An Ruadh-stac is a

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 ...

mountain situated in the

Wester Ross Wester Ross () is an area of the Northwest Highlands of Scotland in the council area of Highland. The area is loosely defined, and has never been used as a formal administrative region in its own right, but is generally regarded as lying to th ...

region of the

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

council area. It is located 26 km north east of

Kyle of Lochalsh Kyle of Lochalsh ( , "strait of the foaming loch") is a village in the historic county of Ross & Cromarty on the northwest coast of Scotland, located around west-southwest of Inverness. It is located on the Lochalsh peninsula, at the entranc ...

Overview

An Ruadh-stac reaches a height of 890 metres (2926 feet) making it the 30th highest Corbett,www.scotclimb.org.uk.
Gives list of Corbetts in height order. it also qualifies as a Marilyn. It is a distinguished looking mountain which is prominent in views because of its light grey coloured

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...

rocks, it stands in the ancient Coulin hunting forest, an area of rough mountainous country between

Glen Carron River Carron (, ) is a west coast river in Wester Ross, in the Highlands of Scotland. The river rises in Ledgowan Forest. It gathers its head-streams through Carron Bog, then enters Loch Scaven and flows out from there, passing Loch Dùghaill a ...

and

Glen Torridon The Torridon Hills surround Torridon village in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The name is usually applied to the mountains to the north of Glen Torridon. They are among the most dramatic and spectacular peaks in the British Isles and made ...

. The mountain is situated four km from the nearest public road but there are good stalkers paths within the deer forest which aid access to the foot of the mountain. An Ruadh-stac is closely associated with the adjoining

Munro A Munro (; ) is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nevi ...

of Maol Cheann-dearg with which it is often climbed. The mountain's

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

name translates as the Red Stack or Red Conical Hill; this is slightly confusing and misleading, as it is invariably seen as a light-grey hill due to its quartzite rocks.

Hamish Brown Hamish Brown Order of the British Empire, M.B.E. Royal Scottish Geographical Society, FRSGS is a professional writer, lecturer and photographer specialising in mountain and outdoor topics. He is best known for his walking exploits in the Scottish ...

comments on the name thus: “An Ruadh-stac is a grey hill, sometimes touched white by the sun but never red like its ruddy, bald headed neighbour (Maol Cheann-dearg).”''"Climbing The Corbetts"'',

, Page 282 Gives quote on name, rock climbing and geographical details.

Geography

An Ruadh-stac has the classic triangular mountain shape formed by three steep ridges; the NE ridge is the least steep and the one usually used for ascent and descent by walkers. This ridge drops to the

Bealach A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migration throughout history ...

a’ Choire Ghairbh, which links the mountain to Maol Cheann-dearg, which stands 2 km to the north across Coire an Ruidh Staic. The south ridge leads over the subsidiary top of Ruadh Stac Beag (758 metres) before descending towards Glen Carron over rough, boggy ground. The north and west side of the mountain are ringed by steep crags, making the NW ridge out of bounds for walkers. The mountain's finest geographical feature is the north face, a precipitous rock wall which shows off the mountain's layered geology when viewed from a distance. These crags rise over 400 metres from the shore of Loch Coire an Ruaidh-staic and have received the attention of rock climbers, with

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 ...

and

Chris Bonington Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer. His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest. Early life and expeditions Bonington's father, ...

pioneering a route in 1960. The lower slopes on the SE side of the mountain are composed of ice-polished slabs dotted with long flowing mounds of debris; this is fluted

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...

, deposited from a

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

. The mounds are less than four metres in height but up to 400 metres in length.Wiley Interscience.
A study of fluted moraines in the Torridon area, NW Scotland. The mountain's visual attraction is further added to by the presence of four small

loch ''Loch'' ( ) is a word meaning "lake" or "inlet, sea inlet" in Scottish Gaelic, Scottish and Irish Gaelic, subsequently borrowed into English. In Irish contexts, it often appears in the anglicized form "lough". A small loch is sometimes calle ...

s around its NE flanks; they are all on different levels. One of these lochs, Loch a’ Mhadaidh Ruadh, is rated as one of the most beautiful in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

, it is located on the Bealach a’ Choire Ghairbh and is enclosed by walls of quartzite rock, giving it an almost artificial look.''"100 Best Routes on Scottish Mountains"'', Ralph Storer, Pages 132 “One of the most beautiful lochans in the highlands”. All drainage from the mountain makes the short journey to the west coast of Scotland, either going directly west to Upper

Loch Torridon Loch Torridon () is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland in the Northwest Highlands. The loch was created by glacial processes and is in total around 15 miles (25 km) long. It has two sections: Upper Loch Torridon to landward, east of Ru ...

or SE to Glen Carron and then Loch Carron.

Ascents and view

The summit of An Ruadh-stac is a long way from any road, but the closest starting point is on the A890 road at Coulags in Glen Carron at grid reference . This route follows the footpath north up the valley of the Fionn-abhainn before crossing the river and going west and climbing up to the Bealach a’ Choire Ghairbh. From the bealach it is a tough 340-metre climb up rough slopes of

scree Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. Landforms associated with these materials are often called talus deposits. The term ''scree'' is ap ...

and slabby rock to the summit. It is possible to climb the mountain by a longer route from Glen Torridon starting from Annat at .''"The Corbetts And Other Scottish Hills"'', Scottish Mountaineering Club, Page 178 Gives geographical and route information. The summit is littered with quartzite boulders, with the highest point marked by a

cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

of rocks and gives a view which includes the Skye Cuillin to the SW, Upper Loch Torridon appears next to Beinn Damh to the NW while the Torridon hills are further round to the north. By exploring the summit plateau further it is possible to look 1000 feet down the cliffs of the north face to Loch Coire an Ruaidh-staic.''"Torridon - A Walker‘s Guide"'', Peter Barton", Pages 154 Gives general details on mountain.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:An Ruadh-Stac Corbetts Marilyns of Scotland Mountains and hills of the Northwest Highlands Mountains and hills of Highland (council area) Climbing areas of Scotland Torridon