Number 35 of 282 by height · Cairngorms and Monadhliath
Sgor Gaoith
Sgòr Gaoith
3,668 ft (1,118 m)
Facts
- Grid reference
- NN 903 989
- Latitude, longitude
- 57.06857, -3.81085
- Area
- Cairngorms and Monadhliath
The walk up
- Distance, one way
- 4.8 mi (7.7 km)
- Climb
- 2,687 ft (819 m)
- Estimated time up
- 2 h 55 min
- Start
- Car park near Ballontean
Route picked by computer, not yet checked on the hill
Summit conditions
From Sunday 1 November, 20:25. Not live.
- Weather
- Partly cloudy
- Temperature
- 32°F (0°C)
- Wind chill
- 26°F (−3°C)
- Wind
- 6 mph (10 km/h) from the northwest
- Cloud cover
- 47%
- Rain or snow, next hour
- None
- Freezing level, rough estimate
- 3,770 ft (1,149 m)
- Sunrise, sunset
- 07:25, 16:32
The way up
From Car park near Ballontean, follow the path east for 1.4 mi, climbing steadily from 960 ft to 1,650 ft. It then turns south-east for 2.1 mi, climbing steadily from 1,650 ft to 3,100 ft. On the way you cross the Allt a’ Chrom alltain. It then turns east for 0.5 mi, climbing steadily from 3,100 ft to 3,450 ft. It then turns north-east for the last 0.6 mi to the summit, climbing gently from 3,450 ft to 3,650 ft. The steepest part is between 2,000 ft and 2,650 ft, about 2.6 mi from the start. The summit is at 3,668 ft (1,118 m).
Written from the map, not from walking it. Paths on the ground can differ, so carry a map and compass.See it in 3D.
Getting there
By car
Car park near Ballontean. Parking charge not known. This is where the walking route starts.
Driving directions to the Sgor Gaoith car park57.08785,-3.89496
By train
Nearest station: Kingussie, 6.0 mi (9.6 km) from the car park.
By bus
Nearest bus stop on the map: Wildlife Park, 2.9 mi (4.7 km) from the car park. Check the times first: many Highland buses run only a few times a day.
Near the start
- Hostel: Glen Feshie Hostel 0.3 mi (0.5 km)
From OpenStreetMap. Places close or change hours, especially in winter, so check before you rely on one.
Public transport directionsBus and train times on Traveline Scotland
About Sgor Gaoith
- In Gaelic
- Sgòr Gaoith
- Means
- Windy peak
Sgòr Gaoith is the highest point of a long north-south ridge in the far west of the Cairngorms, cut off from the Braeriach massif to the east by Gleann Eanaich and Loch Eanaich. The name covers the whole hill, whose other summits are Sgòran Dubh Mòr, 3,645 ft (1,111 m), to the north and Càrn Bàn Mòr, 3,451 ft (1,052 m), to the south. Meall Dubhag, Meall Buidhe and Geal-charn are also listed as its tops.
The two sides of the ridge could hardly be more different. Crags fall sheer to Loch Eanaich on the east, while the western flank above Glen Feshie is gentle heather and shallow corries. The hill rises 797 ft (243 m) above the col linking it to higher ground, and Braeriach, the nearest higher Munro, is 3.2 miles away.
The highest point is ground at the very edge of the crag.
Tops on Sgor Gaoith
5 lower summits in the Munro tables, not counted as separate Munros. Keen baggers tick these too.
| Top | Height | From the summit |
|---|---|---|
| Sgoran Dubh MorNH 904 002 | 3,645 ft (1,111 m) | 0.8 mi (1.3 km) |
| Carn Ban MorNN 893 972 | 3,451 ft (1,052 m) | 1.2 mi (2.0 km) |
| Meall DubhagNN 880 955 | 3,274 ft (998 m) | 2.5 mi (4.1 km) |
| Meall BuidheNH 891 001 | 3,202 ft (976 m) | 1.0 mi (1.7 km) |
| Geal-charnNH 884 014 | 3,018 ft (920 m) | 1.9 mi (3.1 km) |
Through the year
Hours of daylight on Sgor Gaoith in the middle of each month. The shorter the day, the earlier you need to start.
Stag stalking season, 1 July to 20 October. On many estates, walkers are asked to keep to set routes on stalking days: check the Scottish Outdoor Access Code site's Heading for the Scottish Hills service before you go.
Nearest Munros
| Munro | Height | Straight-line distance |
|---|---|---|
| Braeriach | 4,252 ft (1,296 m) | 3.2 mi (5.1 km) |
| Sgor an Lochain Uaine | 4,127 ft (1,258 m) | 3.3 mi (5.3 km) |
| Monadh Mor | 3,652 ft (1,113 m) | 3.7 mi (5.9 km) |
Common questions about Sgor Gaoith
- How high is Sgor Gaoith?
