Gairich

Gairich is a mountain in Lochaber in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. It stands on the southern side of Loch Quoich, with Glen Garry to the east and Glen Kingie to the south. The mountain is 25 kilometres north-northwest of Fort William. It qualifies as a Munro with a height of 919 metres, just four metres above the required threshold. Gairich is rough and quite isolated, with a prominence of 552 metres. It appears as a conical peak when viewed from the Loch Quoich dam. The mountain was initially named Scour Gairoch on the original 1891 list of Munros. The name Gairich comes from the Gaelic Sgùrr Ghairich, meaning ‘roaring’ peak or ‘peak of yelling’. Some sources translate it as Garry’s peak. The mountain has two notable corries on its slopes: Coire Liath on the northern flank and Coire Thollaidh on the eastern side. Lochan Doire Meall an Eilein, a small lake about 500 metres long, lies on the northern flanks around the 400-metre contour. Gairich is made up of three distinct ridges, with the NE and NW ridges forming the flanks of Coire Liath. The eastern ridge descends for four kilometres from the summit near the Quoich dam. A visitor finds a rough and isolated mountain with a substantial prominence. The summit plateau extends westward for almost two kilometres, ending at the subsidiary top of Gairich Beag at 730 metres. The mountain is the first in a chain extending westwards over Sgurr Mòr to Sgurr na Cìche in Knoydart. The southern flank drops steeply into Glen Kingie, with a large gully drained by the Allt am Fhamhair. The Kinbreack bothy in Glen Kingie serves as a useful base for climbers. Approaches from the south can be challenging due to the River Kingie, which may require wading.