Quinag - Spidean Coinich

About Quinag - Spidean Coinich

Forming the southern shoulder of the magnificent Quinag massif, this peak is defined by its sparkling white Cambrian quartzite cap and a gentle eastern dip-slope. It offers a grand introduction to the Sutherland wilderness, providing a relatively accessible ascent into a landscape of ancient rock and dramatic, jagged ridgelines.

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Did You Know?

• •The name Spidean Coinich translates from Scottish Gaelic as the 'Mossy Peak'. While much of the wider massif is defined by bare Torridonian sandstone and scree, the lower eastern slopes of this summit are notably greener and more vegetated than its rugged northern neighbours.
• •Geologically, the hill is a textbook example of the North West Highlands. It sits on a base of Lewisian gneiss—some of the oldest rock in the world—topped with reddish sandstone and finished with a thin 'skin' of white Cambrian quartzite beds.
• •Although this is the first summit reached on the standard Y-shaped traverse of the Quinag range, it is actually the lowest of the three main peaks, standing several metres shorter than Sàil Gharbh and Sàil Ghorm.
• •The summit offers a peerless view of the Assynt landscape to the south. From the cairn, the iconic, isolated forms of Suilven and Canisp are clearly visible, rising abruptly from the surrounding 'Cnoc and Lochan' moorland like islands in a peat-brown sea.
• •Despite its reputation as a wild and remote Corbett, the ascent from the A894 follows a well-constructed path maintained by the John Muir Trust, though the quartzite blocks near the top remain notoriously slick when the West Highland rain inevitably arrives.