Càrn Eige

Càrn Eige
Càrn Eige seen from the large cairn on Mam Sodhail.
Highest point
Elevation	1,183 m (3,881 ft)
Prominence	c. 1148 m Ranked 2nd in British Isles
Parent peak	Ben Nevis
Listing	Marilyn, Munro, Hardy, County top (Ross and Cromarty)
Naming
Translation	File hill or Notch hill (Gaelic)
Pronunciation	Scottish Gaelic: [ˈkʰaːrˠn ˈekʲə] English approx: kaarn ek-yuh
Geography
Location	Glen Affric, Scotland
OS grid	NH123262
Topo map	OS Landranger 25

Càrn Eige, sometimes spelt Càrn Eighe, is a mountain in the north of Scotland. At an elevation of 1,183 metres (3,881 ft) above sea level, it is the highest mountain in northern Scotland (north of the Great Glen), the twelfth-highest summit above sea level in the British Isles, and, in terms of relative height (topographic prominence), it is the second-tallest mountain in the British Isles after Ben Nevis (its "parent peak" for determination of topographic prominence). The highpoint of the historic county of Ross and Cromarty, it is the twin summit of the massif, being mirrored by the 1,181-metre (3,875 ft) Mam Sodhail, to the south on the same ridge.

Administratively, it is in the Highland council area, on the boundary between the historic counties of Inverness and Ross and Cromarty, on the former lands of the Clan Chisholm. The mountain is difficult to access, being 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the nearest road, and its sub-peak to the north is even more inaccessible.

The name "Càrn Eige" comes from the Scottish Gaelic language, and probably means either File Hill or Notch Hill. An alternative translation, if it were to be called "Càrn Eigh", would be the Hill of Ice; this would make it the only Scottish mountain with the word "ice" in its name.

The summit is pyramid-shaped, the culmination of three ridges meeting in an equilateral configuration. The nearest Munro is its "twin summit", Mam Sodhail, about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) to the southwest, and there are three other Munros on the massif. Beinn Fhionnlaidh ends a spur to the north, and there is a much longer grassy ridge running out to the east, which after 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) leads to Tom a' Choinich (1,112 metres (3,648 ft)) and then after a similar distance culminates in the rather bland summit of Toll Creagach, at 1,054 metres (3,458 ft). As well as the five Munros topping the massif, there are a further 10 subsidiary minor summits, known as "Munro Tops".