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…
Knoydart and Loch Quoich
Spidean Mialach
A Munro of 996 metres, number 147 of the 282.
Photograph by Nick Bramhall (CC BY-SA 2.0)
The hill
Spidean Mialach stands in the hills between Glen Shiel, Loch Hourn and Loch Quoich, on the Loch Quoich side.
Its nearest Munro is Gleouraich, about three kilometres to the west and the higher of the two.
Creag a' Mhaim, Druim Shionnach and Aonach air Chrith all lie a little over four kilometres away, to the north-east, north and north-west. Spidean Mialach itself falls about four metres short of 1,000.
Below it lies Loch Quoich, whose dam was completed in 1956; SSE lists it with the Quoich power station among its Great Glen hydro schemes.
- Stalking
- Watch for signs on the ground and follow reasonable advice from land managers. Mountaineering Scotland's stalking page says how to check before you go.
- Phone signal
- Mobile signal in the Highlands is often patchy or missing altogether.
- Under snow
- There is no avalanche forecast for this hill, but that does not mean there is no risk under snow. The Scottish Avalanche Information Service's full winter forecasts for its six areas begin on 17 December 2026.
- Summit
- Grid reference NH 065 043.
- The road
- SSEN Transmission has been working on the public road by Loch Quoich to Kinloch Hourn. On 25 August 2026 it reported the road fully open, though stop and go traffic control may be in place at times and work on the Quoich Bridge was still to be done. Check its page before you travel.
On the hill today
0° to 3°Rain on the summit, 996 m. Feels like −3° in the wind.
West wind to 11 mph, gusting 22
Rain, about 8 mm
Light from 7.55am to 6.17pm, ten hours
Sat 17Some cloud0° to 4° on top · 8 mph, gusts 17
Sun 18Cloudy−3° to 3° on top · 9 mph, gusts 19
Mon 19Some cloud−4° to 5° on top · 5 mph, gusts 12
A weather model's forecast for the height of the summit, not a report from the hill. Read the mountain forecast the evening before: Northwest Highlands forecast, Met Office Northwest Highlands forecast, Spidean Mialach, Scottish Avalanche Information Service, The road by Loch Quoich to Kinloch Hourn.
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.
Photographs by Nick Bramhall (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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 NH 065 043
- 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 Spidean Mialach 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.
- Spidean Mialach on WalkhighlandsRoute descriptions with maps, for the start and the way to the summitwalkhighlands.co.ukThe route↗
- Deer stalking, from Mountaineering ScotlandWhen stags and hinds are stalked, and how to check before you gomountaineering.scotStalking↗
- ThinkWINTERMountaineering Scotland on the hills under snowmountaineering.scotWinter↗
- River crossingsMountaineering Scotland on crossing burns in spate. A bridge marked on the map may not actually be theremountaineering.scotRivers↗
- Northwest Highlands forecastThe Mountain Weather Information Service's forecast for the Northwest Highlands, three days ahead and written by forecasters. Its area runs north from Knoydart in the west and the Great Glen in the east; the area map shows which forecast covers a hillmwis.org.ukMountain weather↗
- Met Office Northwest Highlands forecastThe Met Office's mountain forecast for the Northwest Highlandsweather.metoffice.gov.ukMountain weather↗
- Spidean MialachThe Met Office's forecast for the summit itself: a computer model for one point, not a report from the hillweather.metoffice.gov.ukSummit forecast↗
- Scottish Avalanche Information ServiceThere is no avalanche forecast for this hill, but snow can bring the risk all the same. Full winter forecasts begin on 17 December 2026, sooner in North Cairngorm and Lochaber if winter comes earlysais.gov.ukAvalanche↗
- The road by Loch Quoich to Kinloch HournSSEN Transmission's updates on its works on the roadssen-transmission.co.ukThe road↗
Next along: Gleouraich, Creag a' Mhaim, Druim Shionnach, Aonach air Chrith. Checked on 10 October 2026. The facts on this page are SSEN Transmission's and Mountaineering Scotland's; 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.