Loch Avon and the Shelter Stone from Coire Cas

The walk starts at the Coire Cas car park at the Cairngorm ski area and goes out and back. A path climbs through the ski area and onto the Fiacaill a' Choire Chais, the ridge between Coire Cas and Coire an t-Sneachda. From the top of the ridge, at about 1,140 m, a steep path drops almost 400 m into the basin of Loch Avon. It reaches the head of the loch and follows a narrow path to the Shelter Stone, a giant boulder with a hollow beneath it, under the cliffs of Shelter Stone Crag. Return the same way.

It is 12.6 km with 976 m of ascent; allow about 7 hours. The grade is Hard: the distance is short but the climb is not, and the path down to the loch and back up is steep and loose in places. Once off the ridge you are in a deep glacial trough a long way from help, and the climb out comes at the end of the day.

In cloud the plateau above has few landmarks and the edge of the basin is steep, so this is no place to be in poor visibility; in winter the slopes hold snow and are dangerous without an ice axe, crampons and experience. The burns that run into the head of Loch Avon have no bridges, and they can be hard to cross in spate. After the July 2026 wildfire some paths near Glenmore are closed: look at the Cairngorms National Park path closures page before you set out.

The Coire Cas car park is a pay car park (OpenStreetMap lists a fee), and Aviemore station is about 11 km away.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.