UKC

Thoughts please folks......

carn mor dearg arete onto ben nevis,
aonach eagach,
curved ridge.
not sure of grades and/or spellings. but all are great.

In reply to An Triubhas: ledge route on the ben as well, you could go up this and come down the arete

In reply to An Triubhas:

Aonach Eagach high on the list obviously.

For a day when the weather is not great you can combine Scimitar Ridge (1/2) and a traverse of Meall Cumhann (2) - reasonably low level (600m) and you should escape the crowds on them.

Ben Nevis via Ledge Route with a descent over the CMD Arete is a great low-grade scrambling day. The opening slab on Ledge Route can be a bit off-putting in the wet though.

Additionally, it isn't in any scrambling guide but a day doing the NW ridge of Stob Coire nan Lochan followed by the N Ridge of Bidean offers a bit of scrambling.

Finally (something completely different): if water levels are low a gorge scramble in the Nevis Gorge is surprisingly good fun.

In reply to An Triubhas:

This book might help: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scrambles-Lochaber-Around-Including-Cicerone/dp/185...

In reply to Mike Peacock:


I thought Aonach Eagach was grade 3, if only for the commitment and (occasional) exposure? (I've actually mislaid my copy of Noel Williams' book so I can't easily check.) Cracking route, though.

In reply to dan bulman:

Curved Ridge is grade 3 in Dan Bailey's "Scotland's Mountain Ridges", and Moderate in the SMC Glen Coe guide which would also normally equate to grade 3.

In reply to Mike Peacock:

Ledge route is looking most favourable. not got a map to hand right now, but is the CMD arete the quickest way down....and no sarcy comments about going straight down the north face

In reply to An Triubhas: Up Ledge and back via CMD is a great day out all year round. Scrambles in Lochaber is a great book if you want to see what's on offer.

In reply to Martin W:

Noel Williams give the Aonach Eagach a Grade 2 in his book, but I'd agree that the exposure in one or two places might bump it up a notch.

In reply to tony: Ah, thanks for the correction. Looks like I'm going to have to shell out for a new copy of the book (unless one of my pals breaks under interrogation and confesses to borrowing it and forgetting to return it!)

In reply to An Triubhas:
The traverse of the Dragon's Tooth (Ballachulish mountains) gets my vote.

In reply to An Triubhas:
Not the quickest but by far and away the nicest.

In reply to Mike_Watson_99:

Thanks for the scramble ideas. Can anyone now recommend a big mountain walk (not Ben Nevis )

In reply to Only a hill:

I thought I'd read it was a bit vegetated...?

the mamores can give a few different horseshoe walk. infact the ring of steall puts in a big day with a bit of scrambling over the devils ridge(?).
if your further up the grey corries ridge would be a big day.

In reply to dan bulman: what is navigation like on Ring of Steall?

Fine, as long as you plan ahead enough to compensate for any dramas that might leave you coming down something unfavourable, such as the waterfall.

A lot depends upon who's with you and what they're able to manage in a day - it can be a long route.

its fine. once your ontop of the first top sgurr a maim(?) your away. i went into glen nevis by steall falls first which wad a bit of a skittery way up. http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/maps/map4_1fw.shtml i'd go that way next time.

In reply to dan bulman: cheers dude

In reply to dan bulman: is the descent not an awful one that way round?

In reply to An Triubhas:
Corran Ferry to Ardgour, smaller but quieter and arguably nicer?

In reply to Only a hill:

When did you last climb this route Alex?
I climbed this about ten years ago when I moved to Glen Coe, and didn't find it too bad - the 10m crux descent on the crest made mt think, but no more than grade 2 scrambling.
I traversed the ridge again a few weeks ago, and found the descent quite tricky. Is there a block missing now, quite low down in the corner? It felt quite off-balance this time, and pretty steep!

