The Cairngorms in Autumn – The Cairngorm 4000ers

The High Peaks of the Western Cairngorms

There are 9 separate mountains accorded Munro status in Scotland above 4000’. Five of these lie within the Cairngorms massif and they constitute 5 of the 6 highest mountains in the British Isles. Because Pete needed to do them and because Andy didn’t stop me, I suggested doing them all in one day (and half of the night as it transpired)! The ensuing mountain marathon proved many things: the wisdom of carrying head-torches at all times, the perils of combining big hands with small maps and just because someone says they have a good idea it doesn’t mean you have to do it!

The Kincardine Hills From the Northern Corries of the Cairngorms

But hey, what else was there to do? The brilliant autumnal weather was continuing and we had enjoyed the previous day above Glen Feshie so we went for it. And what an endurance test it proved to be – 14 hrs of walking, climbing and stumbling over the highest upland massif in the land. We’ll be using the winter to recover!

The View West From Cairn Gorm

We started from the Cairngorm ski car park and headed up through the skiing detritus and under the funicular railway where we were overtaken for the only time during the day - by the first train of the morning. We sped past the Ptarmigan restaurant top station and up the flagstones to the summit of Cairn Gorm (1245m; blue hill) all of which took just over an hour. The views ranged from Ben Wyvis and the distant Fannichs to the north-west to Beinn a’ Ghlo in the south and Creag Meagaidh and the Laggan hills away to the west.

Descending Cairn Gorm; Only 6 Munros to go!

The summit was ours alone at this early hour but we had much to do and descended without delay westwards before traversing the rocky rim of Coire an t-Sneachda. From the top of the goat track we struck out across the plateau in glorious sunshine before pausing for some early lunch beside wee Lochan Buidhe (green lochan) the highest named tarn in Britain. Near here in November 1971, a party of 5 schoolchildren and their assistant instructor from Ainslie Park High School in Edinburgh perished in a snow blizzard. The tragedy led to the removal of nearly all mountain refuges in the Cairngorms as it was felt their presence could encourage walkers to press on in bad weather. These sobering thoughts seemed a world away in the warm sunshine as we continued south up the boulder-strewn slopes that led to our second peak of the day: Ben Macdui (1309m; hill of Macduff). More folk were about now, as were the snow buntings, and we barely paused at this 2nd highest peak in Britain before heading onwards.

The View South From Ben Macdui Towards Distant Beinn a'Ghlo

We descended south to pick up the Tailor burn, named after 3 tailors who died in snow one New Year’s Eve in an attempt to dance a highland reel on both Deeside and Speyside during the same night. The burn’s left bank took us to a small saddle connecting Ben Macdui with our 3rd Munro of the day (a late addition for Pete’s benefit) Carn a’ Mhaim (1037m; hill of the pass). The summit is placed rather inconveniently at the southern end of the mountain’s 2km summit ridge but it eventually came our way and suddenly we were about to turn and head back towards the car instead of continuing on to Edinburgh which felt just as close!

Braeriach, the Lairig Ghru & Ben Macdui From Carn a' Mhaim

Below us the mighty defile of the Lairig Ghru the finest mountain pass in Britain led north over its 835m summit to Strathspey. Immediately beneath our feet, 500m below us on the valley floor, lay the conspicuous shiny roof of Corrour Bothy surrounded by it’s bright green moat of grass. This former deer-watcher’s cottage was built in 1877 and the last watcher left in the 1920s. We moved a little south from the summit before exploiting a break in the mountain’s western wall of crags to commence a descending traverse into the southern entrance of the Lairig Ghru.

