Carn Mairg, Carn Gorm, Meall nan Aighean and Meall Garbh [Glen Lyon] Route Information

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Carn Mairg, Carn Gorm, Meall nan Aighean & Meall Garbh [Glen Lyon]

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

1485 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

6.5 hrs

The horizontal distance of the route.

Route Distance

17.43 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

51	Loch Tay & Glen Dochart

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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

Relatively long route, but once at altitude the going is easy on short grass.

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: Aberfeldy

From Aberfeldy (B846) travel N 9km to Keltney Burn (NN778492). Turn W onto minor road and travel 5km past Fortingall to junction (NN733468).Turn NW and continue 8km to Inverar.

Route Waypoint Map

The total ascent is 1,485 metres. Allow 6.5 hours to complete this 17.43 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 Inverar
		NN66604824	Distance	Altitude 210 m

1	Follow track/path on E bank of Inverar Burn NW until clear of forest
		NN65204997	Distance 2.61 km	Altitude 560 m

2	Bear W onto E ridge of Carn Gorm and follow it to the summit
		NN63465013	Distance 1.85 km	Altitude 1029 m

3	Descend N to col then ascend E to summit of An Sgorr
		NN64065094	Distance 1.16 km	Altitude 924 m

4	Descend N to broad col then NE to summit of Meall Garbh
		NN64685168	Distance 1.08 km	Altitude 968 m

5	From East top (963m), head NE 850m then turn ESE to Meall a' Bharr
		NN66795158	Distance 2.43 km	Altitude 1004 m

6	Head E to minor top (1001m) then SE to summit of Carn Mairg
		NN68475125	Distance 1.88 km	Altitude 1041 m

7	Descend E 400m to coll then S to Meall na Aigean
		NN69474968	Distance 2.10 km	Altitude 981 m

8	Head WSW on summit plateau then descend WSW through crags to join path
		NN67064894	Distance 2.54 km	Altitude 485 m

9	Follow path SW to rejoin approach route
		NN66604824	Distance 2.10 km	Altitude 210 m

A selection of weather forecasts local to this route.

Weather

Southeastern Highlands
by MWIS (PDF format)

East Highlands
by Met Office

Ben Lawers
by Metcheck

Images of Carn Mairg, Carn Gorm, Meall nan Aighean & Meall Garbh [Glen Lyon]

Cairn Mairg from Meall na Aighean, February 08.

Image by Nicholas Blease

Carn Mairg from the south.

Image by Atlas Keir

Looking north from Meall Garbh to Carn Mairg, the distant Cairngorms and Schiehallion beyond. Christmas Eve 2006.

Image by Alex Bryce

Looking to Meall nan Aighean from Meall Garbh, Schiehallion and the distant Cairngorms beyond. Christmas Eve 2006.

Image by Alex Bryce

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 18 votes

Click Stars to Vote
Your Rating

Written by Stephen Quinney on 28 Jun 2011:

The parking area in Invervar is pretty hard to spot. It's a short way down a rough track near to the phone box - on the left just before the phone box if coming from Fortingall.

Written by Craig Cameron on 18 Jul 2009:

Amazing weather, could see as far as Ben Nevis. Easy climbing on an excellent ridge. One thing to watch if you are using the GPS downloads for navigation is when descending Meall nan Aighean towards the bearing for waypoint 9 you want to keep to the North (the right) if you want to pick up the path.

Written by Graham Ellis on 19 Nov 2008:

There is a more obvious path that has now formed up Carn Gorm, crossing the river at the bridge at NN65964948 and keeping close to the top of the bank at the fence next to the trees and following the ridge up from NN65444937. This avoids waypoint "LeavePath" which takes you up a steeper section to the top. I split these 4 into 2 outings, coming directly down from Meall Garbh to the Shielings.

Written by Martin Joyce on 03 May 2008:

A path has formed on the southern flank of Carn Mairg, deviating below the fence-posts along the crest of the ridge and heading for the rocky outcrop at the end. If you follow this you end up in a boulder field with a steep climb up onto the outcrop – where you will be dismayed to find a sad absence of cairn. This is because the summit is actually a few hundred metres behind you on the ridge! So if you choose to follow this path, best turn uphill when you meet the boulders, or stick with the fence posts.

Written by Martin Joyce on 03 May 2008:

The Carn Mairg hills seem currently to be under the management of something calling itself the Chesthill group(see www.chesthill.com). The leaflets provided in the box on the gate through the deer fence at Inverar suggest that walkers will be seriously unwelcome here between Sept and January when "stalking is the main activity".

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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