Mam Sodhail or Màm Sabhail (

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

), sometimes anglicised "Mam Soul", is a mountain with a height of in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. Classed as a Munro, it is beside

Carn Eige ''Carn'' is the official magazine of the Celtic League. The name, a Celtic word which has been borrowed into English as 'cairn', was chosen for its symbolic value and because it can be found in each of the living Celtic languages. The subtitl ...

in the secluded country on the northern side of Glen Affric, some 30 kilometres east of Kyle of Lochalsh.

Overview

At 1181 metres (3875 feet), it is the second highest mountain north of the Great Glen (after neighbouring

Càrn Eige Carn Eige ( gd, Càrn Èite) is a mountain in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. Rising to above sea level, it is the highest mountain in Scotland north of the Great Glen, the twelfth-highest in the British Isles, and, in terms of relative he ...

) and the fourteenth highest in the United Kingdom. Càrn Eige stands just one kilometre to the north of Mam Sodhail and the two are regarded as twin mountains, being roughly identical in height and appearance. They stand together above Gleann nam Fiadh (Glen of the Deer) and are linked by a high col of around 1045 metres, making the traverse of the two mountains a natural day's walk. The name Mam Sodhail comes from

''Màm Sabhail'', "rounded mountain of barns".

Geography and Summit

Mam Sodhail is mostly grassy without too much rock, however its sheer size, long ridges and fine corries together with its four "tops" named in the Munro Tables make it a first-rate mountain. The hill casts three ridges down towards Glen Affric, the most impressive of these being the east southeast ridge, which has two "tops" on it; Mullach Cadha Rainich (996 metres) stands at the midpoint of the ridge which runs for four kilometres to conclude at the other “top” of Sgurr na Lapaich (1036 metres), which is the most prominent part of the mountain when viewed from Glen Affric. It has the characteristics of a separate mountain and was regarded as a Munro in the original 1891 list, with Irvine Butterfield saying, ''"The peak certainly does not lack character and many were disappointed to find that its original status was not restored in the seventh edition of Munros Tables"''."The High Mountains of Britain and Ireland" Pages 199 (Gives this quote). The other two ridges, which form a horseshoe around the Allt Coulavie valley to the south of the summit, carry the “tops” of An Tudair (1074 metres) and Creag Coire nan Each (1055 metres).Database of British and Irish Hills
retrieved 18 Dec 2011.
Variorum of Munros Tables giving changes at each revision. The mountain's western flanks fall away towards Gleann a’ Choilich, which drains northwards into Loch Mullardoch. Mam Sodhail was an important part of the Ordnance Survey’s initial mapping of the northern Highlands in the 1840s, and the summit carries a massive

cairn A cairn is a man-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 gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...

which was used by the

surveyors Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

in their work. The cairn is hollow and its walls have to be climbed to get inside."The Munros and Tops" Page 158 (Gives info on hollow summit cairn). Unusually, there is a visitors' book inside the cairn.The Angry Corrie.
Mentions the summit visitors book. A few feet below the summit is the remains of a small

bothy A bothy is a basic shelter, usually left unlocked and available for anyone to use free of charge. It was also a term for basic accommodation, usually for gardeners or other workers on an estate. Bothies are found in remote mountainous areas of Sco ...

, complete with walls, fireplace and a chimney, which was formerly used by deerstalkers and watchers to keep sheep and walkers off the mountain. The bothy was mentioned by Sir Hugh Munro in volume one of the Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal along with tips to circumvent it and its inhabitants."Hamish's Mountain Walk" Pages 257 (Gives info on summit bothy). There is evidence of some quarrying south-west of the main summit on the ridge to Creag Coire nan Each. There are a number of pits about three metres deep and several metres across, and it is probable that this was the source of the stone for the summit cairn and the bothy."The Munros and Tops" Page 158 (Gives info on small quarry).

Ascents

The ascent of Mam Sodhail starts at the car park at the road end in Glen Affric at grid reference . The walker can either ascend by a stalker's path up Coire Leachavie, or by climbing Sgurr na Lapaich first and then following the long ESE ridge to the top of the mountain. The view from the top takes in the impressive sights of Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan and Càrn Eige close by and the distant view is crowded by the mountains of the north-west Highlands. Most walkers will take in the nearby Carn Eige as part of the walk and strong walkers may take the opportunity to climb the remote Munro of Beinn Fhionnlaidh, which lies three kilometres to the north and is difficult to access from any other place.

References and Footnotes

* ''The Munros (SMC Guide)'', Donald Bennett et al., * ''100 Best Routes on Scottish Mountains'', Ralph Storer, * ''Hamish’s Mountain Walk'', Hamish Brown, * ''The Munros and Tops'', Chris Townsend, * ''The High Mountains of Britain and Ireland'', Irvine Butterfield, Footnotes {{Coord, 57.279801, -5.120267, display=title Munros Mountains and hills of the Northwest Highlands One-thousanders of the British Isles

Overview

Geography and Summit

Ascents

See also

References and Footnotes