Sgùrr Alasdair
| Sgùrr Alasdair | ||
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 Sgùrr Alasdair from the northwest, photographed over the valley basin of the Coire Lagan |
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| height | 993 m ASL | |
| location | Skye , highlands | |
| Mountains | Cuillin Hills | |
| Notch height | 993 m | |
| Coordinates | 57 ° 12 '23 " N , 6 ° 13' 20" W | |
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| rock | Gabbro | |
| particularities | Britain's tallest mountain outside Mainland Britain | |
The Sgùrr Alasdair is a 993 m high mountain on the Isle of Skye , as part of the archipelago of the Inner Hebrides west before Scotland is. The mountain is the highest point of the small, very steep mountain range of the Black Cuillin Mountains and the highest point in Great Britain outside the main island of Mainland Britain .
The Gaelic name Sgùrr Alasdair means mountain of Alexander in German and goes back to Alexander Nicolson, who climbed the mountain for the first time in 1873.
geology
The mountain is located in the southwest of Skye in the middle of the small mountain range of the Black Cuillin Mountains. This massif is unusually steep and rugged by Scottish standards and therefore has significantly more high-alpine features compared to the rest of the Highlands. The mountain as well as the Black Cuillins are mostly made of gabbro , but also of basalt and are therefore particularly resistant to natural erosion as hard rocks . A special feature of Sgùrr Alasdair is a huge scree gully, the Great Stone Chute , which runs through the mountain for almost the entire height and at the same time represents the easiest way to the summit.
Ascent
Even if the Sgùrr Alasdair is rocky and steep on all sides, as the highest mountain on Skye it is a popular destination for mountaineers. The simplest, but technically not very easy route starts in the small village of Glenbrittle at the campsite on the bay of the same name. From there, the path initially follows a gently rising stream and you soon reach the small lake Loch an Fhir-bhallaich on the left . The path becomes a little steeper and more rocky and now leads directly into the valley basin of the Coire Lagan . After a while you reach another, small lake in the lower part of the valley basin. Shortly afterwards a path branches off to the right in the middle of a large and very steep scree field - the so-called Great Stone Chute ; In the lower part of the scree the path is still clearly recognizable, further up it is getting lost. There is no immediate danger from rolling rock, but there are often other mountaineers who can kick scree when climbing up or down. The upper area of the Great Stone Chute is earthier and softer and again leads to a path that can be very slippery. At the upper end of a pass that slopes steeply on both sides, keep to the right and follow the ridge of the mountain in an easy climbing section for the last 50 meters.
Web links
- Sgùrr Alasdair on walkhighlands.co.uk (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Pioneers in the Cuillin ascent ( Memento from July 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (English)