Càrn Aosda

Càrn Aosda is a mountain in Aberdeenshire, 12.5 kilometres south of Braemar. It stands beside the Cairnwell Pass on the A93 road, within the Glenshee Ski Centre. The mountain reaches 917 metres and once ranked lowest among the Munros. Now it sits at 279th in that list. Its slopes belong to the ski area, with four pistes and three towbar lifts. The name means ‘Aged Hill’ in Gaelic, though some link it to an old inn at the foot. The mountain is one of the easiest Munros to climb. Walkers start at the ski centre car park over 640 metres up. The 275-metre ascent takes about half an hour on a rough vehicle track. Many combine it with nearby Munros like The Cairnwell and Càrn a’ Gheòidh. The round trip from the col at Butchart’s Corrie covers 580 metres of climbing in three hours. An alternative route follows the long north ridge from the A93. The summit has twin bumps of quartzite rock. Views stretch over the ski area to the south and the Mounth and Cairngorms beyond. The northern ridge drops four kilometres to the hamlet of Baddoch. To the west lies Loch Vrotachan at 750 metres, owned by the Ballater Angling Club. The southern slopes fall into Butchart’s Corrie, where two ski tows serve the easier runs.