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…
Glen Shiel and Kintail
The Saddle
A Munro of 1,012 metres, number 118 of the 282.
The hill
The Saddle stands above Glen Shiel, with the Five Sisters of Kintail facing it across the glen.
It carries the Forcan Ridge, and its nearest neighbour is Sgurr na Sgine, about two kilometres to the south-east.
Glen Shiel is the heart of the Kintail Mountain Rescue Team's ground, with the Five Sisters on one side and The Saddle on the other. Scottish Mountain Rescue describes the team's country, with its large remote areas, consistently steep ground and well-defined ridges, as particularly demanding.
- If you need help
- Dial 999 or 112, ask for the police, then for mountain rescue.
- The Forcan Ridge
- Sandy Paterson, writing in Mountaineering Scotland's magazine Scottish Mountaineer in spring 2021, gives the Forcan Ridge as an example of a scramble. Mountaineering Scotland warns that scrambling grades assume a dry summer day: in less than ideal conditions the same ground is likely to become much more difficult and dangerous.
- The ground
- Glen Shiel is the core of the Kintail Mountain Rescue Team's area, which Scottish Mountain Rescue calls particularly demanding: large remote areas, consistently steep ground and well-defined ridges.
- 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 NG 936 131.
- Deer stalking
- Across the hills, Mountaineering Scotland says, the first three weeks of October are the busiest of the stag stalking season. Pay close attention to signs and follow reasonable advice from land managers.
- Parking
- The Highland Council lists no car park in Glen Shiel or at Cluanie, Kintail, Morvich or Shiel Bridge, and Forestry and Land Scotland has no site in Glen Shiel. Find where to leave a car in a route description before you set out.
- Train
- There is a railway station at Kyle of Lochalsh.
- Phone signal
- Mobile coverage is still poor in places, Kintail Mountain Rescue Team warns, so bear it in mind and plan for it before you head out.
On the hill today
0° to 3°Rain on the summit, 1,012 m. Feels like −3° in the wind.
West wind to 13 mph, gusting 28
Rain, about 8 mm
Light from 7.56am to 6.17pm, ten hours
Sat 17Some cloud−1° to 4° on top · 6 mph, gusts 15
Sun 18Cloudy−2° to 4° on top · 12 mph, gusts 23
Mon 19Cloudy−3° to 6° on top · 5 mph, gusts 14
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, The Saddle, Scottish Avalanche Information Service.
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.
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 NG 936 131
- 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 The Saddle 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.
- A scrambler's checklistSandy Paterson's scrambler's checklist in Scottish Mountaineer, issue 91, spring 2021, where he names the Forcan Ridgemountaineering.scotThe article↗
- Scrambling and its gradesMountaineering Scotland on scrambling grades and the conditions they are set formountaineering.scotScrambling↗
- Kintail Mountain Rescue Team on mountain safetyThe rescue team on conditions and phone signal in its hillskintailmrt.org.ukThe rescue team↗
- Northwest Highlands forecastThe Mountain Weather Information Service's forecast for the Northwest Highlands, the country north from Knoydart in the west and the Great Glen in the eastmwis.org.ukMountain weather↗
- The SaddleThe 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↗
Sleep and eat at its foot
Next along: Sgurr na Sgine, Sgurr na Carnach, Creag nan Damh, Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe. Checked on 10 October 2026. The facts on this page are Kintail Mountain Rescue Team's, Scottish Mountain Rescue's, Mountaineering Scotland's, the Highland Council's, Forestry and Land Scotland's and National Rail'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.