UKC

Hi,

With the exception of the painfully dull Tourist track, what's the fastest route to descend the Ben via? We'll be climbing around the North face

Cheers

Depends where you want to end up.

As above, we'd need to know where you were going to advise you!

Going back to Fort William , just wondering if there's another route which cuts out most of it as my friend has a particular aversion to it for some reason

If you're walking all the way Fort Bill then the tourist route is probably quickest. If you're really in a rush cut out the upper zigzags by going straight down the Red Burn. Or come down the tourist route to the lochan then cut straight across to the CIC path and hitch back to the fort from Torlundy.

It won't open on my laptop but is it that photo of the chap on the cornice by any chance? Every time I look at that I get butterflies like I've just driven over a bridge

That's what I thought. Hadn't thought about nipping down the Burn, the zigzags are the biits he hates so sounds like a good bet

It's pretty obvious and the top bit is the line taken by everyone in the Ben Race.

http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/Graphics/Maps/RA-0098-main.jpg

I thought the red burn was dangerous or is that just in winter?

Its OK, he'll have time to put it on before he hits the bottom.

It's just amazing/sad that no one has answered your question. I'm an old fart of nearly 70 yrs old, and know that you have basically two choices (apart from the Tourist Route): No 4 Gully, or down the head of Coire Leis. 

People have been avalanched going down the Red Burn but I wouldn't say it was particularly dangerous. It's a common way of getting back to the North face car park or the distillery.

Imo the quickest way from the summit to Fort William is the tourist track which you can come down pretty quickly.

No more so than much of the rest of the hill.

That answer would be useful if asking quickest way back to CIC hut or north face carpark. But for Fort William you would recommend going down to head of Coire Leis, surely not ????

Since it's posted without further qualification in 'Hilltalk', has anyone actually asked if this is summer or winter?

Good point, sorry about that. Was thinking both, we've got a summer and a winter trip planned. Red Burn seems like a good idea in summer but less so in winter and Number 4 Gully at grade I seems like it'd be alright in descent in good conditions

I'm no FW local expert but this is surely a bit of a daft discussion. If you want the quickest way back to FW direct from the summit (as requested) then it's obviously the tourist path and your mate should get over it - otherwise generations of fell runners have all been getting it hopelessly wrong. If you're walking or scrambling and are happy with a circuitous route (not the quickest) then there's a plethora of options, some of which take in other peaks or else just detours down to the Allt a Mhuillin. The red burn is just a bumslide alternative to the zigzags upper part of the tourist track in the right winter conditions but in summer not a particularly pleasant or speedy alternative, I'd have thought.

in summer your not actually descending down the burn, or even close to it. there is a very obvious 'path' that leads direct down cutting off the zig zags, but is a good 20m or so away from the gully for most of its length. actually going down the burn would be quite dangerous!

in winter under good snow it makes an excelent bum slide and you can get from the summit to the half way lochain in about 10-15 mins if you wish! the danger comes in that the burn ends very abruptly in quite a large waterfall where the main path crosses it just above the lochain. there have been a number of serious accidents here over the years i believe. also in late season the snow line may be broken in places, with other smaller waterfalls to negotiate which can also cause grief.

Going down via Coire Leis is very tricky without a rope. I'm assuming Gordon you mean via the abseil posts that I think are no longer there. Often slippy and wet outside the winter season.

Sean

I don't think the Coire Leis descent is much used these days.

Here's the actual answer:  youtube.com/watch?v=0ysBMpIqfW0&

Bit expensive if you do it every week though.