stones and deduced that it had been climbed earlier, although a local gamekeeper suggested it was a shelter (bothy) for watchers. In 1891 Sir Hugh Munro, 4th Baronet listed Càrn Eige in his Munro Tables, in which it has remained. The full set of Munros has been "completed" at least 5,000 times since then. Flora and fauna Typical of the Scottish Highlands, the slopes of the mountain are largely treeless, especially at higher altitudes. The mountain is instead clad in a variety of grasses and mosses, which towards the summit are covered by snow during parts of the year. The lower slopes are described by Muir as "boggy, sodden moorland". The base of the southern side of the mountain, adjacent to Loch Affric, is wooded with Scots pine interspersed with other species such as oak, birch, and beech. These woods are inhabited by a number of endemic fauna, including the crested tit and the Scottish crossbill. Location Situated in the north of Scotland, Càrn Eige is on the border of two historic counties, Inverness and Ross and Cromarty, and is the highest point of the latter. The mountain is very remote, more than from the nearest road, in Glen Affric, although there is a youth hostel (Alltbeithe) in the same valley that is nearer. The summit is at UK grid reference NH123261, which falls on the OS Landranger 25 map, the OS Explorer series 414–5, and the much larger area map 9. Climbing The mountain can be climbed from the south, beginning at Loch Affric, up the north side of Gleann nam Fiadh (fording a stream) and reaching the summit of both Càrn Eige itself and then Mam Sodhail in either clockwise or anticlockwise fashion (route described anticlockwise), potentially including Beinn Fhionnlaidh as an extra, since this is relatively difficult to access in any other way. The summit is marked by an Ordnance Survey triangulation pillar (trig point) and a cairn. Including only the three principal Munros (i.e. excluding the two summits to the east), a successful ascent of this mountain might take between 9 and 10 hours. There is also a route to the summit from the north, via Beinn Fhionnlaidh, starting from a boat-accessible spot on Loch Mullardoch. See also List of Munro mountains Mountains and hills of Scotland References Footnotes Bibliography External links Càrn Eige is at coordinates Computer-generated virtual panoramas Càrn EigeIndex Càrn Eighe on Scottish