen Shiel, it drops away precipitously from the summit to descend in just over to the

River Shiel The River Shiel (Scottish Gaelic: Abhainn Seile) is a four kilometre long river in Acharacle, Highland. It flows out of the Loch Shiel into the sea at Dorlin. Fishing The river contains salmon and sea trout, as well as native resident bro ...

in the valley. The southern ridge connects to the adjoining Munro of , which lies away. The eastern ridge which is a narrow knife edge in places gives a dramatic ascent route from Glenlicht House at the head of the remote Gleann Lichd. Between the southern and eastern ridges lies the impressive Coire Domhain to which the mountain drops almost vertically. The northern ridge goes to the Munro “top” of (Peak of the Arrows) which with a height of lies away from the main summit. It is one of the Five Sisters and regarded by many as the finest, being narrow and exposed."The Munros, Scotland's Highest Mountains" Page 162 "Sgùrr na Saighead ... In many ways the finest of the group". This northern ridge continues for a further to reach sea level at the shores of Loch Duich.

Ascents

The direct ascent of Sgùrr Fhuaran starts at sea level at the foot of Glen Shiel (grid reference ): before the A87 crosses the Shiel bridge, a grass path on the north side of the river and loch Shiel leads to the remains of a footbridge and an unrelenting steep climb up the WNW ridge. A more interesting variation takes in Sgùrr na Saighead on the way and then follows the north ridge to the main summit. The full traverse of the Five Sisters ridge is rated by mountain writers as among the best walks in Scotland,walkhighlands.co.uk
details quality of Five Sisters Ridge Walk. the only problem with which lies with transport between the starting and finishing points of the walk, apart. The best solution to this is to start at Morvich in Strath Croe () and walk up Gleann Lichd to its head, before ascending to walk the ridge south to north, finishing at the shores of Loch Duich near the day's starting point."100 Best Routes on Scottish Mountains" Page 104 Gives details of circuit from Strath Croe.

Notes

References

*''The Munros'', Donald Bennet et al.: Scottish Mountaineering Trust: *''100 Best Routes on Scottish Mountains'', Ralph Storer, *''Hamish’s Mountain Walk'',

Hamish Brown Hamish Brown M.B.E. FRSGS is a professional writer, lecturer and photographer specialising in mountain and outdoor topics. He is best known for his walking exploits in the Scottish Highlands, having completed multiple rounds of the Munros and b ...

, *''The High Mountains of Britain and Ireland'',

Irvine Butterfield Irvine Butterfield (1936–2009) was an environmentalist, hillwalker and author of several books about mountains and the outdoor environment who took a significant role in the running of organisations with such interests in Scotland. He was a go ...

, *''The Magic Of The Munros'', Irvine Butterfield, *''The Munros, Britains Highest Mountains'',

Cameron McNeish Cameron McNeish FRSGS is a Scottish wilderness hiker, backpacker and mountaineer who is an authority on outdoor pursuits. In this field he is best known as an author and broadcaster although he is also a magazine editor, lecturer and after dinn ...

, {{DEFAULTSORT:Sgurr Fhuaran Munros Marilyns of Scotland Mountains and hills of the Northwest Highlands One-thousanders of the British Isles