Thursday 4 September -Carn Aosda - no ski tows

Carn Aosda is one of the easiest of all the Munros if climbed from the Glen Shee ski centre and because of this the hill, with its tangle of ski tows and associated roads and cafe, is apt to be dismissed as a tick on a list. This need not be so, for a long ridge bounded by the Baddoch Burn to the west and to the east by Clunie Water, runs to a small top a short distance west of the summit and provides a pleasant ascent.

We gained the ridge more or less immediately and around Strone Baddoch met four quiet garrons used by the estate (Invercauld) to bring deer carcasses off the hill during the cull. No work for them today though.

The grassy terrain was soon left behind for heather with occasional shooting butts right and left of the thin track. Higher, we crunched over large areas of quartzite boulder fields and carpets of dry crowberry and moss. Thick dark clouds obscured Carn a' Gheoidhe - and the rest. To the east everything was clear.
A short walk led to Carn Aosda's cairn and the customary photographs. Oddly, the summit felt unfamiliar.

Combining this route with an ascent of An Socach and a return to Baddoch via Sgor Mor would be a worthwhile outing I think.

Another interesting but slightly rougher route up Carn Aosda would be by Dubh choire but that's best left for a Sunday (no shooting) or for a different time of year altogether.

Happy with our relatively short day we sauntered back down to the van arriving just as the rain started.











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