Massif attack: Cairngorm range is an assault on the senses
A hilly haven for climbers, walkers...and the reindeer
The sixth-highest in the UK and home to one of our premier ski resorts, Cairn Gorm is a busy mountain.
It has an enormous summit cairn and a weather station providing forecasts for the skiers who visit each winter.
The mountain is also home to Scotland’s only funicular railway. In summer it operates as a closed-loop system – those who take it to the top station a couple of hundred metres below the summit are no longer allowed to access the open hill.
This has drastically reduced summer footfall on the plateau. Countless thousands of feet that made that short journey previously left a wide, eroded scar on the land. With the reduction in numbers, the area is recovering – slowly.
At such altitude and in poor soils, vegetation will take many decades to be fully restored.
Despite not being the highest in the area – that’s Ben Macdui – Cairn Gorm has given its name to the mountain range.
While the crowds make this hill feel far from remote, the views from the summit are wonderful – laid before you is the vast expanse of the plateau. It’s a unique, precious landscape – the UK’s only subarctic environment. Other than Ben Nevis, there is no land higher in the UK than the Cairngorms.
The massif is exposed to the full force of storms blowing in from the west, with nothing to break their fury. The plateau is often windswept and wild. Winter months can be particularly ferocious, with white-outs lasting days. The mountain is a favourite with winter and summer rock climbers. Good days will see dozens of teams on the faces of the Northern Corries. The extreme conditions mean it’s the ideal place for walkers and climbers to learn winter skills. You’ll often find large parties of students digging snow holes or practising ice-axe arrests.