Carn Dearg [Monadhliath] Route Information

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Carn Dearg [Monadhliath]

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

712 m

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

5 hrs

The horizontal distance of the route.

Route Distance

17.92 km

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

35	Kingussie and Monadhliath Mountains

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 in the Monadh Liath hills.

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: Newtonmore

From Newtonmore (A86) travel W 2km on minor road to end of public road by bridge over Allt a' Chaorainn.

Route Waypoint Map

The total ascent is 712 metres. Allow 5 hours to complete this 17.92 km route.

In winter months please check the local snow conditions at sais.gov.uk.

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 parking near bridge
		NN69349978	Distance	Altitude 312 m

1	Head WSW on road to Glenballoch House
		NN68119936	Distance 1.54 km	Altitude 315 m

2	Follow the track by Allt Fionndrigh NW
		NH65900196	Distance 3.55 km	Altitude 515 m

3	Bear SW and ascend on path
		NH65760174	Distance 0.33 km	Altitude 555 m

4	Leave path and head NW to head of Gleann Ballach
		NH63990307	Distance 2.25 km	Altitude 685 m

5	Ascend SW to ridge
		NH63280276	Distance 0.81 km	Altitude 890 m

6	Bear SE to summit of Carn Dearg
		NH63550239	Distance 0.47 km	Altitude 945 m

7	Reverse route to return
		NN69349978	Distance 8.96 km	Altitude 312 m

A selection of weather forecasts local to this route.

Weather

Cairngorms * Monadhliath
by MWIS (PDF format)

East Highlands
by Met Office

Carn Dearg
by Metcheck

Images of Carn Dearg [Monadhliath]

Nearly at the top. You can just see some fresh avalanche debris to the right of the pic in the distant cliffs.

Image by Kevin Mckeown

Carn Dearg and the South Loch Laggan Hills in the background 21st march 09

Image by Colin Fridge

Newtonmore with Carn Dearg of the Monadh Liath hills on the left.

Image by Bill Wales

Lochan Uisge en route to Carn Dearg from Carn Sgulain. It sits at about 865m and is a good marker for those walking the three Monadliath Munros.

Image by Gareth Pratt

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 5 votes

Click Stars to Vote
Your Rating

Written by Adam Rixon on 23 Sep 2011:

A 4-star rating? Really?! Initial walk in from Glen Banchor car park is OK on a good track, but the section between the end of this track and the head of Gleann Ballach is among the worst terrain I've ever encountered on a 'recommended route'. Bogs, tussocks, deep muddy trenches with no sign of an 'easy' line, for 2km! Did I miss something? By contrast the final ascent is fine, the summit ridge actually very pleasant, and the Gleann Lochain descent we took was an improvement on the walk-in! 2 stars from me.

Written by Allan Reid on 20 Jun 2010:

Did this on a beautiful June day with a fresh Northerly breeze. Rather than retrace steps from the top we walked South along the summit ridge past the 923m summit towards Carn Macoul then descended West to Loch Dubh, lovely spot. From there followed Allt an Lochan Dubh

Written by Martin Joyce on 03 Mar 2008:

In winter conditions (with the path invisible)I found this route confusing. Basically I left the path for stage 3 too quickly and got far too high on the east side of Gleann Ballach, mistaking a fringe of crags high under Carn Ban (not shown on the 1:50,000 map) for the ascent to the ridge. By the time I realised the mistake I was loth to lose the height so continued around the head of the corrie over all sorts of interesting snowy obstacles. In the end I found myself forced up almost onto the top of Carn Ban itself. Whatever, I felt Carn Dearg gave me a great day out.

Written by Chris Bowles on 07 Apr 2006:

The round of Carn Dearg, Carn Sgulain & A'Chailleach is an enjoyable outing, but it is also a long one some 24km. Began with Carn Dearg, walking along the foot of it before approaching it at the shoulder between it and Carn Ban. The traverse of several tops to Carn Sgulain is long and tiring but offers good views all round. It ends with a traverse of A' Chailleach and back to the start point at Shepherd's bridge. Not sure if the route is feasible if the snow is fresh and deep, luckily we had hard frozen snow, I do believe though that these hills have more character in winter.

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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