Càrn Mòr Dearg - 1,220 m (4,000 ft)

Càrn Mòr Dearg is the 9th highest peak in the British Isles and the lowest of all the 4,000 ft peaks (only just qualifying). It is the most southerly peak on a ridge, running roughly north-south. It shares this ridge with two distinct subsidiary peaks (Càrn Dearg Meadhonach and Càrn Beag Dearg). It has a pyramidic shape formed from three steep ridges meeting at it summit, one of which links to Ben Nevis and is called the Càrn Mòr Dearg (CMD) Arête, which is a classic Grade 1 scramble. The route over Càrn Dearg Meadhonach, Càrn Mòr Dearg and the Ben makes for one of the best horseshoe walks in Scotland. 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.

Càrn literally means Cairn, which is a pile of stones, often found at a summit, and a mountain with Cairn or Càrn in its name, is a stony mountain (a larger version of a cairn), but it is usually translated as Peak, Mountain or Hill, in the context of a mountain name. In this case, with three distinct peaks along a ridge, it is probably best translated as (Stoney) Peak.

Dearg means Red (referring to the pink granite of which the mountain is comprised) and Mòr means Big, Large or Great. In this context, perhaps Big is the best translation. So, Càrn Mòr Dearg means Big Red (Stony) Peak, although it is not big in comparison with neighbouring Ben Nevis, it is bigger than the other two other peaks on its ridge. Càrn Beag Dearg means Little Red Peak and Càrn Dearg Meadhonach mean Middle (or perhaps Intermediate) Red Peak. It is in the middle both geographically and in terms of height.

See Aonach Mòr and Aonach Beag for a discussion on the similarities between Mòr and Beag and their Welsh counterparts. For the non-intuitive pronunciation of Dearg, click on the Press to hear pronunciation button on the Walkhighlands website.

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