Perfect light and weather conditions have to coincide for one of the Highland’s tallest mountains to live up to its Gaelic name when covered in snow.
This can only happen on a few mornings in March and, when it does, it only lasts for a couple of minutes at sunrise.
Carn Mor Dearg, next to Ben Nevis in the Nevis Range of mountains, near Fort William, translates as “the great red peak”, but this spectacle is rarely seen in the winter.
However, keen photographer Bill Cameron, of Inverlochy, managed to be in the right place at exactly the right time and caught the moment in a series of photographs taken from Spean Bridge.
He explained that in the summer the mountain takes its name from the red colour of its rock, but in March it sometimes appears red when the sunrise colours its snow-covered summit.
Mr Cameron, 42, said: “It only happens on a couple of days a year, when the light just catches it at sunrise.
“There needs to be clear skies, good weather and snow on the top so it was a real delight to see it.
“I was stood on General Wade’s Road at High Bridge watching the sun come up.
“And, at 6.40am, its peak was illuminated in a triangular form of pinkish light for a couple of minutes as the sun slowly continued to rise up and over on to the North Face of Ben Nevis.”
The first image shows the pink triangle created as the early morning sun struck Carn Mor Dearg’s summit.
Mr Cameron then zoomed in for a closer look at the great red peak for the second photograph as the rose-coloured light spread further down the mountain.
The next image in the series shows the Nevis Range with the sun-capped peak of Carn Mor Dearg, before the sun came up to light up the north face of Ben Nevis for the final shot.
At 4,003ft, Carn Mor Dearg is the ninth highest mountain in Scotland, but it is completely overshadowed by Ben Nevis.
However, it is recognised as the perfect viewpoint from which to admire the Ben’s magnificent North Face.
Its graceful peak crowns a fine ridge, joined to its great neighbour by the Carn Mor Dearg arete.
And it is considered the finest way to climb Ben Nevis for mountain walkers, who are not climbers.