Sgùrr MhicChoinnich is a mountain on the
Isle of Skye in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
. It is in 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 of mountains and is classified 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 Nev ...
. Like all the other Black Cuillin mountains it is made predominantly 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 ch ...
rock and has little vegetation. The mountain is named after the mountain guide,
John MacKenzie.
The most common route to the summit involves climbing the An Stac scree slopes out of
Coire Lagan to reach the
bealach
A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migra ...
between Sgùrr MhicChoinnich and
Sgùrr Dearg. From here an airy and challenging scramble up the peak's north ridge is required to attain the summit. The ascent is a challenging climb by the standards of British mountains, being an exposed scramble at Grade 2 standard. The south face of the mountain, by contrast, falls sheer to the bealach between Sgùrr MhicChoinnich and
Sgùrr Thearlaich, and the easiest route up this face (King's Chimney) is a V. Diff rock climb. Moreover, this bealach cannot be reached from below without further rock climbing, and the north ridge of Sgùrr Thearlaich which leads down to the bealach contains an awkward rock step (a Moderate rock climb) which must be taken in descent. For those with the ability to reach this bealach, however, a remarkable terrace, Collie's Ledge, which is only a Grade 2 scramble, avoids King's Chimney entirely by traversing the western flank of the peak and joining up with the north ridge. This ledge is difficult to find, but when located, it is often used by mountaineers on the full traverse of the Cuillin ridge to gain the summit without having to climb King's Chimney.
References
External links
* 360 Virtual Tour
360 Routes.com
Munros
Mountains and hills of the Isle of Skye
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