Beinn a' Chaorainn North Top

Reaching 1042 metres, this high Munro Top sits on a broad, whale-backed ridge in the Grampians. Its stony plateau is defined by dramatic eastern corries, where winter cornices require careful navigation. Usually visited with the main summit, it offers expansive views across the Lairig Leacach toward the Grey Corries.

• •The name comes from the Scottish Gaelic Beinn a' Chaorainn, meaning 'Mountain of the Rowan Tree.' While these trees flourish in the sheltered glens below, the exposed summit plateau is far too high and windswept for them to survive.
• •Navigation across the broad ridge between this top and the main summit is notoriously difficult in whiteout conditions; walkers must stay well west of the ridge line to avoid the massive, unstable snow cornices that build up over the eastern cliffs.
• •The summit offers an excellent vantage point for looking east into the great 'Window' of Creag Meagaidh and west across the Lairig Leacach towards the sharp, quartzite-capped peaks of the Grey Corries.
• •This top is part of a trio of high points on the ridge; although only the central peak is a Munro, the North Top is nearly as high, sitting at 1042.9 metres compared to the main summit's 1049 metres.
• •Despite its name, any walker hoping to find shade under a rowan tree at the summit will be disappointed to find nothing but a small cairn and an abundance of wind-scoured schist.