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It was a short couple of days weather-window on the forecast, so I decided to make the most of it on the Ring of Steall. There was still quite a strong easterly though, so I was planning on taking the low bypass to the west to avoid the scrambling on the An Garbhanach ridge and missing out Sgurr a' Mhaim and the Devil's Ridge by dropping down into Coire Mhusgrain if necessary. I was convinced of this option when I felt the fierce (I'd guess 40 mph) crosswinds coming up the north ridge of An Gearanach, but the wind miraculously quieted down by the time I reached the summit, so I kept going and in places on An Garbhanach it dropped to nothing at all, with eerie quiet. It was windy again on the Devil's Ridge, but apart from one section above a scoop just before the bealach that was funnelling the wind, it was fairly light and didn't impede progress (I crabbed my way along that one exposed section). The reward was an autumn wonderland with fantastic light and views that went on forever.
- Crossing the bridge at the Lower Falls for an early (7:30) start
- I opted to do the road walk up to the upper car park at the start rather than end of the day, and in any case it was a very pleasant warm-up walk with little traffic at that time in the morning. The path beyond the upper car park up to Steall Falls is also pretty magical.
- Steall Falls
- The wire bridge is insane. I was more nervous crossing that than on any part of the ridge later on!
- The Ben looking magnificent today
- Looking up Glen Nevis, with Binnein Beag centre, from the summit of An Gearanach. By now the winds had quieted down
- ..and I opted to press on, here the first scrambling section on An Garbhanach
- An Garbhanach
- A slightly unnerving break in the ridge, looking west towards Sgurr a' Mhaim
- Looking back at the An Garbhanach- An Gearanach ridge from Stob Coire a' Chairn
- Stob Coire a' Chairn
- On the approach from this direction, the ascent up Am Bodach looks impossibly steep (it is steep, but not as bad as it looks)
- Looking back along the way travelled from Am Bodach
- Loch Leven and beyond from Am Bodach
- The rest of the route, with the Devil's Ridge centre
- Lunch stop in a mini-cave out of the wind, Wonderful views to the south
- Getting closer to decision time, whether to press on to the Devil's Ridge. Here the wind was howling up and over the lip of the coire, so it wasn't looking good
- Sgorr an Lubhair
- As I'd hoped the wind had dropped a bit by the time I got to the crossroads and I decided to press on, here on the easy start section of the ridge
- Looking back to the Bealach a' Chip and the main difficulties on the Devil's Ridge. The only nervy section was the grassy arete above the short scrambling section, where the winds were being funnelled up a chute and I was reduced to crabbing my way down that short, exposed section. The rocky section was thankfully in the lee
- And it was a gorgeous place on the far side, sheltered from the wind, to sit and meditate in the warm sunshine!
- Fort William and Ben Nevis from Sgurr a' Mhaim
Overall, a wonderful autumn day with the winds adding a bit of spice and nervous tension, making the completion feel even more special. The bone-jarring and relentless descent down the northwest ridge only managing to put a slight dent in the warm glow. A perfect autumn day in Glen Nevis.