Ben Macdui
1,309 m
United Kingdom
Also known as Ben Macdhui, Μπεν Μακντούι, +2Also known as
Ben Macdhui · Μπεν Μακντούι · Beinn MacDuibh · Бен-Макдюи
- Elevation
- 1,309 m
- Prominence
- 950 m
- Difficulty
- 2/10
- Hike
- Best Season
- Jun–Aug
- Routes
- 2
Routes
2Sources differ: T3 (upper plateau section crosses boulderfields where the path is faint)
The shortest and most popular way up Britain's second-highest mountain: a good path from the 635 m Coire Cas car park below the northern corries onto the Lurcher's ridge, then a long, gently rising crossing of the high, exposed Cairngorm plateau past Lochan Buidhe to the summit. About 17 km and 900–1,100 m of ascent there and back.
About 26% of this line is approximate (no mapped trail; drawn from the terrain). Check it against a map before relying on it.
Why? 6 check notes
- ascent 1038 m is 1.5× the net gain 684 m: the line probably detours down and back up (not a traverse)
- DIN time up 5.74 h vs published 3.0 h (+91%)
- DIN time down 4.84 h vs published 2.5 h (+94%)
- Coire Cas Car Park → Miadan Creag an Leth-choin: corridor (unreachable; 428 m of gaps, 7.2 km)
- Miadan Creag an Leth-choin → Lochan Buidhe: dem (unreachable, 2.9 km)
- unresolved waypoints: Allt Coire an t-Sneachda
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- 12.5 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +1,038 m
- −358 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 1,309 m
- Time Up
- 5h 44m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 4h 50m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
From the Coire Cas car park at the Cairngorm Mountain base station (635 m) the path passes the snow factory and heads west across the moor below Coire an t-Sneachda and Coire an Lochain, crossing the Allt Coire an t-Sneachda on stepping stones and then the burn from Coire an Lochain. It then climbs the broad ridge of Miadan Creag an Leth-choin (the Lurcher's ridge) with the cliffs of Coire an Lochain on the left. The quicker but steeper alternative is to climb directly from the car park up the Fiacaill a' Choire Chais to the corrie rim. Above the ridge the path contours the west flank of Cairn Lochan, high above the Lairig Ghru, and reaches the flat ground by Lochan Buidhe (about 1,100 m), where the path from Cairn Gorm joins. Beyond, the way becomes indistinct through a boulderfield; small cairns mark the line across the stony tundra, with a slight dip and then a long, gradual climb over the flank of the North Top to the summit cairn, trig point and the Cairngorm Club's 1925 view indicator. The roofless Sappers' Bothy, built by Ordnance Survey surveyors in 1847, lies just short of the top. Most people return the same way, or extend the day over Cairn Gorm by returning to the corrie rim at Stob Coire an t-Sneachda and descending past the Ptarmigan station (6–8 hours for the loop). Allow about 3 hours to the summit and 2–2.5 hours back in summer. The plateau is very exposed and featureless in cloud: map, compass and the ability to use them are essential, and the Lairig Ghru drop to the west must be avoided in mist. In winter the plateau is serious mountaineering terrain with whiteout, cornices above the northern corries and avalanche-prone slopes; the 1971 Feith Buidhe tragedy, in which six young people died in a blizzard, happened just east of this route.
Start
Coire Cas Car Park625 m
- Stagecoach bus 30 (Aviemore Adventurer) runs roughly hourly from Aviemore railway station to the Cairngorm Mountain car park, about 20 minutes
- Parking at the trailhead
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coire Cas Car Park → Ben Macdui | 12.5 | 1,038 | 358 | 5h 44m |
Waypoints
- Parking: Coire Cas Car Park625 m
- Shoulder: Miadan Creag an Leth-choin1,036 m
broad ridge between Coire an Lochain and Lurcher's Crag
- Feature: Lochan Buidhe1,122 m
path from Cairn Gorm joins near here
- Feature: Sapper's Bothy1,296 m
- Summit: Ben Macdui1,309 m
Key Passages
- Stepping-stone crossing of the Allt Coire an t-Sneachda
- Miadan Creag an Leth-choin (Lurcher's ridge)
- Traverse above the Lairig Ghru on the west flank of Cairn Lochan
- Boulderfield and indistinct path beyond Lochan Buidhe
Equipment
0/7 packedDownloads
Route confidence 77%Overview
Britain's second-highest mountain (1,309 m) and the high point of the Cairngorms, a broad stony dome on the edge of an arctic-like plateau above the Lairig Ghru. Technically an easy walk, but long and remote, with some of the worst weather in the country.
Ben Macdui sits on the south-western edge of the Cairngorm plateau, the largest area of ground above 1,000 m in the British Isles, between the trench of the Lairig Ghru to the west and Loch Etchachan and Loch Avon to the east. Unlike Ben Nevis it is not a single dramatic peak but a gently domed summit on a sub-arctic plateau of granite boulders, gravel and moss heath, ringed by corries and cliffs such as Coire Sputan Dearg. The summit has a large cairn, a trig point and a view indicator; snow patches often linger in its high corries into late summer.
