Am Buachaille is a

sea stack A stack or sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion. Stacks are formed over time by wind and water, processes of coastal geomorphology. ...

, or vertical rock formation composed of

Torridonian The Torridonian is the informal name given to a sequence of Mesoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic sedimentary rocks that outcrop in a strip along the northwestern coast of Scotland and some parts of the Inner Hebrides from the Isle of Mull in the sou ...

Sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

, southwest of

Sandwood Bay Sandwood Bay (Scottish Gaelic: ''Bàgh Seannabhad'') is a natural bay in Sutherland, on the far north-west coast of mainland Scotland. It is best known for its remote beach and Am Buachaille, a sea stack, and lies about south of Cape Wrath ...

in the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

county of

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

. It lies at the tip of the Rubh' a Bhuachaille

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Jo ...

around north of

Kinlochbervie Kinlochbervie (, ) is a scattered harbour village in the north west of Sutherland, in the Highland region of Scotland. It is the most northerly port on the west coast of Scotland. Geography Sandwood Bay, a scenic beach, is about a drive or a ...

. The stack is highAm Buachaille Sea-Stack, Sandwood Bay
, Welcome to Scotland. Retrieved 2014-02-18. and was first climbed in 1968 by the

mountaineers Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

Tom Patey Thomas Walton Patey (20 February 1932 – 25 May 1970) was a Scottish climber, mountaineer, doctor and writer. He was a leading Scottish climber of his day, particularly excelling on winter routes. He died in a climbing accident at the age of 38 ...

Ian Clough Ian Clough (1937–1970) was a British mountaineer who was killed on the 1970 British Annapurna expedition led by Sir Chris Bonington to climb the south face of the Himalayan massif. He was later described by Bonington as "the most modest man ...

and John Cleare.Sandwood Bay is a beautiful beach shrouded in mystery
''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

'', 2010-07-13. Retrieved 2014-02-18.Sandwood Bay
on walkhighlands.co.uk At least four climbing routes are identified on Am Buachaille which is considered a "famous" sea stack climbAm Buachaille
UK Climbing. Retrieved 2014-02-18. and has been called the "most serious of 'the big three' Scottish stacks"Latter.G & MacInnes.H (2009) ''Scottish rock volume 2 - north'', Pesda Press (p.297). and a "truly great stack".North West Highlands
Retrieved 2014-02-18. The easiest route is graded Hard Very Severe (HVS) and access to the stack involves a swim at low tide.Scottish sea stack
, Planet fear, 2005-10-10. Retrieved 2014-02-18. In September 2024 Jim Miller, Alan Thurlow along with Aden Thurlow 11 years old, who lead climbed the route to the top, became the youngest person to lead the climb on Am Buachaille. The name means "the herdsman" or "the shepherd" in

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buachaille, Am Stacks of Scotland Islands of Sutherland Landforms of Highland (council area)

See also

References