Glen Shee & Glen Ey
The Glen Shee hills are characteristically heathery and more rounded, but they do have to advantage of ease of access and therefore provide easy day hikes. Their main fault lies in the extensive ski developments that spoil the scenery in the vicinity of Glen Shee. This area really is a mess but given whiteout conditions, it is possible to avoid seeing the man made intrusions. The eastern Glen Shee Hills are covered on the Lochnagar page.

The westernmost Glen Shee summit Carn a' Gheodidh

Looking up the pass to The Cairnwell

The hills west of Glen Shee include two munros that are part of the Ski Basin - The Cairnwell and Carn Aosda. There's a third munro (also the highest) further out to the west Carn a' Gheoidh. The views up here give uninterrupted vistas of all the Cairngorms to the north with the hills of Perthshire and Fife extending down to the south. The western view will take in a great swathe of emtpy country with the grand profile of Glas Tulaichean taking centre stage. West of the The Cairnwell lie a few small crags above a deep glen opening out south into Glen Shee.

The Cairnwell seen from the west

West of the Glen Shee ski area

Looking down the upper reaches of Glen Ey

Ey Burn and the steep scarp of Creag an Fhuathais

There are are few munros accessible from the Dee. Glen Ey branches south of the Dee at Inverey. It's a long track walk before the river splits and you start gaining height. At the watershed you reach a loch called Loch nan Eun. This loch can also be reached from a long glen from the spittal of Glen Shee to the south east. It's a remote place - utterly desolate but it makes a fine high level camp at just under 800m. The hills around this loch ar no more than 250m above you. Up here four munros can be taken in in quick succession.

Looking down from Loch nan Eun to Gleann nan Taitneach

The northeastward view from Beinn Lutharn Mhor

Glas Tulaichean has the most distinctive corrie. Facing east, it's a fine summit to view. From Loch nan Eun though, few features reveal themselves and it's a tough heathery approach. This goes for all the other summits. Carn an Righ and Beinn Lutharn Mhor are very rounded but give views straight up the Lairig Ghru probably making them the finest viewpoints for the Cairngorms. To the south west lies the massive bulk of Beinn a' Ghlo - bigger than it looks from here.

Carn an Righ seen from Glas Tulaichean

Beinn Lutharn Mhor seen from Glas Tulaichean

Beinn Lutharn Mhor seen from then slopes of Carn an Righ

An Socath is the fourth munro to reach from Loch nan Eun. It forms the terminus of a long undulating heather ridge that twists its way from Morrone at the northwest end of the ridge - it's 10km long but feels much longer than that. The going on this ridge is mixed with the cols in deep heather and the heather on the minor tops being nicely cropped. Finally there's the summit of Carn Bhac. This summit is the most featureless of them all and defended by peat hags if approached from the upper reaches of Glen Ey.

On the summit ridge of An Socath

An Socath seen from Carn Bhac

The summit of Carn Bhac

Overall these summits may be rounded and dull to many. But catch them in winter or autumn and you have an adventure with the mountain colours are at their best.

Beinn Lutharn Mhor seen from Carn Bhac

Looking north to the Cairngorms

Glas Tulaichean seen from Carn an Righ