Càrn Bhac

Càrn Bhac is a Munro and Marilyn standing 946 metres high in the Grampian Mountains of Aberdeenshire. Its Gaelic name means ‘hill of the peat wall’. The mountain lies about forty-five kilometres north-west of Blairgowrie and ten kilometres south-west of Braemar in a remote upland landscape. It belongs to a group of Munros west of the Cairnwell Pass along the A93. The upper part of the River Dee’s catchment includes the Connie Glen, a side valley where Càrn Bhac’s slopes rise. The summit is the highest point of a broad ridge about three kilometres long running north-east to south-west at roughly 880 to 900 metres. Two other tops on the ridge exceed 900 metres and are marked by cairns. A nameless 920-metre summit in the centre carries the boundary between Aberdeenshire and Perth and Kinross. To the south-west stands Càrn a’ Bhuta at 907 metres. From the main summit two broad ridges descend south-east; the southern one links to Beinn Iutharn Mhòr, while the northern ridge turns east into Glen Ey. Shorter ridges drop north and north-east into Connie Glen, and the north-west face falls steeply into Coire Bhearnaist. Walkers usually start at the small settlement of Inverey beside the River Dee west of Braemar. The route follows Glen Ey south for about ten kilometres to the ruined Altanour Lodge. From there the climb goes over the northern of the two south-east ridges across wide heath and bog to the top. An alternative route leaves Inverey and uses Connie Glen to reach the north-east ridge and the summit.