Maol Chinn-dearg

The Maol Chinn-dearg is a Munro standing 981 metres high in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. Its Gaelic name means ‘bare red head’, describing the pale summit plateau that catches the light at dusk. The peak lies in the South Glen Shiel Ridge, a fourteen-kilometre chain of seven Munros between Glen Shiel and Glen Quoich. It ranks fifth highest in this ridge and is marked by a large cairn at the top. Climbers value the mountain both as an individual ascent and as part of a full ridge traverse. Walkers usually start from the east at Cluanie Inn or from the west at Malagan Bridge on the A87. A stalkers’ path from the road three kilometres west of the inn leads directly up the broad northeast ridge called Druim Coire nan Eirecheanach. From Glen Quoich a narrow stalkers’ path climbs steeply in zigzags to the col between Maol Chinn-dearg and the neighbouring Aonach air Chrith. The summit itself is a broad, grassy dome with views across Loch Cluanie and Loch Quoich. To the north the ridge drops steeply into Coire nan Eirecheanach, a deep corrie filled with crags and scree. To the south the ground falls away in rough grass slopes toward Glen Quoich. On clear days the peaks of Kintail, including Sgùrr na Cìche, appear in the distance. The contrast between the pale summit and the dark corries below makes the mountain a striking sight.