Cairn features 52 Achievements and 53 Trophies across PC and consoles. These rewards cover story progression, exploration, survival mechanics, climbing mastery, and optional discoveries. The PlayStation 5 version includes an additional Platinum Trophy earned by unlocking all others.

The achievements below are grouped by how they function in gameplay, making them easier to track and plan.

In This Post:

Story Progression Achievements

These achievements unlock naturally as you advance through the main campaign. They are mostly unmissable, with one branching choice tied to endings.

Mandatory warm-up
Complete training on Tenzen.

Those who come back down
Meet a broken climbot during The Escarpment.

Moment of cool
Take a break at the waterfall in The Waterfall area.

Interloper on the wall
Meet Marco in The Village.

Everything else disappears
Witness the aurora borealis at the end of The Terraces.

One hell of a night
Wake up on the mountain in top shape after The Peril.

Neither a success, nor a failure
Meet Damas Al Fatri during The Blades.

Home
Choose to go back down with Marco during The Blades.

Upstream
Survive the avalanche by choosing to continue the ascent during The Blades.

Part of a whole
Reach the summit of Kami.

Missable Story Achievements

These achievements are tied to specific actions or locations and can be permanently missed if you progress too far.

Luxurious Grip
Compost coins using your Climbot in the Climbing Gym tutorial area.

Serious Training
Complete all eight walls in the Climbing Gym and open the locked box.

Honest heist
Collect wild honey from a bee hive, found in Tenzen or The Standing Stones.

Spotted!
Use binoculars at the abandoned cable car station during The Shortcut to spot Marco on the path below.

Light up the sky
Shoot fireworks while resting at a bivouac after finding fireworks in The Shortcut or The Terraces.

Kami sashimi
Catch a fish for the first time in areas like The Waterfall or The Two Hundred Steps.

All that glitters
Find the glow in the dark gloves inside a crystal filled cave in The Village.

The Child
Retrieve the first guardian’s troglodyte piton from inside the giant statue in The Child area.

Lick responsibly
Lick a frog and become woozy in caves found in The Standing Stones or The Vault.

Aava Porter Bridges
Deliver Rody’s letter from The Village to the shepherdess in The Vault.

Meteorologist
Assemble the troglodyte doll by collecting all three doll pieces from The Child, The Standing Stones, and The Vault.

No thanks
Interrupt Marco’s rambling by selecting the prompt while he follows you in The Two Hundred Steps.

Grizzly woman
Survive the bear encounter after looting the cave at the bivouac in The Two Hundred Steps.

The Ancient
Find the second guardian’s troglodyte piton in the optional Ancient area reached by rappelling from the wooden bridge.

One day, I’ll be rich!
Bring all four crystal shards to the crystal cutter in The Palace of Wind.

Heartbeat
Find the Pearly Edelweiss and farewell letter inside The Needle.

Return to Source
Catch the glowing salamander in The Secret and acquire Hygrocybe Rubescens.

I did it!
Climb to the peak of the miniature Kami model inside The Secret.

The Secret
Retrieve the third guardian’s troglodyte piton from the statue inside The Secret.

Love Birds
Cut the rope to release Rody and Johanna’s kite near the right hand bivouac in The Secret.

In Memoriam
Place the Origami Lynx in Damas’ shelter during The Blades after finding it in The Peril.

Bivouac Achievements

These achievements focus on crafting, cooking, and recovery actions performed at bivouacs.

Red Rope Club
Cook a meal using alcohol such as grog or booze.

Herbalist
Cook an ultimate infusion by upgrading from herbal infusion to strong infusion and then to ultimate infusion.

Master chocolatier
Create a chocolate egg by cooking chocolate in water and then cooking an egg in the chocolate drink.

Doped up
Combine burst, grip, extra grip, focus, and grit effects at the same time.

Nurse
Tape Aava’s fingers 20 times.

Engineer
Craft 15 pitons from scraps.

Climbing Achievements

These unlock through movement, falls, and physical interaction with the mountain.

Ain’t scared
Jump from the ground and latch directly onto a wall.

Just a bit too late
Fall while planting a piton.

Not even a scratch
Survive a fall of at least 15 meters.

Lactic acid
Recover stamina by shaking your arm over 50 times.

Close call
Survive a near deadly fall.

Leap of faith
Run and jump into the void while attached to a rope.

End of the Rope
Reach the furthest possible extension of a rope.

Don’t stop me now
Climb 30 meters without using a piton.

Miscellaneous Achievements

These achievements reward exploration, observation, and interaction outside core systems.

Leave no trace
Compost 10 trash items.

Hungry like a wolf
Loot food from a corpse.

Bag maniac
Reorganize items inside your backpack by grabbing, rotating, and repositioning them.

Siesta
Take an outdoor nap using the sleep option from the quick actions menu.

Bird’s Eye
Enter remote view mode for the first time to check your route.

Picture for Chris
Use photo mode for the first time.

Your story
After reaching Kami’s summit, watch your entire completed ascent from start to finish.

Final Note

Unlocking every achievement in Cairn requires patience, awareness, and respect for the mountain. Many achievements reward curiosity rather than difficulty, and the game rarely rushes you. If you explore thoroughly and engage with its systems intentionally, full completion becomes a natural extension of the climb itself.