Sgùrr Alasdair via Great Stone Chute

From Sligachan on the A87, take the A863 west towards Carbost. Shortly before entering Carbost, turn left at a junction near a rough campsite, following signs for Glen Brittle.

This single-track road, with frequent passing places, crosses moorland and heads through forestry plantations before descending into Glen Brittle. It passes the large car park for the Fairy Pools and continues down the glen past the Glenbrittle Youth Hostel and onto Glenbrittle Memorial Hut.

Limited parking is available by the hut, one of the two starting points for the hike. The other start point is at Glenbrittle Campsite where there roadside parking for around 25 vehicles by its entrance at the road's end.

From the Glenbrittle Memorial Hut :
A path starts just south of the hut, beside some old sheep sheilings, and climbs gently over grass. It crosses a footbridge over the Allt Coire na Banachdich, then follows the river's southern bank, passing several waterfalls. Ignore two paths on the left (one leading to Coire na Banachdich, the other towards Sgùrr Dearg) and continue on the main trail past Loch an Fhir-bhallaich as it winds toward Coire Làgan.

From Glenbrittle Campsite :
Walk through the campsite past the facilities and cross a stile over a fence. The path ascends and crosses a track, heading east toward the dark buttresses of the Cuillin. After about 1km, a junction in the paths is reached - keep left towards Coire Làgan (the right-hand path leads to Coir' a' Ghrunnda and the Sgùrr Sgumain approach to Sgùrr Alasdair).

The two routes converge into a well-worn trail that climbs into Coire Làgan, eventually levelling off at the shore of Lochan Coire Làgan , dramatically surrounded by the ridges and peaks of Sgùrr Alasdair, Sgùrr Mhic Choinnich, and Sgùrr Dearg.

At the lochan's eastern end, a path leads uphill through mixed terrain to the base of the Great Stone Chute - a prominent line of scree descending from the col between Sgùrr Alasdair and Sgùrr Theàrlaich.

Though it looks daunting, this 300m scree climb is the easiest route up Sgùrr Alasdair. The lower part consists of loose, pale stone with an obvious line to follow. With height gained, the terrain becomes rockier, with larger boulders replacing the finer scree. Persevere, and the col between Sgùrr Alasdair and Sgùrr Theàrlaich is reached, with the view opening up over the southern Cuillin peaks.

There's a small stone-shelter circle on the col's southern side and from here, the final push to Sgùrr Alasdair's summit begins by heading around the back of the ridge crest (on the Coir' a' Ghrunnda side). Turning to face the rock, a clear scrambling line emerges. The route climbs through and over shattered rock and boulders. A narrow ledge offers brief respite on route. Although the scrambling is at Grade 2, it feels relatively straightforward, though the exposure can be quite sensational.

The summit of Sgùrr Alasdair is small and compact, but the panoramic views on a clear day - across Skye, the Inner Hebrides, and out to the sea - are truly spectacular.

The most practical descent is to retrace steps along the crest and down to the col, then down the Great Stone Chute into Coire Làgan.

In the past, the descent was a fast and fun scree run. However, decades of foot traffic have displaced the smaller stones, leaving the upper chute loose, unstable, and more of a careful scramble than a slide.

Sgùrr Alasdair can also be approached from Coir' a' Ghrunnda, perhaps while extending a route from Sgùrr nan Eag and Sgùrr Dubh Mòr, or from heading up Sròn na Cìche and Sgùrr Sgumain. Beginning easily enough, but becoming progressively more technical and challenging, routes from this direction are best suited to experienced scramblers. The scrambling reaches Grade 3...

Just below Bealach Sgumain with its weird pinnacles, is a small cave - this is reached either from Sgùrr Sgumain , or from Sgùrr Dubh Mòr by traversing on top of screes under Sgùrr Alasdair's cliffs.

Instead of heading up to the bealach where a 'bad step' on the crest blocks progress, head east from the cave, where the base of a chimney is reached. The scramble up this chimney is around 25m and although the rock is now somewhat polished, it is solid and easier to ascend than it initially looks.

Above the chimney, a loose route twisting and turning is made with care up Alasdair's southwest face. Sgùrr Alasdair's crest is gained with the airy summit shortly after.

Sgùrr Alasdair lies slightly west of the main Cuillin Ridge - to gain the ridge, the nearby peak of Sgùrr Theàrlaich needs to be ascended. The difficulty level is around Grade 3 ...

From the top of the Great Stone Chute and on the Coir' a' Ghrunnda side, head south-southeast down a faint path on scree hugging under Sgùrr Theàrlaich's rock.

Lose a little height until you find one of two distinct crevices in the rockwall - these are the ways up - the lower is longer, but easier. If you near the base of the scree slope, you're above steep ground and have gone too far !

Climb up one of the cracks to gain the west side of the ridge, then scramble up to and along the narrow crest to reach Sgùrr Theàrlaich's summit, from where the main ridge can be followed onward.