The Cairnwell Trio

Today was an ‘easier’ day in mountain terms. I use the term ‘easily’ very carefully as no mountain is truly easy unless you know what you are doing, have the right kit and also the right fitness. even then things can change very quickly.

Thankfully today the weather gods were with us and we saw all 3 summits.

We parked in the Glenshee car park. £3 for the whole day, I definitely dont mind that!

From the car park we headed directly up to Carn Aosda – pronounces Cairn Aoosta at a height of 917m. Whilst none of the summits we did today are especially interesting, the moody skies and the very nature of being in the Cairngorm National Park bring sufficient interest.

Once Carn Aosda was summitted we followed the obvious path south west and then veered off towards Carn nan Sac and then on to Carn a Gheoidh, pronounced Cairn achyoy. With a height of 975m it was our highest summit of the day.

From there we retraced our steps some of the way before heading to The Cairnwell. With a few options I chose to take us on a slightly more scrambly traverse to get to the summit. A nice wee boulder field gave Sarah just enough to think about on the way and was an opportunity for me to improve my skills of helping someone scramble who was slightly nervous.

Many people complain and whinge about the summit of The Cairnwell due to the masts etc that are up there. Whilst they dont look great it is very easy to look away and actually enjoy the beauty of what is around you.

Deciding that she had done enough scrambling Sarah requested the easier path down so we followed the obvious path all the way along and down back to the ski centre.

From there we successfully navigated our way into the cafe for coffee and cake! Rather overpriced coffee and cake  but that didn’t stop us enjoying it.

These 3 hills get a lot of slating because of the ski centre but actually, if you can look past that, they have so much character and interest. From geology to flora and fauna there is something there for eveyrone. Sight of a mountain hare and a grouse definitely added to the experience.

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