Druim Shionnach

Druim Shionnach is a 987-metre Munro in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. Its Gaelic name means ‘fox’s ridge’. The summit lies between Loch Cluanie and Loch Quoich, about 35 kilometres north-west of Fort William. It ranks fourth among seven Munros on the South Glen Shiel Ridge, a fourteen-kilometre chain south of Glen Shiel. The ridge separates Glen Shiel to the north from Glen Quoich and the River Loyne valley to the south.

The mountain’s steep southern flanks are mostly grassy, while the northern side is rocky and broken by deep corries. Druim Shionnach has a striking south ridge that ends in an 869-metre top above the River Loyne. To the west lie Coire an Uisge Fhuair and two lesser tops on the main ridge, and to the east the Coire nan Leac holds a small lochan. North-east of the summit a smaller corrie, Coireachan Gorma, opens between the main and north ridges.

Walkers usually tackle the mountain as part of a full ridge traverse. The route can start from the Cluanie Inn on the A87 in the east or from the Malagan Bridge in the west. An ascent from the inn follows a well-built stalkers’ path to Loch a’ Mhaoil Dhìsnich before climbing the north ridge. The ridge itself is narrow and exposed in places, leading on to the 947-metre Creag a’ Mhaim, the easternmost Munro of the chain.