Culnamean
word-mntn (Sgùrr nan Gobhar); poem AF, photograph EN
on the verge of the big ridge
the rain-blurred, dusk-purpled
thunder-livid, hail-pelted
or cloud-voided Cuillin
are here by the sea
at Culnamean
clamber your eyes up Sgùrr nan Gobhar
seeing your way from rock to rock
picking a way through the scree tesserae
that litters the molten wave
which gave shape to the arcuate ridge-line
& stitch these familiar names
back together again
Sgùrr a Ghreadaidh
clear stone
Sgùrr na Banachdaich
crystal water
Sgùrr Alasdair
the very crux
Sgùrr Mhic Coinnich
the bolt that blocks
so many traverses
Sgùrr Dearg
weltered rock
Sgùrr Dubh Mòr
where rime still shelters
on the old snow patches
to the mountains this pockled scree
flows, cascading over as many years
as there are rocks, but no, the phrase
can’t be made to hold – to the mountains
nothing...
for the peak is the smallest part
of any mountain and, beneath the peak,
the greater part of the mountain
lies hidden within
Culnamean (Grid ref: NG42SW 14). Site records can be viewed on RCAHMS. Former township
on the Allt a’ Mhuilinn; the name means Back of the Mountains. The closest hill is Sgùrr nan
Gobhar, Peak of the Goats, which slopes up to the Cullin ridge; Frank Fraser Darling refers to
the ridgeline as arcuate, curved, like a bow. Sgùrr Alasdair, Alistair’s Peak, named after Sherriff
Alistair Nicolson of Skye; Sgùrr MhicCoinnich, McKenzie’s Peak, named after the climbing guide
John Mackenzie of Sconser. The other mountain names are translated in the conspectus below.
on the Allt a’ Mhuilinn; the name means Back of the Mountains. The closest hill is Sgùrr nan
Gobhar, Peak of the Goats, which slopes up to the Cullin ridge; Frank Fraser Darling refers to
the ridgeline as arcuate, curved, like a bow. Sgùrr Alasdair, Alistair’s Peak, named after Sherriff
Alistair Nicolson of Skye; Sgùrr MhicCoinnich, McKenzie’s Peak, named after the climbing guide
John Mackenzie of Sconser. The other mountain names are translated in the conspectus below.
poem & photograph, AF
word-mntn (Sgùrr Dubh Mor), AF
summary
MOTIF
massif
meadow, Culnamean
word-mntn (Sgùrr MhicCoinnich) poem AF; photograph, EN
in the meadow
a hidden corncrake
among ox-eye daisies
as rare as its rasp
is ugly
along the strand
the low curlew
calls across
the green horizon
a lone whim of dusk
A memory of my first visit to Culnamean, June 2011, with Emma Nicolson; the arable fields had
been allowed to become meadow, filled with ox-eye daisies, neòinean mòr. We heard a corncrake,
traon, croaking among the grasses.
been allowed to become meadow, filled with ox-eye daisies, neòinean mòr. We heard a corncrake,
traon, croaking among the grasses.
camping
Arne Naess
sand & marram frame views
well kent & fond to visiting climbers,
not all as eccentric in their treatment
of their tents as the philosopher
& climber Arne Naess
I made myself a tent
with small holes
cut in the fabric
falling asleep
I could still see
the mountains
but the holes
couldn’t be shut
so I was freezing
& that was the first
of many, many
stupid things
(Arne Naess)
The campsite by the beach at Glen Brittle is popular with climbers. These verses are composed
from phrases in David Rothenberg’s introduction to Arne Naess’ thinking: Is it painful to think?:
Conversations with Arne Naess (University of Minnesota, 1993).
from phrases in David Rothenberg’s introduction to Arne Naess’ thinking: Is it painful to think?:
Conversations with Arne Naess (University of Minnesota, 1993).
Sherry's Shadows of the Alps
David Sherry's Shadows of the Alps exist as drawings, photocopies, and paintings; he grew up in
the Mourne Mountains and lives in Glasgow.
