Cairn Gorm
1,245 m
United Kingdom
Also known as An Càrn Gorm, CairngormAlso known as
An Càrn Gorm · Cairngorm
- Elevation
- 1,245 m
- Prominence
- 146 m
- Difficulty
- 2/10
- Hike
- Best Season
- Jun–Aug
- Routes
- 2
AdvisoryReported 2 Sep 2026 · until 30 Nov 2026
Cairn Gorm Summit Access Trial: for the first time, funicular passengers may walk unguided from the Ptarmigan station to the summit, booked in advance with a GPS tracking device (£5 booking fee per device, £30 refundable deposit). Participants must stay within the ski-area boundary and not go beyond the summit weather station. The trial has permission until 30 November 2026.
cairngormmountain.co.ukWorksReported 27 Feb 2025
The Cairngorm Mountain Railway reopened on 27 February 2025 after closure since August 2023, but closed again from 12 May to 2 June 2025 and for further works on 21–23 September and 3–9 November 2025. Check operation before planning to use it.
en.wikipedia.org
Routes
2The quickest way to a 4,000 ft summit in Scotland: a stone-built path zigzags up the Sròn an Aonaich ridge from the 635 m ski centre car park to the Ptarmigan top station, then a roped, pitched path and a line of cairns lead just under 1 km to the summit cairn and weather station. About 6 km and 620 m of ascent for the round trip.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- 3.4 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +618 m
- start → summit
- High Point
- 1,245 m
- Time Up
- 2h 29m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 1h 40m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
From the Coire Cas car park walk between the ski centre buildings, pass under the funicular and turn left onto the signed Windy Ridge path. The stone-pitched path zigzags up the open hillside of Sròn an Aonaich, crosses a ski run between snow fences and follows the fences up to the Ptarmigan station (about 1,097 m), the top of the Cairngorm Mountain Railway. From the Ptarmigan the domed summit is obvious to the south: a stone-pitched path with rope handrails on both sides (to limit erosion) climbs the first section, then a rougher path marked by small cairns leads to the large summit cairn and the automatic weather station. Allow about 1.5–2 hours up. A popular short circuit descends the Fiacaill a' Choire Chais ridge to the west on a pitched path, joining a ski-area track and then the walkers' path beside the Allt a' Choire Chais (UKHillwalking: 6.4 km, 624 m, 2–3 hours). Walkers who climbed on foot may buy a one-way ticket down on the funicular when it is running. In winter the summit dome is featureless and fully exposed: in mist, wind and snow navigation is serious, and the rim of the northern corries to the west is corniced. Cairn Gorm holds the UK's highest officially recorded wind gust, 173 mph (278 km/h) in March 1986.
Start
Coire Cas Car Park625 m
- Cairngorm Mountain Railway (funicular) to the Ptarmigan station; outside the snowsports season passengers may not leave the top station except on guided walks or the 2026 summit access trial
- Stagecoach bus 30 (Aviemore Adventurer) from Aviemore station to the Cairngorm Mountain car park, roughly hourly
- Parking at the trailhead
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coire Cas Car Park → Cairn Gorm | 3.4 | 618 | 0 | 2h 29m |
Waypoints
- Parking: Coire Cas Car Park625 m
- Feature: Windy Ridge Path853 m
not on route line
- Station: Ptarmigan Station1,090 m
- Summit: Cairn Gorm1,245 m
Key Passages
- Zigzags on the Windy Ridge path (Sròn an Aonaich)
- Roped, pitched path above the Ptarmigan station
- Cairned path across the summit dome
Equipment
0/4 packedDownloads
Route confidence 85%Overview
The domed 1,245 m summit above Aviemore that gave its name to the Cairngorms: the most accessible 4,000 ft summit in Scotland thanks to a 635 m car park, but a genuinely arctic mountain in bad weather and the gateway to the northern corries and the high plateau.
Cairn Gorm rises at the northern edge of the Cairngorm plateau, directly above Glenmore and Strathspey. Its northern slopes, Coire Cas and Coire na Ciste, have been developed for skiing since the 1960s and carry Britain's highest railway, the Cairngorm Mountain Railway funicular to the Ptarmigan station at about 1,097 m. To the west lie the granite cliffs of the northern corries, Coire an t-Sneachda and Coire an Lochain, among the most popular winter climbing venues in Scotland; to the south the ground falls to the remote trench of Loch Avon.
