Scotland
Carn Odhar na Criche
896M
2939FT
About Carn Odhar na Criche
Sitting just shy of Munro Top status, this rounded shoulder in the Monadhliath plateau offers a wild, remote experience away from the busier Newtonmore peaks. It is a place of vast skies and peat hags, where the reward is a quiet perspective over the upper Spey valley and the Cairngorm massif beyond.
Key Statistics
Rank
31st Highest in Region
Parent Range
The Grampians
Prominence
?
51.1m
Nearest Town
Gergask
Geology
You’re walking over a foundation of hard granite and crystalline rock, featuring large blocks of ancient, hardened sandstone trapped within the solid stone.
Classifications
Find It
OS Grid Reference
NH602032
Latitude
57.0985°N
Longitude
4.3092°W
Did You Know?
- •The name is derived from the Gaelic 'Càrn Odhar na Crìche', which translates as the 'dun-coloured cairn of the boundary', likely referring to its position on a historic watershed or estate border.
- •At 895.8 metres, the hill misses the 914.4m threshold for Munro Top status by less than 19 metres, ensuring it remains a quiet outlier ignored by most baggers.
- •The summit is often reached as part of a long, wild circuit from Glen Banchor, typically paired with its higher and more popular neighbour, A' Chailleach.
- •On a clear day, the summit offers a commanding view of the great western corries of the Cairngorms, with the massive bulk of Braeriach and Sgòr Gaoith dominating the eastern horizon across Strathspey.
- •The 'boundary' mentioned in its name is no exaggeration; in the thick mist common to these high plateaus, the line between a firm path and a waist-deep peat hag becomes purely theoretical.