Le alpine Cullin
Company of Mountains (tr.), poem AF, photograph LA
the first visitors to arrive on Skye
with the habit of referring to themselves
as 'mountain climbers', translated the Cuillin
into their ideal terrain
parlez-vous alpine?
arête
col
cornice
couloir
debris
font
gastone
massif
névé
piton
rappel
sérac
For a more detailed list of Alpine climbing terms, see this article.
poem & photograph, AF
word-mntn (Sgùrr Mhic Choinnich), AF
summary
MONTANGE
montage
Munroism
Rev. A. E. Robertson; poem AF, photograph LA
the alpinist cult was succeeded by Munroism:
mountain climbers & armchair loggers
tabulated an index of verticality
the Munroist doctrine nominated peaks
as data points, founding an arbitrary tradition
that becomes, for some, the pursuit
of a lifetime
their credo remains much debated;
their status quo is undermined
by the paradox, admitted by Munro,
that, although peaks can be measured & compared,
mountains are immeasurable,
their pursuit, even their definition,
is irrational
fitting then that the first comprehensive Munroist
should be a man of the cloth, Rev. A. E. Robertson
who listed God’s blessings in a rambling sermon
from Numbers
closely followed by another reverend
A. R. G. Burn
Munroism derives from the calculations of Sir Hugh Munro, a founding member of the Scottish
Mountaineering Club, who published the first edition of Munro’s Tables in the SMC journal of
1891, listing the summits over 3,000 ft recognized to be separate mountains. The definitions of
summits and tops have been matters of much debate, of the utmost importance to those who
pursue Munro bagging.
Mountaineering Club, who published the first edition of Munro’s Tables in the SMC journal of
1891, listing the summits over 3,000 ft recognized to be separate mountains. The definitions of
summits and tops have been matters of much debate, of the utmost importance to those who
pursue Munro bagging.
poem & photograph AF
poem AF, photograph LA
poem AF, photograph CS
word-mntn (Sgùrr na Banachdaich), AF
summary
A CASTE OF PEAKS
munro
pataphysical Cuillin
diagram from Mount Analogue, René Daumal
I rename the volcano that once towered
a mile high over these massive peaks
in honour of the writer-climber
René Daumal
M
O U N
T A N
A L O
G U E
rebalancing the equilibrium
between climbing & viewing,
paying heed to Daumal’s notion:
thought is motion, movement is all
that we share in common
walking, not the physical pretense of walking,
but consciously harmonizing, walking at our own pace,
there comes an entire rhythm, lighting life
with joy & ease
but you cannot always stay on the summits
you have to come down again
so what’s the point?
while climbing, take note of all the difficulties
along your path, during the descent
you will no longer see them,
but you will know that they are there
if you have observed carefully
there is an art to finding your way
in the lower regions by the memory
of what you have seen when you were higher up;
when you can no longer see, you can at least
still know
Daumal's Mount Analogue, sub-titled A Novel of Symbolically Authentic Non-Euclidean
Adventures in Mountain Climbing (tr. Carol Cosman, Pantheon, 1960) is a foundational text
of mountain counter-culture. Pataphysics originates in the work of Alfred Jarry, who proposed
it as the science of imaginary solutions, of laws governing exceptions and of the laws describing
the universe supplementary to this one. These theories influence Daumal's experimental meta-
physcis, expounded in Mount Analogue. Here the final verses are based on passages from his
essay ‘The role of Movement in the complete education of man’, translated by Mark Polizzotti.
Adventures in Mountain Climbing (tr. Carol Cosman, Pantheon, 1960) is a foundational text
of mountain counter-culture. Pataphysics originates in the work of Alfred Jarry, who proposed
it as the science of imaginary solutions, of laws governing exceptions and of the laws describing
the universe supplementary to this one. These theories influence Daumal's experimental meta-
physcis, expounded in Mount Analogue. Here the final verses are based on passages from his
essay ‘The role of Movement in the complete education of man’, translated by Mark Polizzotti.
(after René Daumal)
Dan Shipsides, A’ Chioch (The Cioch)
Dan Shipsides, summit of Sgùrr Alasdair, DS
this guide favours viewing over climbing,
but it’s time to expose ourselves to a bodily encounter
composed in Bone Scale by artist-climber
Dan Shipsides
Cìoch: Bone Scale
one fibular taper
joins a ridged sternum
cause-weighing from the body mass
of Sròn na Cìche
mass lengthways sloping upwards
one femur over eighteen humerus
sideways tapered from a fibula to tibia
steeply up and shallowing
to twelve clavicles wide
and then broadening
to flat frontal slope of eight femurs
fractured by grouped carpal cracks
thinning to two
then single phalanges
and raised seams
of at most ulnas
to at least metacarpals
running around and through
cracks radius depth at deepest
lobe slopes on seaward side
increasing pitch from femur : carpal
to carpal : femur
to precarious tarsal then metatarsal
then gone
steep proud, twelve spine deep
slice of eight femur
then thirteen humerous
on the sheltered clean edge
leading to an exposed
cantilevered scapula tip
past which a fall
way beyond Bone Scale
Cìoch, massive pedestal interrupting the climbing routes up Sròn na Cìche, Pap of the Prom-
ontory, on the face of Sgùrr Alasdair. Shipsides is an artist who climbs; a recent exhibition at
Stephen Lawrence Gallery, Greenwich, refers to mountaineering and radicalism, including
Aleister Crowley. The photograph (above) is possibly the highest 'ground-bound' (non-airborne)
photo ever taken in the Cullins, made by Shipsides, using a 3m bamboo pole. Shipsides collab-
orates with the artist-climber Neal Beggs, whose work features in the guide to Sligachan. The
extract below is from Colin Will’s poem 'The Cioch, A’ Chioch', first published in Seven Senses
(Diehard, 2000).
