Càrn Eige stands just one kilometre to the north of Mam Sodhail and the two are regarded as twin mountains, being roughly identical in height and appearance.

They stand together above Gleann nam Fiadh (Glen of the Deer) and are linked by a high col of around 1045 metres, making the traverse of the two mountains a natural day's walk.

Mam Sodhail is mostly grassy without too much rock, however its sheer size, long ridges, and fine corries together with its four "tops" named in the Munro Tables make it a first-rate mountain.

Mam Sodhail was an important part of the Ordnance Survey’s initial mapping of the northern Highlands in the 1840s, and the summit carries a massive cairn which was used by the surveyors in their work.

The walker can either ascend by a stalker's path up Coire Leachavie, or by climbing Sgurr na Lapaich first and then following the long ESE ridge to the top of the mountain.