Sgurr a' Mhàim
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| Sgurr a’ Mhàim | |
|---|---|
 Sgurr a’ Mhàim with its quartzite cap seen from the Devils Ridge |
|
| Elevation | 1099 m (3605 ft) |
| Location | Highland,  Scotland |
| Range | Mamores |
| Prominence | 316 m |
| Topo map | OS Landranger 41, OS Explorer 392 |
| OS grid reference | NN164667 |
| Listing | Munro, Marilyn |
| Translation | Peak of the large rounded hill (Gaelic) |
| Pronunciation | [skur a vaːm] |
Sgurr a’ Mhàim is a Scottish mountain situated eight kilometres south of Fort William in the Lochaber region. With a height of 1099 metres (3605 feet) it is a Munro and the second highest peak in the Mamores. Sgurr a’ Mhàim is a distinctive mountain being well seen up Glen Nevis from Fort William with its capping of quartzite stones catching the eye and giving it a light grey appearance which can be mistaken for a covering of snow. Surprisingly its Gaelic name gives no mention of these distinctive white rocks, being translated as "Peak of the large rounded hill".
Sgurr a’ Mhàim is probably best known as the first or last peak of the “Ring of Steall”, a popular ridge walk taking in the other Munros of An Gearanach, Stob Coire a' Chairn and Am Bodach. It is linked to the main spine of the Mamore group on its southern side by its most striking feature, The Devil's Ridge, which is a one kilometre undulating ridge with a few exposed sections which need care, with well known Scottish hill walker Hamish Brown commenting,
“The ‘bad step‘ on the ridge is perhaps exaggerated - it can be jumped across. If you missed of course, a couple of bounces would land you down in the corries”.
The Devil's Ridge has its own peak at the mid point called Stob Choire a’ Mhail (990 metres) and then carries on to link to the former Munro of Sgor an Iubhair (Peak of the Yew) which has a height of 1001 metres and lost its Munro status in 1997 when the tables were revised after earlier being elevated to Munro category in the 1981 amendments. When viewed from the ridge Sgor an Iubhair looks every inch a separate distinctive mountain (see picture below). Both the above peaks are listed as "tops" of Sgurr a’ Mhàim in the Munro Tables.
Sgurr a’ Mhàim's northern side contrasts to its southern flank (where the Devils Ridge is). Caution is needed around the northern slopes as they drop steeply to Glen Nevis, here there are two fine corries which end abruptly in cliffs which fall steeply into the Nevis gorge. Despite these difficulties it is from the northern side that the mountain can be ascended directly using one of the three ridges that are thrown down to the glen. The most popular of these is up the north west ridge from Achriabhach where there is a car park but it is also possible to ascend from upper Glen Nevis via the north east or east ridges which spring from the Allt Coire a’ Mhàil above the An Steall Ban waterfall, both these routes require some scrambling. The summit cairn is substantial being made up of light coloured quartzite stones and gives a very good view of the southern side of Ben Nevis and also an aerial view down into Glen Nevis.
[edit] References
- The Munros (SMC Guide), Donald Bennett et al, ISBN 0-907521-13-4
- 100 Best Routes on Scottish Mountains, Ralph Storer, ISBN 0-7515-0300-2
- The High Mountains of Britain and Ireland, Irvine Butterfield, ISBN 0-906371-30-9
- Hamish’s Mountain Walk, Hamish Brown, ISBN 1-898573-08-5