The Lairig Ghru

High mountains towered all around us now, a sobering sight given that we still had to climb most of them! We paused at the footbridge carrying the path to the bothy for some food and a cold soak in the waters of the infant Dee. At 3.30 on this mid-October afternoon (hell of a time to start climbing a mountain) we paused briefly to inspect the bothy’s new facilities before beginning the steep climb up into Coire Odhar and onto yet another Munro, the euphemistically titled Devil’s Point (1004m). The original gaelic name inferred a more phallic translation and was changed to appease Victorian virtues! This is a splendid viewpoint which gives great views in all directions the least inspiring one being that to the north that heralded our next big climb up on to Cairn Toul.

The Devil's Point Towering Over the Corrour Bothy

A definite evening feel to the day accompanied our short descent from the Devil’s Point and immediate climb to the 1213m top overlooking rock-strewn Coire an t-Saighdeir (corrie of the soldier) before a short descent and re-ascent on to the short summit ridge of Cairn Toul (1291m; hill of the barn). This mighty peak, the 4th highest mountain in Britain and the sharpest of the high Cairngorms, acts as a high watchtower over the southern part of the Lairig Ghru whilst also giving extensive views far to the west.

Carn a' Mhaim From Cairn Toul

A short, sharp descent and almost identical climb took us on to our penultimate peak of the day, Sgor an Lochain Uaine (1258m; peak of the green lochan). The sun was about to sink below the distinct profile of Creag Meagaidh in the west and we could only just see the dark waters of Lochan Uaine cradled in the deep north-eastern corrie of the mountain. A quarter moon just visible low in the southern sky told us we could expect very little by way of night-time illumination from that particular source. So we staggered ever on...

Cairn Toul & Sgor an Lochain Uaine

We now began the circular traverse of the most magnificent corrie in the Cairngorms, An Garbh Choire (rough corrie), a vast open amphitheatre, almost 3 km across at its entrance, gouged out of these huge mountains. The lowest point on this traverse is 1130m! As the sun finally left us we picked our way in the last vestiges of twilight around the corrie which still bore a tiny snow patch from the previous winter! Two-thirds of the way round we crossed the infant Dee a few hundred metres from its source and climbed up on to our final summit, mighty Braeriach (1296m; brindled upland) the 3rd highest mountain in the country. The summit cairn is perched right above the vertical cliffs of Coire Bhrochain although we could see precious little of anything anymore! It was now 7PM, quite dark and we still had 12 km to go across some wild and rugged country. Ah well; we had nothing else on that evening.

Braeriach

Remaining close together now and with just my own head-torch for illumination we found the connecting col to Sròn na Lairige and headed north towards the twinkling (but distant) lights of Aviemore under a million stars. The path proved to be elusive in the blackness, even with the torch, and seemed determined to lose us. Eventually it did, but using the Plough and Polaris, the North Star, to navigate (easier than using the compass) we stumbled on through deep heather, tricky boulder fields and occasional grass until we intercepted our path once more just as it met the Lairig Ghru path at the northern entrance to that familiar pass.

The Devil's Point & Cairn Toul

We paused again, taking in welcome water in the icy freshness of the Allt Druidh, before crossing that burn and climbing up into the Chalamain Gap. This short-lived but impressively deep gash in the heather hillsides is a glacial melt-water channel that has deposited a great number of awkward boulders. These are slippery when wet or, as now, damp, and required great care and some luck to negotiate safely. Andy managed to use his mobile phone as an effective supplementry light source which helped. As if to celebrate getting through the gap, we looked up to see the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) glowing translucent green in the northern sky! This is an incredible sight at any time, but to these weary stravaigers, it proved to be a most welcome diversion on the long trudge home. After an eternity we escaped out the other side and picked up an excellent path that we gratefully followed past the reindeer pens to just below the Cairngorm ski road. Here, a new path led us upwards one more time to the long-sought lights of the Ski car park and the oh so welcome refuge of Pete’s car.

For the record, we covered over 40 kms/27 miles; climbed over 2400m/8000’ and after 14 long hours had climbed 7 Munros including 5 of the 6 highest mountains in Britain. We probably won’t be doing it again anytime soon!

Some Day!