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Sgurr na Lapaich 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 ...
in the
Northwest Highlands The Northwest Highlands are located in the northern third of Scotland that is separated from the Grampian Mountains by the Great Glen (Glen More). The region comprises Wester Ross, Assynt, Sutherland and part of Caithness. The Caledonian Cana ...
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 ...
, situated north of Loch Mullardoch in the high ground that separates
Glen Cannich Glen Cannich () is a long glen and strath in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland and through which runs the River Cannich. Once densely populated before being largely emptied by both voluntary emigration and the Highland Clearances following the ...
and
Glen Strathfarrar Glen Strathfarrar () is a glen in the Highland (council area), Highland region of Scotland, near Loch Ness. The Glen is part of the Affric-Beauly hydro-electric power scheme, with a dam at Loch Monar and a 9 km tunnel carrying water to an u ...
. The mountain reaches a height of 1,150 metres (3,773 feet), and is the fourth-highest mountain north of the
Great Glen The Great Glen ( ), also known as Glen Albyn (from the Gaelic "Glen of Scotland" ) or Glen More (from the Gaelic "Big/Great Glen"), is a glen in Scotland running for from Inverness on the edge of the Moray Firth, in an approximately straig ...
. There is no higher ground to the north of it in Great Britain. With a
topographic prominence In topography, prominence or relative height (also referred to as autonomous height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contour line encircling ...
of 839 metres, Sgurr na Lapaich is the highest point for some considerable distance and is a fine viewpoint. The mountain is particularly well seen from the east; it is a prominent landmark as far away as the
Moray Firth The Moray Firth (; , or ) is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of the north of Scotland. It is the largest firth in Scotland, stretching from Duncans ...
, some thirty miles away, from where locals use it as a guide for the weather forecast. It should not be confused with another Sgurr na Lapaich, an outlying "top" of Mam Sodhail.


Topography

The name ''Sgurr na Lapaich'' means "Peak of the Bog" in
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 ...
. This could be somewhat misleading, as it is a fine mountain with long
ridges 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 ...
, deep corries and
lochan ''Loch'' ( ) is a word meaning "lake" or " sea inlet" in Scottish and Irish Gaelic, subsequently borrowed into English. In Irish contexts, it often appears in the anglicized form "lough". A small loch is sometimes called a lochan. Lochs which ...
s, culminating in a fine rocky peak. The mountain is linked by ridges to 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 ...
s of An Riabhachan to the west and to Càrn nan Gobhar to the east. To the south of the main summit Sgurr na Lapaich has a subsidiary summit, Sgurr nan Clachan Geala (1,093 metres), listed as a "top" in
Munro's Tables 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 ...
. Another minor summit, Rudha na Spreidhe, lies at the end of the mountain's northern spur and gives good views of Loch Monar; this was also formerly classed as a top, but has now been deleted from Munro's Tables. Deep, glacial corries surround the mountain on several sides. To the south-east of the summit the slopes fall steeply into a large corrie containing Loch Tuill Bhearnach, the largest of Sgurr na Lapaich's lochans at around 500 metres wide; further south is a smaller corrie surrounding Loch a' Choire Bhig. Both of these lochans drain into Loch Mullardoch. To the east of the summit is the steep, rocky head-wall of Coire nan Each, which is snow-filled until the late spring.


Ascent routes

Sgurr na Lapaich can be climbed either from Glen Strathfarrar or Glen Cannich. The usual approach from Glen Cannich starts at the parking spot at the Loch Mullardoch dam (grid reference ) and begins by ascending the Munro of Càrn nan Gobhar by its south ridge. The route then goes north-west to a
col A col is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks; a mountain pass or saddle. COL, CoL or col may also refer to: Computers * Caldera OpenLinux, a defunct Linux distribution * , an HTML element specifying a column * A collision sig ...
at 796 metres before ascending the broad, grassy east ridge of Sgurr na Lapaich. This becomes rocky higher up, requiring some easy
scrambling Scrambling is a mountaineering term for ascending steep terrain using one's hands to assist in holds and balance.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. It can be described as being between hiking and climbing, rock climbing. "A scramble" is a relat ...
to reach the summit. The approach from Glen Strathfarrar begins from the
hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
power station in Gleann Innis (grid reference ), reached by a 17-mile drive from Struy along a private road; the locked gate at the entrance to this road is opened at specified times to give access to vehicle

Pedestrians and cyclists are allowed through the gate at all times. From the power station a stalkers' path leads to the col between An Riabhachan and Sgurr na Lapaich, from where there is a further climb of over 300 metres to reach the summit. The top of the mountain is marked by an
Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...
trig point A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The station is usually set up by a map ...
.


Geodesy

Sgurr na Lapaich was the origin (meridian) of the 6 inch and 1:2500 Ordnance Survey maps of the County of Ross & Cromarty.


See also

*
Ben Nevis Ben Nevis ( ; , ) is the highest mountain in Scotland, the United Kingdom, and the British Isles. Ben Nevis stands at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Highland region of Lochaber, close to the town of Fort William. The mount ...
*
List of Munro mountains This is a list of Munro mountains and Munro Tops in Scotland by height. Munros are defined as Scottish mountains over in height, and which are on the Scottish Mountaineering Club ("SMC") official list of Munros. In addition, the SMC define Mun ...
*
Mountains and hills of Scotland Scotland is the most mountainous country in the United Kingdom. Scotland's mountain ranges can be divided in a roughly north to south direction into: the Scottish Highlands, the Central Belt and the Southern Uplands, the latter two primarily belo ...


References

* The High Mountains of Britain and Ireland,
Irvine Butterfield Irvine Butterfield (1936–2009) was an environmentalist, hillwalker and author of several books about mountains and the outdoor environment who took a significant role in the running of organisations with such interests in Scotland. He was a go ...
, * The Munros (SMC Guide), Donald Bennett et al., * 100 Best Routes on Scottish Mountains, Ralph Storer, * Hamish’s Mountain Walk, Hamish Brown,


Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sgurr Na Lapaich Munros Marilyns of Scotland Mountains and hills of the Northwest Highlands One-thousanders of Scotland