Sgùrr Dearg () is a mountain in the Cuillin 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. It is topped by the Inaccessible Pinnacle (or An Stac in Gaelic), a fin of rock measuring 50 metres (150 feet) along its longest edge. The top of the Pinnacle stands at 985.8 m (3,234 ft) above sea level, making Sgùrr Dearg the only Munro with a peak that can only be reached by

rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

. This makes it the biggest hurdle for many Munro baggers. First climbed by Charles and Lawrence Pilkington in 1880, the Pinnacle was never climbed by Sir Hugh Munro himself. Because of its status as the most difficult of the Munros it has now spawned a cottage industry for the local guides, who are often seen escorting parties of novice climbers. Unlike much of the Cuillin, the pinnacle is basalt, not gabbro, and thus is somewhat slippery in the wet.

Geography

Sgùrr Dearg lies on the main Cuillin ridge at the junction of Coire Lagan, Coire na Banachdich and Coir'-uisg. It is the second highest peak in the Cuillin, and faces the highest,

Sgùrr Alasdair Sgùrr Alasdair is the highest peak of the Black Cuillin, and the highest peak on the Isle of Skye and in the Inner Hebrides, and indeed in all the Scottish islands, at . Like the rest of the range it is composed of gabbro, a rock with excellent ...

, across Coire Lagan. Although the name ''Sgùrr Dearg'' refers to the mountain as a whole, references to the "summit" of Sgùrr Dearg are, unless otherwise qualified, generally taken to indicate the 978 metre top immediately below the Inaccessible Pinnacle on the north-western side. For reasons that remain unclear, this summit was listed as a Munro in the first (1891) edition of ''Munro's Tables'', while the higher Pinnacle was listed as a subsidiary top; this situation was reversed in the first revision of the tables in 1921.

Ascents

The Inaccessible Pinnacle of Sgurr Dearg - geograph

Approach

While the Inaccessible Pinnacle is the hardest of the Cuillin's summits to reach, the approach to its base is relatively simple by Cuillin standards. Most walkers and climbers start from

Glen Brittle Glen Brittle (''Gleann Breadail'' in Scottish Gaelic) is a large glen in the south of the Isle of Skye, in Scotland. It runs roughly south to north, along the River Brittle, which has its mouth at Loch Brittle (a sea loch). The glen is bounded on ...

, from where the easiest route involves following the faint path to the Bealach Coire na Banachdich via the corrie of the same name; from here the top of Sgùrr Dearg may be gained via a tedious scree slope interspersed with some easy scrambling. A more interesting ascent may be achieved by ascending the screes of Sron Dearg, which leads to Sgùrr Dearg's narrow and rocky south-west ridge, a grade 1/2 scramble. Many climbers tackle the mountain as part of a circuit of the Coire Lagan skyline, or a traverse of the main Cuillin ridge, approaching it along the ridge from

Sgùrr MhicChoinnich Sgùrr MhicChoinnich is a mountain on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It is in the Black Cuillin range of mountains and is classified as a Munro. Like all the other Black Cuillin mountains it is made predominantly of gabbro rock and has little veg ...

to the south-east (Grade 2). In this case the top of Sgùrr Dearg can be reached direct by scrambling up the broad flank to the left of An Stac and the Inaccessible Pinnacle.

The Inaccessible Pinnacle

The Inaccessible Pinnacle (''An Stac'' in Gaelic), colloquially called the 'In Pin' or 'In Pinn' by mountaineers, was first climbed in 1880 by a pair of Lancashire brothers, Charles and Lawrence Pilkington. They were guided to the foot of the climb from Sligachan via Coruisk and Bealach Coire na Banachdich by a local shepherd called John Mackenzie. They climbed it by the east ridge, and had to throw down a lot of loose rock as they climbed. The usual ascent of the Inaccessible Pinnacle itself is by its long east ridge, a climb of 50 metres vertically involving two roped 30 m pitches. Although graded Moderate (the lowest grade now in use in the British grading system), with good holds, the ridge is narrow and exceptionally exposed. This route was described by an early climber as "a knife-edged ridge, with an overhanging and infinite drop on one side, and a drop on the other side even steeper and longer". Some climbers prefer to tackle the much shorter west ridge (20 m), graded Very Difficult. It is usual to descend from the summit of the Pinnacle by abseiling off the west end, and a permanent anchor is sited on the summit for this purpose. In 2014 cyclist Danny MacAskill climbed Sgùrr Dearg without safety ropes, while carrying a mountain bike on his back. The video was viewed over fourteen million times in the week following its launch on 2 October 2014 and has been watched over 78 million times (as of September 2022).

Notes

References

External links

Sgùrr Dearg & In Pinn
- details of route of ascent including free downloadable OS map.
"Seachd - The Inaccessible Pinnacle"
- official site of the film, featuring the mountain {{DEFAULTSORT:Sgurr Dearg Munros Marilyns of Scotland Mountains and hills of the Isle of Skye Volcanoes of Scotland Paleogene volcanism Extinct volcanoes