ontory, on the face of Sgùrr Alasdair. Shipsides is an artist who climbs; a recent exhibition at
Stephen Lawrence Gallery, Greenwich, refers to mountaineering and radicalism, including
Aleister Crowley. The photograph (above) is possibly the highest 'ground-bound' (non-airborne)
photo ever taken in the Cullins, made by Shipsides, using a 3m bamboo pole. Shipsides collab-
orates with the artist-climber Neal Beggs, whose work features in the guide to Sligachan. The
extract below is from Colin Will’s poem 'The Cioch, A’ Chioch', first published in Seven Senses
(Diehard, 2000).
word-mntn (Sgùrr Alasdair), poem AF, photograph, CZ
word-mntn (Sgùrr Alasdair), AF
Colin Will, The Cioch, A’ Chioch
You are free, if you are brave, to stand up
on this steep rough rock.
Hands are not needed
except for reassurance.
This slab is so sound
you could run up, unroped,
facing in, looking up.
But back, behind,
there’s air below;
a thousand feet
until you’d hit
the crags and boulders -
and you’re no cartoon coyote.
(Colin Will)
Rubh an Dùnain
Rubh an Dùnain, AF
your eyes see the point, but what’s known
depends on rounding the promontory
beyond Càrn Mòr
for the full 4 miles reveals:
the ruined gable of the MacKaskills,
comes litoris
the ruined fort on the naze
& the stone-lined canal
that bleeds from the lochan boatyard,
with noosts for Macleod’s birlinn
the cliffside cave for smelting iron
& the ancient chambered cairn
with its view from the rocky foreshore
to the Cuillin of Skye & Rúm
Culnamean, departure point for the walk to Rubh an Dùnain; the point is visible in the photo-
graph. The MacKaskill clan motto, comes litoris, derived from their ancient role as 'coast-
watchers' for Clan Macleod. The fort, the boatyard at Loch na h-Àirde, the cave used as a Neolithic
smithy and the chambered cairn are described in more detail in the guide for Rubh an Dùnain.
Noost, boat stance, for birlinn, clinker-built longships.
graph. The MacKaskill clan motto, comes litoris, derived from their ancient role as 'coast-
watchers' for Clan Macleod. The fort, the boatyard at Loch na h-Àirde, the cave used as a Neolithic
smithy and the chambered cairn are described in more detail in the guide for Rubh an Dùnain.
Noost, boat stance, for birlinn, clinker-built longships.
Isle of Rúm
word-mntn (trollabhal); poem AF, photograph LA
Rúm, remains of volcanic frenzy
collaging a rock ecology
of sandstone, granite & magma,
the sandy topsoil & spitted slopes
of Hallival & Askival are covered in green patches,
flushed by birdshit, riddled with burrowed nests
which emit the eerie calls of the shearwaters
renaming Trollabhal every night
It is sometimes said that the name ‘Rúm’ means isle of the ridge. Askival, Peak of the Ash. The
noisy calls of shearwater, sgrabaire, when they return to their burrows at night are thought to
have given Trollabhal its name, Troll Peak. On the hill of Orval there is the ruin of an old funnel-
shaped stone deer trap, eileirig.
noisy calls of shearwater, sgrabaire, when they return to their burrows at night are thought to
have given Trollabhal its name, Troll Peak. On the hill of Orval there is the ruin of an old funnel-
shaped stone deer trap, eileirig.
