Sgùrr MhicChoinnich is a mountain 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 ...

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 ...

. It is in the Black Cuillin 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 Nevi ...

. Like all the other Black Cuillin mountains it is made predominantly 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 ...

rock and has little vegetation. The mountain is named after the mountain guide John MacKenzie who was with Charles Pilkington, James Heelis and

Horace Walker Horace Walker (1838–1908) was an English mountaineer who made many notable first ascents, including Mount Elbrus and the Grandes Jorasses. Alpinism Born in 1838, Walker was the son of Liverpool lead merchant and mountaineer Francis Walker ( ...

in 1887 when the peak was first ascended. 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 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 ...

between Sgùrr MhicChoinnich and

Sgùrr Dearg is a mountain in the Cuillin on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. It is topped by the Inaccessible Pinnacle (or An Stac in Gaelic), a fin of rock measuring along its longest edge. The top of the Pinnacle stands at above sea level, making Sgùrr De ...

. 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 {{SkyeLochalsh-geo-stub