At One with the Mountains - An interview with Nick Gardner
Issue 6: Nick Gardner and his wife Janet were living an idyllic life on a croft…
Ben Nevis, the Mamores and the Grey Corries
Sgurr Choinnich Mor
A Munro of 1,094 metres, number 52 of the 282.
Photograph by Al Alexander, via Google
The hill
Sgurr Choinnich Mor is one of the four Grey Corries Munros in Lochaber, above Glen Spean.
Stob Coire an Laoigh is less than two kilometres to the north-east, with Aonach Beag about three kilometres to the west and Aonach Mor about four.
The avalanche forecasters have photographed its south side, with Sgurr Choinnich Beag beside it.
The Lairig Leacach bothy has been maintained by the Mountain Bothies Association since 1977. It is popular, the association says, with walkers and cyclists travelling through the pass and with those climbing the hills of the Grey Corries.
- The land
- Most of the Ben Nevis Site of Special Scientific Interest lies within Jahama Highland Estates' Killiechonate estate, which runs from Glen Nevis in the west to Coire Rath and the Lairig Leacach in the east. The estate office is at Killiechonate, Spean Bridge.
- Deer stalking
- The Mountain Bothies Association gives the stag season here as 15 August to 20 October and the hind cull as 21 October to 15 February, while Jahama Highland Estates offers stalking on Killiechonate from August to mid December. The first three weeks of October are the busiest. In the season, contact the estate or use Hillphones to find out where deer control is taking place, pay close attention to signs and follow reasonable advice from land managers.
- Summit
- Grid reference NN 227 714
- Parking
- Wild About Lochaber, the area's tourism site, gives small parking areas by a metal bridge over the River Spean, on the road signposted Corriechoille off the A86 east of Spean Bridge. It gives them for a track walk to a statue, not for the hill.
- Glen Nevis car park
- The Highland Council's car park at the Glen Nevis road end is the one there that charges. In May 2026 the council approved pay and display, hoping to begin in June or July 2026, so expect to pay. Overnight parking, from 10pm to 8am, is to be barred.
- Bus and train
- Shiel Buses' route 41 between Roy Bridge and Fort William stops at Spean Bridge, which has a railway station. Check the times with the operators.
On the hill today
−1° to 2°Drizzle on the summit, 1,094 m. Feels like −4° in the wind.
North-west wind to 13 mph, gusting 28
Rain, about 4 mm
Light from 7.53am to 6.16pm, ten hours
Sat 17Cloudy−2° to 3° on top · 7 mph, gusts 17
Sun 18Mostly clear−4° to 3° on top · 9 mph, gusts 18
Mon 19Cloudy−6° to 5° on top · 4 mph, gusts 9
A weather model's forecast for the height of the summit, not a report from the hill. Read the mountain forecast the evening before: West Highlands forecast, Sgurr Choinnich Mor, Lochaber avalanche forecast.
October2026
MTWTFSS
Going another day?
Choose the day you mean to climb.Near or far: the light you will have, and what the summit is likely to be doing.
Knowledge from the core area is applied to the more outlying mountains such as the Grey Corries range to the east where field observations are carried out in turn as the winter progresses, or specific snowpack assessments are required.The Scottish Avalanche Information Service, on its Lochaber forecast area, whose core is the Aonach Mor range and Ben Nevis
Before you go
Carry
- A paper map and a compass, and the skill to use them
- Waterproofs, warm layers, hat and gloves
- Food and drink
- A head torch, a whistle and a first aid kit
- A survival bag
- Boots with a good grip
Under snow and ice this is a different day, with short light and the risk of avalanche. It needs an ice axe, crampons, winter boots and the skill to use them.
If something goes wrong
- Dial 999, ask for the police, then mountain rescue
- Give a six-figure grid reference: the summit is NN 227 714
- Say how many are hurt, how many are with you, and your number
- Register to text 999 before the day: text the word register to 999
The summit is optional. Turning back is the right decision whenever the cloud, the wind or the light say so.
How to call for help in the hills · Safety and skills for the hills · ThinkWINTER
From our readers
Nobody has written from Sgurr Choinnich Mor yet. If you were up, yours would be the first.
Tell the next person
Were you up? Three words is enough.A free account, a word for the weather and a line if you like.
Read more elsewhere
For the route itself, take the map and read these.
- Sgurr Choinnich Mor on WalkhighlandsRoute descriptions with maps, for the way to the summitwalkhighlands.co.ukThe route↗
- The Wee Minister, by Wild About LochaberA track walk from Corriechoille to the statue, with where to park: a walk in the woods below, not a route up the hillwildlochaber.comThe approach↗
- Both sides of the glen, in the Lochaber forecasters' blogAn avalanche forecaster's post of January 2023, picturing the south side of this hill: photographs, not a routelochaberblog.sais.gov.ukAvalanche↗
- Lairig Leacach, by the Mountain Bothies AssociationThe Lairig Leacach bothy's page, with stalking dates for this ground and who to ask in the seasonmountainbothies.org.ukDeer stalking↗
- Deer stalking, by Mountaineering ScotlandThe stalking seasons, and what Mountaineering Scotland asks of walkers during themmountaineering.scotDeer stalking↗
- Lochaber car parking charges approvedThe Highland Council's decision of 11 May 2026 to charge for parking at the Glen Nevis road endhighland.gov.ukParking↗
- West Highlands forecastThe Mountain Weather Information Service's West Highlands forecast, three days ahead from its forecasters, for the hills south of Glen Spean, Ben Nevis among themmwis.org.ukMountain weather↗
- Sgurr Choinnich MorThe Met Office's forecast for the summit itself: a model for one point, not a report from the hillweather.metoffice.gov.ukSummit forecast↗
- Lochaber avalanche forecastThe Lochaber avalanche forecast, from 17 December 2026 or sooner if winter comes early. Its forecasters work mostly on the Aonach Mor range and Ben Nevis, and reach outlying hills such as the Grey Corries in turn as the winter goes on. Snow brings the risk here all the samesais.gov.ukAvalanche↗
Next along: Stob Coire an Laoigh, Aonach Beag, Binnein Beag, Aonach Mor. Checked on 10 October 2026. The facts on this page are Jahama Highland Estates', the Mountain Bothies Association's, Mountaineering Scotland's, Wild About Lochaber's, the Highland Council's and Shiel Buses'; the forecasts are the Mountain Weather Information Service's, the Met Office's and the Scottish Avalanche Information Service's. Height and position from The Database of British and Irish Hills, v18.3, adapted, CC BY 4.0. This page is not a route description and does not replace a map.