So as not to hijack the thread, I can recommend Dinnertime Buttress on Aonach Dubh in Glen Coe - make it as easy or hard as you like on the upper section.
For a remote but grand grade 1, the Northeast Ridge of Binnein Mor in the Mamores makes a super expedition - long but rewarding walk in past the high lonely lochans, then you're up high to traverse some of the Mamores back to Kinlochleven.

nah its pretty good. after an gearanach where theres a bit of scrambling the zig-zaggy bit on the map is on grass i think for a while. i cant really remember as i was fairly knackered and pretty chuffed i'd done such a great walk.

In reply to An Triubhas:

The NW ridge of Sgurr a'Mhaim is something of an unremitting slog with some tedious quartzite scree higher up. A good variation is to head left along an obvious shelf at about 650m and pick up the old stalkers path which leads round the N side of the hill to a col on the NE ridge, which has a short scrambly section.

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

The first part is, but it's still great fun and a spectacular mountain feature!

In reply to Jamie Hageman:

April 2010 ... did a write up here at the time: http://glencoemountaineer.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/ascent-of-dragons-tooth.ht...


Definitely agree with you there!


I definitely remember that part of the route being the crux and quite awkward. Then again, it's also a bit loose so it's quite possible bits of it might have dropped off and increased the difficulty, Tower Ridge style. I remember thinking that I'd want to abseil down that step if engaged in a winter ascent.

In reply to tony:

I think g2 is fair. I've seen it given g1 which seems equally silly considering how inescapable it is. The scrambling is never that difficult.

In reply to Mike Peacock:

Grade 2 always made sense to me as well, and II in winter (III always seemed ridiculous to me).

In reply to Only a hill:

What are Ledge Route and CMD arete both like in comparison to say Sharp Edge on Blencathra and Crib Goch?

In reply to An Triubhas:

Having done all four routes on a number of occasions, I'd say Ledge Route is at the easier end of the scale--easier and less exposed than Crib Goch, but with more complex route finding and potentially more serious with the No.5 gully crossing in early season. The CMD Arete is basically a longer and slightly less exposed version of Crib Goch. Others may disagree but those are my impressions of the routes (ultimately they're all of very similar difficulty).

In reply to Only a hill:

Perfect thank you.

AT

And what is the best way to ascend to the start of the CMD from TNF car park?

Is it to the CIC Hut and then directly up or approach from nearer to Carn Beag Dearg?

In reply to An Triubhas: Here's a UKH Route Card giving one option for the CMD Arete: http://www.ukhillwalking.com/logbook/r/?i=47

Alternatively you can instead start at the North Face car park nr Torlundy and take the new(ish) north face path, then head more or less straight up the NW flank of Carn Beag Dearg from just above the forest line. Having done the CMD arete and descended about halfway on the Ben Nevis tourist track, you can then return to Torlundy by heading almost due north past Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe (the route isn't marked on some maps but it's partly an engineered path and partly an informal footprint trail over the lower bogs - pretty obvious)

In reply to Only a hill:

I'm not sure if Ledge Route is easier than Crib Goch (Crib Goch doesn't have all that much scrambling on it really), but generally it's less exposed. However, I found the first slab out of No.5 Gully very off-putting in the wet - not a place to slip! There's a topo of mine here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikepeacock/5015131953/lightbox/

In reply to Mike Peacock:

Agreed, I thoroughly enjoyed ledge route (and down cmd) but the initial scrappy slab just up from number 5 gully freaked me out......slip would be fatal.

Rest of the route including the infamous gangway was tame in comparison but great scrambling.

Perhaps with a layer of ice, crampons and axe would be more secure.....it was the ball bearing grit on the holds that I didn't like.

In reply to DefenderKen: I stood at the bottom for about 5 mins weighing up the slab before getting the courage to get up it. Funnily enough I also made the same comment that it would be more secure in decent winter conditions.

In reply to An Triubhas:

Rhyolyte Romp on Aonach Dubh is an excellent grade 1.

You can turn it into something much more exciting and potentially lethal if you ignore the guidebook and go up great gully too

In reply to An Triubhas:
Broad buttress on the buchaille is one of the better ones, you can couple it with a traverse of the buchaille.