Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan

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Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan
Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan from Mam Sodhail, 5 km to the NE. The Kintail hills are in the background
Elevation	1151 m (3776 ft)
Location	Glen Affric, Scotland
Range	Northwest Highlands
Prominence	c. 435 m
Topo map	OS Landranger 25, 33
OS grid reference	NH056228
Listing	Munro, Marilyn
Translation	Peak of the Quarters (Gaelic)
Pronunciation	[Skoor nan Cerranan]

Name	Grid ref	Height	Status
Listed summits of Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan
Western Top	NH052228	1143 m (3750 ft)	Munro Top
Stuc Bheag	NH053237	1075 m (3527 ft)	Munro Top
Stuc Mor	NH053242	1041 m (3415 ft)	Munro Top
Stob Fraoch Choire	NH052253	918 m (3012 ft)	Munro Top
Stob Coire na Cloiche	NH075227	915 m (3002 ft)	Munro Top

Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan is a Scottish mountain that is situated in the remote and lonely mountainous country between Glen Affric and Glen Elchaig, some 30 kilometres east of Kyle of Lochalsh in the Highland region. With a height of 1151 metres (3776 feet) it is ranked as the third highest mountain north of the Great Glen (after Carn Eighe and Mam Sodhail) and is regarded as one of the finest hills in the whole of the United Kingdom. It is different from the other Affric Hills which tend to be more bulky and not particularly photogenic, whereas Ceathreamhnan has sweeping flanks and long ridges and looks good from all angles

[edit] Geography

Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan is rated as one of the remotest Munros and a great prize for any hill walker, with E.J. Yeaman in his “Handbook of the Scottish Hills” regarding Ceathreamhnan as the fourth most difficult Scottish Munro to climb, taking into account its remote position and its altitude. It is a massive mountain which covers 24 square miles (62 square km) and stands many kilometres from the nearest public road, it has a tent like appearance and throws down many long ridges to the valleys. It has five subsidiary “tops”, three of these stand on the northern ridge, they are Stuc Bheag (1075 metres), Stuc Mor (1041 metres) and Stob Fraoch Choire (918 metres). The Western Top (1143 metres) is also regarded as a "top" as is Stob Coire na Cloiche (915 metres) on the eastern ridge. In addition to this Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan has three tops which have been deleted from the list over the years, making a total of eight distinct summits on the mountain in addition to the highest point. Its outlier to the north east Mullach na Dheiragain is regarded as a separate Munro.

Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan’s name looks notoriously difficult to pronounce for non Gaelic speakers, however the accepted pronunciation of “Skoor nan Cerranan” is not too difficult. It is often jokingly referred to as “Chrysanthemum” by English speaking hill walkers. The English translation from the Gaelic name is “Peak of the Quarters” referring to the large amount of land it divides with its ridges. Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan’s summit has twin peaks linked by a curving ridge with the western pinnacle lying 500 metres away from the highest point and reaching 1143 metres in height, there is a small amount of scrambling involved in traversing between the two summits.

[edit] Ascents

The ascent of Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan is a major undertaking best done during the long hours of summer daylight. The shortest approach is from the Alltbeithe youth hostel in upper Glen Affric at grid reference NH079202 3.5 kilometres south of the summit, however it is a major undertaking just to get to the hostel, with long walks in from Loch Cluanie to the south or from the road end in Glen Affric. It is also possible to start walking from Iron Lodge in Glen Elchaig but a bicycle is needed to travel up the estate road, another approach starts from the car park in Strath Croe. From the Alltbeithe hostel the ascent goes north up a stalkers path to the col between Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan and An Socach, the latter is a minor Munro which can be easily "bagged" on the way to Ceathreamhnan’s summit with little extra effort. The view from the summit is one of remote mountainous country, it is possible to see Inverness and the Kessock Bridge, over 70 kilometres away to the east with the help of binoculars.