It is climbed about equally from Speyside and Deeside. From the north, the Cairngorm ski centre car park at 635 m gives a relatively short day of around 17 km. From the south, the approach from the Linn of Dee through Glen Lui and the pinewoods of Derry Lodge is a long, wild day of 29–32 km. Both cross country where paths are faint, shelter is absent and the weather can turn from fine to dangerous within an hour.
In summer it is a straightforward hillwalk for anyone fit and competent with map and compass. In winter the plateau becomes serious mountaineering ground: whiteout, storm-force winds, cornices on the corrie rims and avalanche-prone slopes have caused several fatal incidents, and navigation over featureless snow is the main skill required.
Climbing Notes
In summer the main requirements are fitness for a 6–8 hour day (ski centre) or a 9–11 hour day (Linn of Dee), sound navigation with map and compass, and full waterproof and warm clothing even in July. The ski centre route gains about 900–1,100 m; the Deeside routes add a long walk-in, which many people shorten by cycling to Derry Lodge. There are no huts; bothy-goers sometimes break the southern approach at Bob Scott's bothy near Derry Lodge or Corrour bothy in the Lairig Ghru, and wild camping is permitted under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.
In winter (roughly November to April, sometimes into May) the ascent requires ice axe, crampons, winter navigation skills and a careful reading of the Scottish Avalanche Information Service forecast and the Mountain Weather Information Service plateau forecast. Keep well back from the corniced corrie rims, especially above Coire an Lochain, Coire an t-Sneachda and Coire Sputan Dearg. Mountain guides and instructors based around Aviemore and Glenmore Lodge run guided winter days on the plateau.
Start early, carry an emergency shelter and leave a route card; the Cairngorm Mountain car park asks hillwalkers leaving cars overnight to register a digital route card.
History
The name is usually explained as Beinn MacDuibh, 'MacDuff's mountain', after the Earls of Fife who held Strathavon from the late 12th century. Until the mid-19th century it was thought it might be higher than Ben Nevis; the Rev. Dr Keith estimated it at about 4,300 ft by barometer in 1810, and Ordnance Survey surveyors built a trig point and the 'Sappers' Bothy' on the summit in 1847, confirming Ben Nevis as higher. Queen Victoria ascended to the summit on 7 October 1859, using the pony track from Loch Etchachan. The Cairngorm Club erected the summit view indicator in 1925 in memory of Alexander Copland. The mountain is linked to the legend of Am Fear Liath Mòr, the 'Big Grey Man', popularised by the mountaineer J. Norman Collie's account of fleeing the summit in fear. In March 2001 two US Air Force F-15 jets crashed near the summit during a low-flying exercise, killing both pilots.
Season
Best Jun–Aug- January: Possible
- February: Possible
- March: Possible
- April: Possible
- May: Good
- June: Best (best window)
- July: Best (best window)
- August: Best (best window)
- September: Good
- October: Possible
- November: Possible
- December: Possible
- Jan
- Full winter conditions; ice axe, crampons and winter navigation skills required; very short days
- Feb
- Winter conditions; check avalanche and plateau forecasts
- Mar
- Winter conditions persist on the plateau; longer days
- Apr
- Often still full winter on the plateau; cornices and avalanche risk
- May
- Snow patches linger; long days; can still snow
- Jun
- Longest days; best chance of settled weather
- Jul
- Main walking season; midges in the glens
- Aug
- Main walking season; busy ski centre car park
- Sep
- Good walking; shortening days and first autumn gales
- Oct
- First snow on the plateau likely; short days
- Nov
- Early winter; conditions very variable
- Dec
- Winter; around six hours of daylight
Access & Permits
- Fees
- Cairngorm Mountain (Coire Cas) car park, outside the snowsports season: £3.50 standard day, £5.50 extended day; hillwalkers leaving a car overnight £5.50 per night (contact the ticket office in advance); free during the snowsports season
- Linn of Dee car park (National Trust for Scotland): £5 per day for cars; free for National Trust for Scotland and National Trust members
- Rules
- Cairngorms National Park; access under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, which permits responsible wild camping
- The northern approaches cross land managed by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (Cairngorm Mountain) and RSPB Scotland; the southern approaches cross the National Trust for Scotland's Mar Lodge Estate; no stalking restrictions are reported on the normal routes
- Keep dogs under close control, particularly during the ground-nesting bird season on the plateau
- Getting There
Aviemore (Speyside approach); Braemar (Deeside approach)
Inverness Airport (INV)
- Rail to Aviemore on the Perth–Inverness Highland Main Line
- Stagecoach bus 30 (Aviemore Adventurer) from Aviemore to the Cairngorm Mountain car park, roughly hourly, about 20 minutes
- By car to the Cairngorm Mountain car park via Coylumbridge and Glenmore (about 15 km from Aviemore)
- Linn of Dee: by car only, about 10 km west of Braemar on the unclassified road from the A93
Hazards
- Weather
- Avalanche
- Cornices
- Remoteness
- River crossing