Sgurr Mhic Choinnich

M217 | 948 m. | 3110 ft.
Translation: MacKenzie's peak (after John MacKenzie, Cuillin guide)
Pronuncation: skoor veechk chunyeech

On a dry day in May 2007 the two valiant hill-walkers set out to climb the Inaccessible Pinnacle and Sgurr Mhic Choinnich in one outing. Alas, it was not to be (in its entirety, d’you see?). But let’s start at the beginning. From Glen Brittle House we climbed the path leading to the Eas Mor and once past the waterfall we branched right in the direction of Loch an Fhir-bhallaich.

Half-way to the loch another path branches off to the left and approaches the steep west ridge of Sgurr Dearg. Gaining height quite quickly the view soon opened up and Corrie na Bachachdich impressed with its great scenery. At about 750 m the clouds finally won and we climbed up the final steep, slabby and stoney steps of the ridge before reaching the summit of Sgurr Dearg. There the Inaccessible Pinnacle finally became visible through the clouds. Nice piece of rock. We slithered to the basis of the pinnacle and checked the start of the climb. Other groups of climbers made their way up the Inaccessible Pinnacle while we watched. Finally we started our climb – without using the rope.

We soon realised that the climb was not really difficult but quite exposed. And since we had not really expected the need for using the rope for other purposes than abseiling we decided to be wise and go back and to leave the In Pinn for another day. I explored the summit of An Stac before Frank and I contoured around its basis on the scree-strewn slanting path leading to the broadish (by Skye standards at least) Beallach Corrie Laggan. About here the visibility improved dramatically and the views were stupendous later. From the beallach we followed the trace of a path that leads up to Sgurr Mhic Choinnich. This part of our hike was real fun with easy scrambling and exposed sections on the knife-edge ridge. All too soon the summit was gained and we paused there sitting on this marvellous view point perched high above Corrie Laggan.

Incidently these were the first unobstructed views of the corrie since the other day when we did Sgurr Alasdair the clouds gave away nothing of the scenery and the strongish wind and rain also had their prominent parts in the unique experience of climbing Sgurr Alasdair from the corrie floor by way of the Great Stone (Mud) Shoot:-). Anyway, we had to get back to Glen Brittle and descended Sgurr Mhic Choinnich’s northwest ridge back to Beallach Corrie Laggan. Turing south down the An Stac Screes we walked and scree-surfed to Loch Laggan where we took another break. Photographs were taken as well as sips of tea from our flask. Great scenery, cool mountains and no one around.

I must admit though, that I liked the surroundings of Loch Coir a’ Ghrunnda on the other side of Sgurr Alasdair even better. Well, the rest of the day was the hike back to Glen Brittle House on the well engineered path from Corrie Laggan. Nice but without major interest for both of us. So? It was a great day but our failure to make it to the top of the In Pinn spoiled the fun for a while. Ahh, but never mind. The mountains will still be there tomorrow and Skye’s a place you enjoy coming back to for a few more climbs, alright.

 

Description Sgurr Mhic Choinnich rises above the steep slopes of rock and scree which form the headwall of Coire Lagan. It is not an easy peak for a hillwalker as the traverse to it along the Main Ridge, either from The Inaccessible Pinnacle or from Sgurr Alasdair, is not entirely straightforward, and the only option left is the ascent of the scree slopes at the head of Coire Lagan.The walk up to this corrie starts either from the camp site at Loch Brittle, following the much repaired path directly uphill, or from the climbers' hut up the south side of the Allt Coire na Banachdich to the Eas Mor and along the path past Loch an Fhir-bhallaich to join the camp site path. Continue up the path on the north of the Allt Coire Lagan past the lochan to the foot of the scree slopes which rise towards the north-east corner of the corrie. Climb these slopes laboriously, two steps up and one down, seeking the most stable stones and boulders. Aim for the lowest point on the ridge above, not the slightly higher gap to its right. Once on the col, turn right and traverse the ridge which is narrow and exposed and has a few bits of difficult scrambling.