Sgùrr Ghiubhsachain is a mountain in the

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; ) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig. Lochaber once extended from the Northern shore of Loch Leven, a distric ...

area in the west of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Its summit is the highest point in a group of mountains that stand south of

Glenfinnan Glenfinnan ( ) is a hamlet in Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. In 1745 the Jacobite rising of 1745, Jacobite rising began here when Prince Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") raised his House of Stuart ...

, to the south east of the northern part of

Loch Shiel :''See Glen Shiel for the much smaller Loch Shiel in Lochalsh.'' Loch Shiel () is a freshwater loch situated west of Fort William, Highland, Fort William in the Highland (council area), Highland subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Scotla ...

. It is considerably lower than the nearby

Nevis Nevis ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute the Saint Kitts and Nevis, Federation of Saint Kitts ...

range, but it is a long way from a public road. Its slopes are steep and rugged on all sides and are devoid of paths. Despite easy access to the trail head from the road from Fort William to

Mallaig Mallaig (; ) is a seaport, port in Morar, on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. It faces Skye from across the Sound of Sleat. The Mallaig railway station, local railway station is the terminus of the West Highlan ...

, an individual or party that climbs this mountain may be alone there, even on a fine day in the summer.

Ascents

The best starting point is a car park at Callop, which is close to the A830 road which connects Fort William and Mallaig. From here, there are two possible routes, via the banks of Loch Shiel, or via the Allt na Cruaiche.

Loch Shiel Route

From Callop, a forestry vehicle track heads westwards, then continues south west along the banks of Loch Shiel. Those returning by the same route can save time by using a bicycle. After about 6 km, this track reaches a small cottage at Guesachan, from where the north ridge can be ascended. The ridge is steep and craggy, and may require

scrambling Scrambling is a mountaineering term for ascending steep terrain using one's hands to assist in holds and balance.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. It can be described as being between hiking and climbing, rock climbing. "A scramble" is a relat ...

in places. The guidebooks recommend bypassing the lower part of the ridge via the Allt Coire Ghiubhsachain, but not all authorities agree that this is necessary. Trip report by Richard Webb After gaining a subsidiary summit at an elevation of about 820 metres, the route continues along a short ridge via a minor col to the main summit, which is marked by a large cairn. If returning by the Allt na Cruaiche route (see below), a direct descent of the south east face may be obstructed by steep slabs, but these can be avoided by first returning to the minor col.

Allt na Cruaiche route

From Callop, a path follows a course west of the Allt na Cruaiche, eventually reaching an elevation of 400 metres before descending into Cona Glen. The path is not in good condition; parts of it are boggy enough to support

tadpole A tadpole or polliwog (also spelled pollywog) is the Larva, larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully Aquatic animal, aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial animal, ...

populations, and at the time of writing (June 2008), some of the lower part had been bulldozed away to construct a service road for a new hydro-electric development. From the high point of the path, the route traverses up to the 600 m col to the north east of Sgùrr Ghiubhsachain; from the col, the route to the minor col between the main and subsidiary summits avoids the steep slabs.

Sgorr Craobh a'Chaorainn

Corbett and Marilyn baggers can include Sgorr Croabh a Chaorainn (rowantree peak), to the north east of the above-mentioned 600 m col, within their itinerary. A crossing of this peak provides a good alternative to part of the Cruaiche path. There are steep sections that may require scrambling; a step to the west of the summit can be bypassed on the south side.

References

* ''The Corbetts and Other Scottish Hills'', (SMC Guide) .
Caledonia Hilltreks

Mountainhiking
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sgurr Ghiubhsachain Corbetts Marilyns of Scotland Mountains and hills of the Northwest Highlands