Sgurr Alasdair

This is the highest of the Cuillin, a lofty pointed peak rising at the head of Coire Lagan and separated from its nearest neighbour, Sgurr Thearlaich, by a prominent gully whose screes reach down to the floor of Coire Lagan. This gully, the Great Stone Shoot, was once the most notorious scree in the Cuillin down which the fittest climbers could run in a few minutes from top to bottom, but now most of the scree has been swept to the foot of the gully, leaving an unpleasant surface of hard earth and boulders higher up. Sgurr Alasdair lies not on the main ridge, but a short distance off it at the start of the subsidiary ridge which goes over Sgurr Sgumain to Sron na Ciche. The routes to the peak up this ridge and along the main ridge all have some points of difficulty, and the only straightforward route is the Great Stone Shoot.

The Glen Brittle approaches to Coire Lagan, either from the camp site or the climbers' hut, are the same as for Sgurr Mhic Choinnich, following paths which converge at the foot of the corrie and continue along the north side of the Allt Coire Lagan. Once past the lochan, head east towards the foot of the Great Stone Shoot. It is possible to avoid the scree and climb uphill on boulders until the narrow gully is entered. Clamber up the bed of the gully, being careful not to dislodge stones, and reach the Alasdair-Thearlaich col at the top. Turn right and scramble easily up the short rock ridge to the summit of Sgurr Alasdair.

(Copyright The Scottish Mountaineering Club)