BEN MACDUI
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 14.24 mi
- Elevation gain
- 3,589 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Moderate
- Elevation loss
- 3,589 ft
- Max elevation
- 4,299 ft
- TrailRank
- 26
- Min elevation
- 2,047 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Time
- 7 hours 52 minutes
- Coordinates
- 2884
- Uploaded
- August 6, 2015
- Recorded
- August 2015
near Glenmore, Scotland (United Kingdom)
Viewed 1240 times, downloaded 37 times
Itinerary description
A fantastic walk, taking the main trade route to Ben Macdui, second highest mountain in the UK. From the summit, take the time to head west across the boulder field (care required) to check out the awesome views down and across the Lairig Ghru.
From Ben Macdui, head east on an improving path, past the ruined bothy and, at a shallow col, head left away from the path. Now it's time to leave the paths behind. Freelance down the spur, just east of north in the direction of Carn Etchachan to take in the stunning view from its top. Next, continue down the rim of crags to the top of Shelter Stone Crag - take great care at the cliff edge; the drop is sheer and a long way down!
Now, head around the basin, aiming for the grassy area above Hell's Lum crags. Depending on conditions, there are a couple of wide, fast moving streams to cross. Hunt around for the best spots - generally further upstream. Soon, a good path is reached. Turn right onto this and follow it to the col overlooking Coire an t-Sneachda. There are several options here:
1. turn left and head over Cairn Lochan and down its west bounding ridge to meet the route of ascent. (our chosen option)
2. turn right and head up over towards Cairn Gorm, with a couple of options for straightforward ridge descents.
3. head straight on, steeply down the eroded 'goat path' into Coire an t-Sneachda. (Not done this but believe it can be very loose - care required)
From Ben Macdui, head east on an improving path, past the ruined bothy and, at a shallow col, head left away from the path. Now it's time to leave the paths behind. Freelance down the spur, just east of north in the direction of Carn Etchachan to take in the stunning view from its top. Next, continue down the rim of crags to the top of Shelter Stone Crag - take great care at the cliff edge; the drop is sheer and a long way down!
Now, head around the basin, aiming for the grassy area above Hell's Lum crags. Depending on conditions, there are a couple of wide, fast moving streams to cross. Hunt around for the best spots - generally further upstream. Soon, a good path is reached. Turn right onto this and follow it to the col overlooking Coire an t-Sneachda. There are several options here:
1. turn left and head over Cairn Lochan and down its west bounding ridge to meet the route of ascent. (our chosen option)
2. turn right and head up over towards Cairn Gorm, with a couple of options for straightforward ridge descents.
3. head straight on, steeply down the eroded 'goat path' into Coire an t-Sneachda. (Not done this but believe it can be very loose - care required)
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