Linda France’s iolaire, Eigg
if the eagle is the eye
of the storm, I am nothing,
sitting on the edge
of the cliff waving
like someone lost
if the eagle is the door
of heaven, I am everything
that must pass
under the lintel
marked found
(Linda France)
The poem by Linda France, titled ‘Two Sightings’, from You are Her (Arc, 2010), describes the
experience of sighting an eagle over Beinn Bhuidhe, yellow hill, on Eigg. On Skye and Rúm there
are white-tailed sea eagles, iolaire sùil na grèine (eagle of the sunlit eye), which were for a time
locally extinct, and had to be actively reintroduced. In the mating season they can be seen locking
talons, tumbling down through the air. The golden eagle, iolair bhuidhe (sometimes iolair dubh),
was also absent from the islands for some years, seemingly due to the effects of the pesticide ingested
in their shearwater prey. Though the species later returned naturally, its numbers remained inhibited
owing to local pesticide use. Geoff Sample made a recording of white-tailed eagles on Canna, for
the Cape Farewell project Air falbh leis na h-eoin / Away with the birds, in collaboration with Hanna
Tuulikki
are white-tailed sea eagles, iolaire sùil na grèine (eagle of the sunlit eye), which were for a time
locally extinct, and had to be actively reintroduced. In the mating season they can be seen locking
talons, tumbling down through the air. The golden eagle, iolair bhuidhe (sometimes iolair dubh),
was also absent from the islands for some years, seemingly due to the effects of the pesticide ingested
in their shearwater prey. Though the species later returned naturally, its numbers remained inhibited
owing to local pesticide use. Geoff Sample made a recording of white-tailed eagles on Canna, for
the Cape Farewell project Air falbh leis na h-eoin / Away with the birds, in collaboration with Hanna
Tuulikki
white tailed eagles, Canna; audio by Geoff Sample
poem & photograph, AF
word-mntn (Beinn Bhuidhe), AF
Iolaire sùil na grèine
for Geoff Sample
for Geoff Sample
(I)
sunlit
eyes
hook
silver
glints
from
sunset
waves
(II)
sleep
finds me
on the
flight-
path
of the
familiar
eagle
(II)
sleep
finds me
on the
flight-
path
of the
familiar
eagle
word-mntn (Orval), AF
Culnamean conspectus
This conspectus is composed from the names of some of the mountains that
are
visible from this location. The centre-point marks the location of Culnamean.
The typography represents the view as it is experienced by the human eye, giving
an approximate impression of distance and scale. Mountain ridges are indicated
by overlapping names. The gradation of hill slopes is suggested by the use of grey-
The typography represents the view as it is experienced by the human eye, giving
an approximate impression of distance and scale. Mountain ridges are indicated
by overlapping names. The gradation of hill slopes is suggested by the use of grey-
scale, with the peak in black.
Click on this graphic to view the original and, if you wish,
print it out for use in
situ. A booklet containing all 14 conspectuses is available from ATLAS Arts. The
14 conspectuses have also been archived in an
album, indexed here. A complete
list of the mountains referred to in the Culnamean guide is given below, with links
from each one to its OS map. English translations have been given where possible.
A gallery of word-mntn drawings, including mountains visible from Culnamean,
can be found on the drawing page.list of the mountains referred to in the Culnamean guide is given below, with links
from each one to its OS map. English translations have been given where possible.
A gallery of word-mntn drawings, including mountains visible from Culnamean,
| Askival | Peak of the Ash |
| Beinn Bhuidhe | Yellow Mountain |
| Hallival | Fell with ridge of terraces |
| Sgùrr a' Ghreadaidh | Peak of the tormented torrent |
| Sgùrr Alasdair | Alexander’s Peak |
| Sgùrr na Banachdaich | Pockmarked Peak |
| Sgùrr Dearg | Red Peak |
| Sgùrr Dubh Mòr | Big Black Peak |
| Sgùrr Mhic Coinnich | McKenzie’s peak |
| Sgùrr nan Gobhar | Peak of the Goats |
| Trollabhal | Troll Peak |
contributors
Alec Finlay (AF)
with
Luke Allan (LA)
Linda France
Gavin Morrison
Emma Nicolson (EN)
Norman Shaw
Dan Shipsides
Caroline Smith
Colin Will
Claudia Zeiske
Geoff Sample
Geoff Sample
Gaelic consultant
Maoilios Caimbeul
navigation
to view the next conspectus click here
to return to the map with links to all 14 guides click here
to read the project overview click here
for basic project information, including acknowledgements, click here
Còmhlan Bheanntan | A Company of Mountains
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