Meall a' Chrasgaidh is a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 mountain located in the Fannich group of mountains, 21 kilometres south-southeast of Ullapool

Ullapool

Ullapool is a small town of around 1,300 inhabitants in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest settlement for many miles around, and is a major tourist destination of Scotland. The North Atlantic Drift passes by Ullapool, bringing moderate temperatures...

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Overview

The mountain is centrally located within the Fannichs and is one of the most accessible of the group with the A832 and A835 roads running just to the north. It lies on a north-south ridge along with the two other Munro

Munro

A Munro is a mountain in Scotland with a height over . They are named after Sir Hugh Munro, 4th Baronet , who produced the first list of such hills, known as Munros Tables, in 1891. A Munro top is a summit over 3,000 ft which is not regarded as a separate mountain...

s of Sgurr nan Clach Geala

Sgurr nan Clach Geala

Sgurr nan Clach Geala is a Scottish mountain situated 28 kilometres south-southeast of Ullapool in the county of Ross and Cromarty in the Highland council area...

 and Sgurr nan Each

Sgurr nan Each

Sgurr nan Each is a Scottish mountain situated in the group of hills known as the Fannichs. It is south of Ullapool in the Ross and Cromarty district of the Highland council area.-Overview:...

 and it is usually ascended along with them. Meall a' Chrasgaidh is a rounded grassy hill which reaches the modest height of 934 metres (3064 ft), being the 242nd highest Munro

Munro

A Munro is a mountain in Scotland with a height over . They are named after Sir Hugh Munro, 4th Baronet , who produced the first list of such hills, known as Munros Tables, in 1891. A Munro top is a summit over 3,000 ft which is not regarded as a separate mountain...

. The mountains name translates as “Hill of the Crossing” and refers to the 819 metre col

Mountain pass

A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...

 to the south of the summit which is the main crossing point in the Fannich group giving access north to south between lochs a’ Bhraoin and Fannich and also between the east and the west.

Geography

Meall a' Chrasgaidh is made up of three distinct ridges, the NW and NE ridges both descend towards the valley of the River Droma and are used as ascent routes from the main roads to the north. The south ridge connects to the strategically important 819 col which is unnamed on maps, the col is boggy and has a small lochan lying within it. The col connects the mountain to the two highest peaks of the Fannichs, Sgurr nan Clach Geala and Sgurr Mòr

Sgurr Mòr (Fannichs)

Sgurr Mòr is the highest of the nine Munros in the mountain range known as the Fannichs in northern Scotland. This range is located between Loch Fannich and the A835 Ullapool road — a remote area with few habitations, but these Munros, which are usually climbed in groups or occasionally in a single...

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The only steep slopes on the mountain are on its eastern side where rocky flanks descend to Loch a’ Mhadaidh, these slopes are moderately angled and give a scrambling route from the loch. This eastern side shows the mountain at its best and the steeper gradients are well seen from the loch. The western and southern slopes are less steep, they are mostly composed of grass with some heather, nearer the summit there are some exposed mica

Mica

The mica group of sheet silicate minerals includes several closely related materials having highly perfect basal cleavage. All are monoclinic, with a tendency towards pseudohexagonal crystals, and are similar in chemical composition...

 and quartz

Quartz

Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...

 schist

Schist

The schists constitute a group of medium-grade metamorphic rocks, chiefly notable for the preponderance of lamellar minerals such as micas, chlorite, talc, hornblende, graphite, and others. Quartz often occurs in drawn-out grains to such an extent that a particular form called quartz schist is...

 rocks (see picture) of which the whole mountain is composed. All drainage from Meall a' Chrasgaidh goes to the west coast of Scotland, going via the River Broom and Loch Broom

Loch Broom

Loch Broom is a sea loch located in northwestern Ross and Cromarty, in the former parish of Lochbroom, in the west coast of Scotland. The small town of Ullapool lies on the eastern shore of the loch...

 to reach the sea at Ullapool.

Ascents and view

Meall a' Chrasgaidh is usually climbed directly from the north and usually in conjunction with some of the other hills of the Fannich range. There are two possible starting points for the northern approach. One starts at a parking spot on the A832 near Loch a’ Bhraoin (grid reference ) and ascends by the NW ridge after following a track by the Allt Breabaig for two km. The alternative route starts at the western end of Loch Droma on the A835 (grid reference ) and follows the Allt a’ Mhadaidh west for six km to reach Loch Mhadaidh under the eastern face. From here it is possible to ascend the grassy and rocky ground above the loch to reach the 819 metre col from where the summit can be reached via the south ridge. The continuation to other mountains in the group is by descending the south ridge to the 819 metre col.

The summit is crowned by a 5 feet (1.5 m) cairn. The view is restricted to the south and SE by the Fannichs two highest mountains Sgurr nan Clach Geala and Sgurr Mòr, both of which look impressive, however in other directions there are fine views. There is a first-rate aspect of An Teallach

An Teallach

An Teallach is a mountain in Scotland. It lies to the southwest of Dundonnell and overlooks Little Loch Broom, in an area often nicknamed the "great wilderness"...

, some 15 km to the NW across desolate moorland. Around to the north are the hills of Coigach

Coigach

Coigach today refers to the peninsula "beyond the big rock" north of Ullapool, in Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. Anciently till changes in civil registration districts in 1857 the Barony also included Isle Martin, the lands down to Corrie beyond Ullapool, the various farms of...

 and Assynt

Assynt

Assynt is a civil parish in west Sutherland, Highland, Scotland – north of Ullapool.It is famous for its landscape and its remarkable mountains...

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