Our headline refers - obviously - to scramble routes in the West Highlands.
First up was Ledges Route. This must be a contender for the best way up Ben Nevis. Interesting (in contrast to the Tourist Track) straightforward, and a reasonably short way to the summit as opposed to the great swing round the CMD Arete.
The Route enters the bottom of No 5 Gulley and after a few minutes breaks out right and uses two grassy Ledges and a groove linking them, to get out above the massive and vertical Carn Dearg Buttress.
The only awkward bit is a slab just after quitting the gulley, easy angled but potentially treacherous when running with water. Knowing this from my previous visit in 2009, I had a bit of string which I tied to Loch; thus he would share my entry into Valhalla via the sheer walls dropping into the Gulley.
Not on this occasion, fortunately, and after zig-zagging the Ledges, we got what we had really come for: a delightful curve of rocky ridge with stupendous views and excellent clambering.
As the sun gradually pushed through thin mist, the summit emerged behind the profile of Tower Ridge.
The scramble finishes at 1214 metres. We thought the gulley started at 770 metres, so that's over 400m of scrambling, which took rather under 1.5 hours
I have never liked the east side of the Ben, but after a lunch stop at the summit we decided to face the (excruciating) rocky descent, so as to take in the Carn Mor Dhearg Arete as our afternoon delight.
And so it was. Overall, this extended the day to 1460 metres up (and of course down), which took 9 hours.
Our Second classic was that ole footpath along the north side of Glencoe.
As usual, I tethered a bicycle at the Youth Hostel, and we set off from The Study. The Notched Ridge (Aonach Eagach) unfurled before us, waggling left and right, clambering up and down.
There was torrential rain not too far away:- to the east, we couldn't see "the Wee Pointy One" - Schiehallion - in the murk. But it wasn't coming our way, and in Glencoe, the sun beat down !
In such pleasant weather, the crossing of the rocky ridge takes 2 or 2.5 hours. So after lunch on Meall Dhearg, we made our way contentedly over the Pointy Hill of the Fair-haired Warriors (Sgurr nam Fionnlaidh); and then the somewhat tedious descent west was made better by the lovely views down Loch Leven towards Loch Linnhe and Ardgour.
ANDREW