- Sgor Gaoith is 3,668 ft (1,118 m), number 35 of the 282 Munros by height, in the Cairngorms and Monadhliath.
- How long does it take to climb Sgor Gaoith?
- About 2 h 55 min up and 1 h 35 min back down by our route from Car park near Ballontean, before stops: 4.8 mi (7.7 km) each way with 2,687 ft (819 m) of climbing. That is about average for a Munro. Most people take longer than these estimates.
- Where do you park for Sgor Gaoith?
- Our route starts at Car park near Ballontean.
- Can you climb Sgor Gaoith without a car?
- The nearest railway station is Kingussie, 6.0 mi (9.6 km) from the start, and the nearest bus stop on the map is Wildlife Park, 2.9 mi (4.7 km) from the start. Highland trains and buses are few, so check times on Traveline Scotland before you go.
- Is Sgor Gaoith a hard Munro?
- By time and climbing, it is about average for a Munro, with 2,687 ft (819 m) of ascent over 4.8 mi (7.7 km). Like every Munro it reaches over 3,000 ft, where the weather can be far worse than at the car park, so take a map and compass and check the mountain forecast.
- What does Sgor Gaoith mean?
- In Gaelic it is Sgòr Gaoith. It is usually translated as "windy peak".
- When is the best time to climb Sgor Gaoith?
- Daylight runs from about 18 hours in mid June to 7 hours in mid December, so summer gives the most time. From 1 July to 20 October it is the stag stalking season, when some estates ask walkers to keep to set routes. In winter, snow and ice turn most Munros into mountaineering terrain.
A guide only. Mountain conditions change fast: carry a map and compass and know how to use them, and read the mountain forecast for the Cairngorms and Monadhliath before you go.
Questions
Where can I get a proper mountain forecast?
Read the Mountain Weather Information Service forecast for the Cairngorms and Monadhliath, written by forecasters for walkers and climbers. In winter, also read the Scottish Avalanche Information Service report for the area.
Where does the summit weather come from?
From MET Norway's forecast model, fetched for every Munro once an hour at the summit's own height. It is computer output for one point, not a forecast written for mountains, so treat it as a guide. The past hours are what the forecast said at the time. Wind chill, the freezing level and sunrise and sunset are worked out by this site from those figures; the freezing level assumes temperature drops steadily with height, so it can be well out when cold air sits in the glens.
How was this route drawn?
It follows footpaths and tracks mapped on OpenStreetMap, from a public car park to the summit, with heights from Copernicus elevation data. A computer picked the start as the car park with the quickest mapped way up, counting the climbing as well as the distance. Nobody has checked it on the hill yet, so it may not be the usual way up, and the path may be faint or missing on the ground. A line on a map is not a description of the ground.
- Path geometry: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Overpass API extract fetched 2026-10-24T19:59:57.025Z. Start chosen automatically: the public car park on a public road with the shortest mapped-path route to the summit (busy roads and T4 paths weighted against).
- Elevation: Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (© DLR e.V. 2010-2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014-2018, provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA), sampled every 50 m, 3-sample median, 5 m hysteresis on ascent.
- Summit position: Database of British and Irish Hills v18 (CC BY 4.0).
Built 2026-10-25.
How is the time up worked out?
With Naismith's rule, the standard hill-walking estimate: an hour for every 3.1 miles (5 km), plus an hour for every 1,969 ft (600 m) of climbing, with no stops. For this route that gives about 2 h 55 min, one way. It ignores rough ground, weather, stops and the walk back down, so most people take longer.
Where do the car parks and bus stops come from?
From OpenStreetMap. Distances are straight lines, not the way you would walk or drive. A bus stop on the map says nothing about how often a bus calls: many Highland buses run a few times a day, some only on school days or by booking, so check Traveline Scotland first. The map cannot tell whether a car park is on a public road, so a remote one may only be reachable on foot or by train.
Where do the Gaelic names and stories come from?
From the hill's article on English Wikipedia and its Wikidata entry, put into a few words of our own. Meanings and pronunciations are only given where the article states them; many Gaelic hill names are old and their meaning is uncertain. Read the full article.
Where do the height and grid reference come from?
From the Database of British and Irish Hills, the surveyed list most baggers use. Sgor Gaoith is hill 548 there.
Sources: Database of British and Irish Hills (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap (ODbL), MET Norway (CC BY 4.0), Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata, Copernicus elevation data, Sentinel-2 cloudless imagery by EOX. All credits and licences.