Carn a' Gheoidh, The Cairnwell and Carn Aosda Route Information

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Carn a' Gheoidh, The Cairnwell & Carn Aosda

Quick Facts

This is the summed total of all the climbing within a route and is a good indicator of the strenuousness of a route.

Total Ascent

2165 ft

An estimate of the time taken based on a derivation of Naismiths rules. Our calculation is based on the horizontal and ascent components of a climb, we do not make a reduction for descent.

Registered users can customise these walking times by specifying their own walking and ascending speeds. They can also add a fixed time period for stoppages.

Route Time

3.5 hrs

The horizontal distance of the route.

Route Distance

6.9 ml

The UK is covered by 204 Ordnance Survey Landranger 1:50,000 scale maps. Maps numbered 1 to 86 cover Scotland but for the highest mountains (Munros) only 23 maps are required. The name given roughly describes the area covered by the map.

You can click on the map name to purchase the map for £6.29 including postage which is one of the cheapest prices we have found.

OS Landranger Maps Required

43	Braemar & Blair Atholl

Only £6.29 (£13.49 Laminated) from

A brief summary of this route.

Our summary will always contain one of easy, moderate or hard to indicate the severity of the route.

Notes

Easy route, on terrain partially scarred by skiing equipment.

Here we provide the nearest town to the start of the route where you will find basic services.

We then give directions from that location to the route start. Your approach route may differ.

Travel Information

Head to: Braemar

From Braemar travel S on A93 to Glen Shee Ski Centre and park. This is the Cairnwell Pass.

Route Waypoint Map

The total ascent is 2,165 feet. Allow 3.5 hours to complete this 6.9 mile route.

The hillphones service can inform you of stalking activities in the area.

Usually the shortest way to climb the mountain, making best use of tracks and paths to gain altitude. Route navigation requires map reading skills and an ability to navigate with a compass.

The information given here will enable you to annotate your map and plan your route. We do not give anecdotal descriptions on where to find the paths, worn by the feet of previous mountaineers.

Where the access routes are few or the ridge is narrow, paths are generally obvious. On open ground, following paths without using your compass may get you lost in poor visibility.

Route Information

Waypoint Detail

	Start from Glenshee Ski Centre on A93
		NO13887820	Distance	Altitude 2132 ft

1	Follow road WNW through ski tows
		NO13617824	Distance 0.2 miles	Altitude 2244 ft

2	Bear NW past Ski Rescue Post to tows on South slopes of Aosda
		NO13357858	Distance 0.3 miles	Altitude 2395 ft

3	Ascend N to just West of the summit
		NO13307914	Distance 0.4 miles	Altitude 2847 ft

4	Bear ENE to summit of Carn Aosda
		NO13427918	Distance 0.1 miles	Altitude 3008 ft

5	Return WSW
		NO13307914	Distance 0.1 miles	Altitude 2847 ft

6	Follow path SW towards Loch Vrotachan
		NO12827889	Distance 0.3 miles	Altitude 2657 ft

7	Continue S to bealach
		NO12807853	Distance 0.3 miles	Altitude 2624 ft

8	Ascend SSW to col
		NO12737814	Distance 0.4 miles	Altitude 2641 ft

9	Follow corrie rim WSW
		NO12457803	Distance 0.2 miles	Altitude 2667 ft

10	Turn SW and continue along corrie rim to reach lochans
		NO12127742	Distance 0.4 miles	Altitude 2821 ft

11	Continue SW on broad ridge to summit of Carn a' Gheoidh
		NO10727669	Distance 1.1 miles	Altitude 3198 ft

12	Return NE across broad ridge to Lochans
		NO12127742	Distance 1.1 miles	Altitude 2821 ft

13	Return NNE along corrie rim
		NO12457803	Distance 0.4 miles	Altitude 2667 ft

14	Return ENE to col
		NO12737814	Distance 0.2 miles	Altitude 2641 ft

15	Ascend SE to summit ridge
		NO13487753	Distance 0.6 miles	Altitude 2952 ft

16	Continue S to summit of The Cairnwell
		NO13517737	Distance 0.1 miles	Altitude 3061 ft

17	Return N along summit ridge
		NO13487753	Distance 0.1 miles	Altitude 2952 ft

18	Descend NE through ski clutter to reach road
		NO13907803	Distance 0.5 miles	Altitude 2165 ft

19	Bear N along road to carpark
		NO13887820	Distance 0.1 miles	Altitude 2132 ft

A selection of weather forecasts local to this route.

Weather

Southeastern Highlands
by MWIS (PDF format)

East Highlands
by Met Office

Cairn Bannoch
by Metcheck

Images of Carn a' Gheoidh, The Cairnwell & Carn Aosda

Carn Aosda seen at the end of Glen Clunie looking south from Morrone.

© Graham Young

Image by Graham Young

The Cairnwell from the summit of Carn Aosda

© Peter Burgess

Image by Peter Burgess

The Cairnwell (right) seen from Carn Aosda summit, with Creag Leacach in the distance, under fairly dramatic lighting in Febuary 2009.

© Michael Hill

Image by Michael Hill

Panorama of Carn Aosda and Carn an Truic from the slopes of The Cairnwell 12/09/09

© Alistair Craig

Image by Alistair Craig

Route Area Map

Legend

Munro

Corbett

Graham

English/Welsh Top

Accommodation

A selection of local accommodation options who advertise with Munromagic.com.

Where to Stay

We currently have no
sponsored accommodation listings for this area.

Rating & Reviews

Rating & Reviews

Rated:

from 12 votes

Click Stars to Vote
Your Rating

Written by Mike Watson on 28 Dec 2006:

3 stars for the views which to the north are of the cairngorms. Not a bad walk if you blank out the junk and a fine one to take beginners on due to presence of cafe at the end!

Written by Duncan Macleod on 12 Aug 2005:

Unexciting trudge. However, some great views. The ski-fences allow you to get close to the hares. Did the first 2 before noon, and Carn a'Gheoidh by 1.30. Decided to push on to An Socach. Came back via Loch Vrotachan. 10 hrs walking and the only people I saw on the hills were 2 workers on The Cairnwell; plus hare, red deer, grouse, ptarmigan, frogs.

Written by Lynne Harvey on 08 Aug 2005:

Great for my first Munro experience, Loch Vrotochan is lovely and tranquill. Great visability on the day we went up. Looking forward to baggin more. Litter of the Ski tows doesn't bother me as I get immense pleasure from them in the winter season while boarding, if this bothers you choose another mountain instead of whinging about it! :o)

Written by Craig Brackenridge on 13 Oct 2004:

A good beginners Munro - was the first I took the missus up. Very steep to get to the plateau, but once there it was a very enjoyable walk with wonderful views in all directions, excepting of course the tower masts on the Cairnwell! I could phone my workmate though and make him jealous that he was doing overtime and not out walking!

Written by Jon Todman on 19 Jun 2004:

I took others' advice, and went for Carn Bhinnein following Carn a' Gheoidh. Despite the fact it wasn't a munro (one of our guidebooks tricked us there), the views were a hundred times better than on the other summits. Nasty weather and the sheer difficulty in being inspired by 2 very ugly munros almost sent us back early.

Disclaimer. The details provided above are an aid to planning an expedition, but all distances, altitudes and bearings must be considered approximate. You must navigate with the appropriate map, a compass, your navigation skills and common sense, MunroMagic.com accept no responsibility for your interpretation of our route information.

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