UKH

Hi All,

My wife and I are planning a van trip to Scotland in a week or so. She enjoys walking but doesn't enjoy scrambly paths, loose footing or exposed sections. There have been some interesting threads asking about similar level walks, several of which we plan to try.

However, I'm not going to survive two weeks up there with winter conditions still around on the peaks without squeezing in a cheeky trip or two of my own. Although she is quite happy with this, I obviously want to limit the amount of time on these so I'm looking at ways of getting up high with the shortest (thus steepest )approaches. With this in mind, I was wondering what the going was like getting up the Ben direct from the car park at the end of Glen Nevis. Obviously with 1200m of ascent in just 2k this will be steep but the map makes it look quite feasible to avoid the main crags in Coire Eoghainn and aim towards the old ab posts at the end of the CMD.

Pretty sure I saw a blog from Dave Macloed once about running (?!!!!) this way but just wanted to check that there isn't a continuous bog the whole way or something equally nasty?

Cheers

In reply to spearing05:
Its a great way up the Ben. There is a path to the right of the waterslide. Follow this up to the coire and go up the right side of the coire and across a boulder field to arrive at the top of the abseil posts at the start of the Carn Mor Dearg arete, from here turn left up to the top of the Ben.
A good descent is to head west and then South West towards Carn Dearg and so back into Coire Eoghainn and back down beside the Waterslide.
I suspect ice axe and crampons and certainly good navigation ability is needed for this route under current conditions.

In reply to spearing05:
Yeah if your cool with steepness and getting up high fast then it's a good way to go. I came down it at the end of a long day and found it really brutal. But if your fresh it's probably good.

In reply to Root1:

Cheers, just the sort of reply I was hoping for. The descent you describe was another way I was looking at for going up, a circular route always seems more satisfying.

Crampons and axe would definitely be carried unless there's a drastic change in the next week or two.

Hmm 5k, how hard can it be . . . .

In reply to spearing05:
The ascent is steep but there is no scrambling involved.

One of my favourite scottish walks (needs a clear day.) ....from the top of the Ben retrace your steps and go round the Carn Mor Dearg arete to the summit (of Carn Mor Dearg) . Then descend the East Ridge to the col above Coire Giubsachan then follow the long glen down to Glen Nevis and then back through the gorge to the car park.

In reply to spearing05:

Photos of skiing the upper section of the route just yesterday here:-
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152467020402614&set=pcb.10019...

There is still a lot of snow up there, skiied all the way for the summit to the CIC,although it was soft enough yesterday that we never used the axe and poons we had with us.

In reply to spearing05:

You can do it as a horseshoe once at the top of the waterslide, up one side of the corrie and down the other. Just don't be surprised if you're shouted at when you intentionally leave the zig zag path to descend towards Five Finger Gully!

I found the route by the waterslide to be quite loose and unpleasant in places, but I may well have missed the path. But as mountain routes go it was fine.

In reply to Simon Caldwell:
Yeah I did think that doing that would be one of those moments when I'd either end up explaining myself or having to be careful not to be followed by mistake although I guess if I was it might give a few unsuspecting 3 peakers a quick trip down . . .