Braeriach or Brae Riach ( gd, Am Bràigh Riabhach, 'the brindled upland') is the third-highest mountain in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and all of the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

, after

Ben Nevis Ben Nevis ( ; gd, Beinn Nibheis ) is the highest mountain in Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland ...

and

Ben Macdui Ben Macdui ( gd, Beinn MacDuibh, meaning "MacDuff's mountain") is the second-highest mountain in Scotland and all of the British Isles, after Ben Nevis, and the highest of the Cairngorm Mountains. The summit is above sea level and it is class ...

, rising above sea level. It is in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

and is the highest point in the western massif of the

Cairngorms The Cairngorms ( gd, Am Monadh Ruadh) are a mountain range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain Cairn Gorm. The Cairngorms became part of Scotland's second national park (the Cairngorms National Park) on 1 S ...

, separated from the central section by the

Lairig Ghru The Lairig Ghru ( gd, Làirig Dhrù) is one of the mountain passes through the Cairngorms of Scotland. The route and mountain pass partially lies on the Mar Lodge Estate. Like many traditional routes, the ends of the route through the Lairig G ...

pass. The summit is a crescent-shaped plateau, overlooking several corries. The lingering snows of Braeriach are amongst the most persistent

snow patches in Scotland Long-lying snow patches in Scotland have been noted from at least the 18th century, with snow patches on Ben Nevis being observed well into summer and autumn. Indeed, the summit observatory, which operated from 1883 to 1904, reported that snow s ...

and the whole British Isles. The north-facing corrie of Garbh Coire Mor has been snow-free just nine times in the last one hundred years: 1933, 1959, 1996, 2003, 2006, 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022 – but four times in the six years to 2022. The rate and occurrence of melting appears to be increasing. Probably the most commonly used route up Braeriach starts from Sugar Bowl car park, on the road leading to the

Cairn Gorm Cairn Gorm ( gd, An Càrn Gorm) is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands. It is part of the Cairngorms range and wider Grampian Mountains. With a summit elevation of above sea level, Cairn Gorm is classed as a Munro and is the seventh-hi ...

ski area. From here a path leads over the hillside to a steep-sided rocky ravine known as the

Chalamain Gap The Lairig Ghru ( gd, Làirig Dhrù) is one of the mountain passes through the Cairngorms of Scotland. The route and mountain pass partially lies on the Mar Lodge Estate. Like many traditional routes, the ends of the route through the Lairig Gh ...

, before descending around to the Lairig Ghru. After crossing this pass the route heads for the summit via Braeriach's north ridge, crossing a subsidiary peak, Sròn na Lairige. The summit is about from the car park by this route.

References

Badenoch and Strathspey Marr Munros Marilyns of Scotland Mountains and hills of the Cairngorms Mountains and hills of Highland (council area) Mountains and hills of Aberdeenshire Places and place names on Mar Lodge Estate One-thousanders of the British Isles {{Highland-geo-stub

See also

References