From the ski centre the summit is only a 2–3 hour round trip on a well-made path, and the view across the plateau, the Lairig Ghru and Rothiemurchus Forest is wide. That ease is deceptive. The summit has a tundra climate, the most frost days of any UK weather station and the highest officially recorded wind gust in Britain, 173 mph in March 1986. In winter, which often lasts into May, whiteout on the featureless dome and cornices above the corries make navigation the decisive skill.
Cairn Gorm is commonly combined with Ben Macdui in a 17–18 km loop across the plateau, or reached by scramblers via the Fiacaill Coire an t-Sneachda ridge and the corrie rim. The ski infrastructure detracts from its wildness, but recovering vegetation since the funicular replaced the old chairlift, and the ban on funicular passengers walking onto the plateau, have kept the summit far quieter than its accessibility suggests.
Climbing Notes
In summer, the Windy Ridge route needs only basic fitness, boots and full waterproofs: around 620 m of ascent and 2–3 hours for the round trip. Carry a map and compass and know how to use them, since cloud frequently covers the summit and the paths beyond the Ptarmigan station are marked only by cairns. The Fiacaill Coire an t-Sneachda scramble suits those comfortable on Grade 1 rock and adds a fine circuit of the northern corries.
In winter conditions (typically November to April and often into May) Cairn Gorm is a mountaineering objective: carry ice axe and crampons, check the Scottish Avalanche Information Service and Mountain Weather Information Service plateau forecasts, and keep well back from the corniced corrie rims. Glenmore Lodge, the national outdoor training centre, and many local guides run winter skills courses here.
Parking at Coire Cas is first come, first served; the Coire na Ciste car park is a free alternative. Walkers leaving a car overnight should register a digital route card with Cairngorm Mountain. If the funicular is running, those who walked up can buy a one-way ticket down.
History
Skiing on Cairn Gorm developed from the early 1960s; the White Lady chairlift opened in 1961 and was replaced by the funicular, which opened on 24 December 2001. Its planning agreement created a 'closed system' preventing summer funicular passengers from leaving the top station, to protect the adjacent European conservation sites. The railway closed in October 2018 because of structural problems, reopened on 26 January 2023 after a £20 million repair, closed again in August 2023 and has run intermittently since 27 February 2025. The summit carries automatic weather stations run by Heriot-Watt University and the Met Office. In November 1971 six young people in a school party led by an instructor died in a blizzard on the plateau near the headwaters of the Feith Buidhe, south of Cairn Lochan.
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; ski season; ice axe, crampons and winter navigation needed
- Feb
- Winter conditions; check avalanche forecasts
- Mar
- Winter conditions; longer days
- Apr
- Often still winter on the summit; cornices on the corrie rims
- May
- Snow patches; changeable; can still be wintry
- Jun
- Long days and the best chance of settled weather
- Jul
- Main walking season; busy car park
- Aug
- Main walking season
- Sep
- Good walking; autumn gales begin
- Oct
- First snows likely; short days
- Nov
- Early winter; very variable
- Dec
- Winter; very short days
Access & Permits
- Fees
- Coire Cas car park outside the snowsports season: £3.50 standard day, £5.50 extended day, £5.50 per night for hillwalkers leaving a car overnight (contact the ticket office); free during the snowsports season
- Coire na Ciste car park: free (donations welcome)
- Funicular tickets (Cairngorm Mountain Railway) when operating
- Rules
- Cairngorms National Park; access under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code
- Outside the snowsports season funicular passengers may not leave the Ptarmigan top station and its viewing terrace except on ranger-guided walks or approved trials (Section 50 planning agreement protecting adjacent European conservation sites)
- Ground beyond the summit to the east, south and west is RSPB Scotland land within designated European sites; stay on paths to avoid disturbing dotterel and ptarmigan
- In winter, walkers and climbers heading for the northern corries are asked to use the lower level of the Coire Cas car park
- Getting There
Aviemore
Inverness Airport (INV)
- Rail to Aviemore on the Perth–Inverness Highland Main Line
- Stagecoach bus 30 (Aviemore Adventurer) from Aviemore station to the Cairngorm Mountain car park, roughly hourly, about 20 minutes
- By car from Aviemore via Coylumbridge, Loch Morlich and Glenmore to the Coire Cas car park (about 15 km)
Hazards
- Weather
- Avalanche
- Cornices
- Exposure