Glamaig

Glamaig is the northernmost of the Red Hills on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It lies immediately east of Sligachan. It is one of only two Corbetts on Skye.

Map of Glamaig, Isle of Skye, UK

From many angles the hill resembles a perfect cone of scree, though it is linked to the rest of the Red Hills by way of a bealach, the Bealach na Sgairde (pronounced b'ya-loch na skaar-st'ya), meaning the pass of scree.

In 1889, a Gurkha named Harkabir Tharpa scaled Glamaig in a 37 minutes; his total time for the round trip, starting and finishing at sea level in the bar of the Sligachan Inn was 55 minutes. Legend has it that he ran it in bare feet, and his record stood until the 1980s, despite being attempted by Olympians such as Chris Brasher in the 1950s.

From Sligachan one route of ascent (whether running or hillwalking) is simply to head up the scree aiming for the summit - this climb is very arduous, due to the unrelenting gradient and the slipperiness of the scree. Descent may be made by way of ascent; alternatively one may continue along the Red Cuillin ridge to take in other peaks to the south.

A slightly less arduous (but longer) climb approaches the mountain from its eastern end at Sconser. Climb first to the secondary summit, An Coileach (The Cockerel), then follow the whaleback ridge to the primary summit, Sgurr Mhairi (Mary's Peak). Once An Coileach is reached at 673 metres (2,208 ft), the more-or-less level ridge allows some respite from the gradient, with a gentler ascent of the final 102 metres (335 ft) to Sgurr Mhairi.

From the summit there are excellent views of both the Black Cuillin and the Isle of Raasay.