Sgurr a' Mhaoraich

About Sgurr a' Mhaoraich

Sgurr a' Mhaoraich stands north of Loch Cuaich and reaches 1,027 metres. From Kinloch Hourn to the west, or from the north, it presents large, steep, rocky flanks cut by a complex set of ridges and corries; like neighbouring Gleouraich, its southern side is gentler and grassier.

The name has shifted over time. It was formerly Sgurr a' Mhorair, 'peak of the nobleman', but modern maps give Sgurr a' Mhaoraich, from the Gaelic maorach, shellfish, possibly alluding to the ribbed summit's resemblance to a shell. A 1979 article in the Gaelic periodical Gairm noted the writer had only ever heard the older spoken form, and joked that shellfish are found on the shore rather than wandering the hills.

Ascents most often begin on the shores of Loch Cuaich to the south, where a stalkers' path climbs the Bac nan Canaichean ridge to the subsidiary top of Sgurr Coire nan Eiricheallach at 891 metres. A 1.5 km ridge with rocky outcrops, which can be scrambled or bypassed, links that top to the main summit.

Background written from facts in the Wikipedia article on Sgùrr a' Mhaoraich (CC BY-SA 4.0). Heights, prominence and grid references come from the Database of British & Irish Hills, not from Wikipedia.

Access rights here

General position for Scotland — local byelaws, seasonal restrictions and closures can override it. Full details: access rights in Scotland · check another location.

Daylight at this summit today

Sunrise

—

Sunset

—

Daylight

—

Civil twilight ends

—

Computed astronomically for 57.106, -5.330. Plan your finish with the daylight safety planner.

Finding the summit

The recorded summit point is outcrop. That distinction matters on broad or flat tops, where the obvious cairn is not always the true high point.

Survey method

Leica RX1250

Record revised

27-Jan-24

Drop measured from

NH051068 · 319 m

Survey notes are field observations recorded in the Database of British & Irish Hills (v18.3, CC BY 4.0) by the hill-surveying community.

The Sgurr a' Mhaoraich group

One other listed summit sits in the same prominence group, with Sgurr a' Mhaoraich as the independent hill at its head.

Grouping is by prominence alone: a summit belongs to the nearest higher Marilyn it connects to without a deeper intervening col. Over a large massif that can gather hills no one would walk in a single day, and which few would describe as parts of the same mountain — it is a measure of independence, not a suggested route.

Nearest listed peaks