Sgùrr Alasdair is the highest peak of the

Black Cuillin The Cuillin () 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 Sligachan.R. Anderson & ...

, and the highest peak on the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply 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 by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of ...

and in the

Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides ( ; ) is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, which experience a mild oceanic climate. The Inner Hebrides compri ...

, and indeed in all the

Scottish islands This is a list of islands of Scotland, the mainland of which is part of the island of Great Britain. Also included are various other related tables and lists. The definition of an offshore island used in this list is "land that is surrounded by ...

, at . Like the rest of the range it is composed of

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

, a rock with excellent grip for

mountaineering Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...

. It is named after

Alexander Nicolson Alexander Nicolson (Scottish Gaelic: Alasdair MacNeacail) (1827–1893) was a Scottish lawyer and man of letters, known as a Gaelic scholar and sheriff-substitute of Kirkcudbright and Greenock, and as a pioneer of mountain climbing in Scotland. ...

, who made the first recorded ascent in 1873. Prior to this the mountain had been locally known as Sgurr Biorach.

Ascent

As with other hills of the Cuillin, a

head for heights To have a head for heights means that one has no acrophobia (irrational fear of heights), and is also not particularly prone to fear of falling or suffering from vertigo (the spinning sensation that can be triggered, for example, by looking down ...

and

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 ...

ability are needed to attain the summit. The least technical route follows a feature known as the "Great Stone Chute", a

scree Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. Landforms associated with these materials are often called talus deposits. The term ''scree'' is ap ...

gully that leads up from the corrie of Coire Lagan to a

bealach A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migration throughout history ...

just below the main ridge. From this col, a pleasant scramble (Grade 2 standard) up the well scratched east ridge leads to the narrow summit.The Islands of Scotland, Scottish Mountain Club Guidebook (1989 edition). Other routes require scrambling ability or

rock climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending climbing routes, routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in c ...

; while there are rock climbs directly up the flanks, the only other way of reaching the summit via a ridge is the south-west ridge, a Grade 3 scramble that begins up a scratched chimney which can be accessed from the summit of Sgùrr Sgumain or from Coir' a' Ghrunnda; there is also a slightly easier route from the top of this chimney directly up a shallow gully on the south face. The summit of Sgùrr Alasdair can be attained by a short detour (from Sgùrr Theàrlaich) off the main ridge by climbers undertaking the full traverse of the Cuillin ridge, or by those following the circuit of Coire Lagan.

References

External links

* Computer-generated virtual panorama
Sgùrr Alasdair
* 360 Virtual Tour
360 Routes.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sgurr Alasdair Munros Marilyns of Scotland Mountains and hills of the Isle of Skye