Blà Bheinn or Blàbheinn, also known as Blaven, is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

on the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It is usually regarded as an outlier of the Black Cuillin range. It is a

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 ...

with a height of . North of the summit is the ridge of Clach Glas, which leads to the peaks of Garbh-bheinn (808 m) and Sgùrr nan Each (720 m). It is mainly composed of

gabbro Gabbro ( ) is a phaneritic (coarse-grained and magnesium- and iron-rich), mafic intrusive igneous rock formed from the slow cooling magma into a holocrystalline mass deep beneath the Earth's surface. Slow-cooling, coarse-grained gabbro is ch ...

, a rock with excellent grip for mountaineers and scramblers. The name is thought to mean "blue mountain", from a combination of Norse and Gaelic. Whereas in

Modern Norwegian Modern Norwegian () is the Norwegian language that emerged after the Middle Norwegian transition period (1350–1536) until and including today. The transition to Modern Norwegian is usually dated to 1525, or 1536, the year of the Protestant Ref ...

means "blue", the Old Norse word could, however, also refer to the colours blue-black and black. The normal route of ascent for walkers is from the east. A path leaves the B8083 on the shores of Loch Slapin about 4 km after the village of Torrin. The path follows a burn, the ''Allt na Dunachie'', into the corrie of ''Coire Uaigneich''. From here a short steep route along the

ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...

leads to the summit. A small amount of scrambling is needed to reach the true top of the mountain. Alternative routes follow the south ridge, or come from the north having traversed the Clach Glas ridge which links to the Red Cuillin peaks. Blaven stands in the Strathaird Estate, owned and managed since 1994 by the John Muir Trust.

Geology

Blà Bheinn is geologically distinct from much of the surrounding Red Cuillin range, as it is composed predominantly of

, a coarse-grained igneous rock known for its rough texture and excellent grip for climbers. This rock type is also found in the nearby Black Cuillin, linking Blà Bheinn geologically to that more rugged mountain range. The mountain is part of the deeply eroded root system of an extinct central volcano that was active during the Paleogene period, around 60 million years ago. At that time, the region experienced intense volcanic activity associated with the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean. Blà Bheinn, like the rest of the Cuillin Hills, represents the solidified magma chamber of this ancient volcano, long since stripped of its upper volcanic cone by erosion. The surrounding landscape shows additional evidence of glacial sculpting during the last Ice Age, with steep corries, U-shaped valleys, and erratics common throughout the area. Blà Bheinn’s composition makes it popular among geologists, climbers, and hikers alike, offering both scientific interest and challenging ascents across its sharp ridges and scree-covered slopes. File:Blaven Phi1free.jpg, Blàbheinn from the east File:Bla Bheinn upper east side lower left south side lower right west side.jpg, The mountain from three sides

In popular culture

Blaven is depicted in Mary Stewart's 1956 thriller novel '' Wildfire at Midnight''.

References

External links

Blaven.com

John Muir Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bla Bheinn Munros Marilyns of Scotland Mountains and hills of Highland (council area) Mountains and hills of the Isle of Skye