The Boys' Brigade Mountaineering Club

Aonach Mòr is the 8th highest peak in the British Isles. It lies at the northern end of a 2-mile long ridge that runs roughly north-south, parallel to the Càrn Mòr Dearg ridge, immediately to its west. At the southern end of this ridge is its slightly taller companion Munro, Aonach Beag. It is a broad stoney plateau with steep drops on each side. To the north of the summit, on slopes on all three sides at the end of the ridge, is the Nevis Range ski area, which is served by a gondola that can take skiers up to 650m (2,130 ft). This is also useful for walkers, as the path to get to this point is both steep and indirect. It is a matter of debate whether or not taking the gondola up allows walkers to bag the Munro. Apologies for the pink and green snow on the Google Earth image!

See its entries on Walkhighlands or Wikipedia or view it from above on Google Earth.

Aonach can mean Steep Place, Ridge or Large Upland Moor. In most mountain names, it is usually applied to a ridge shaped mountain, with steep sides. A good translation would be Ridged Mountain.

Mòr actually means Large, Big, Bulky or Great. So, Aonach Mòr could be translated as Big Ridged Mountain. It is interesting to note the similarity between Mòr and its Welsh equivalent Mawr. This is no coincidence, as Mòr is the same as the Old Irish word Mòr which comes from the reconstructed Proto-Celtic word Māros. While the Welsh word Mawr comes from the Old Welsh word Maur, which comes from the reconstructed Proto-Brittonic word Mọr, which also comes from the reconstructed Proto-Celtic word Māros. For more information on Celtic languages, see Virtual Linguistics.

For a discussion on how Aonach Mòr could have received this name, when it is not as tall as Aonach Beag (which means Little Ridged Mountain), please see the entry for Aonach Beag.