Aonach Eagach for Cowards

[mountain coward]

When it comes to narrow Scottish ridges I’m a total coward – I just don’t have a head for 2 drops at once! However I have done the Aonach Eagach and, by adopting my approach, so can any other mountain coward...

I did the western end one Easter as an extension of a walk up Sgurr na Ciche or the Pap of Glencoe. From there it’s an easy walk along the skyline to Sgurr nam Finnaidh. It becomes slightly more airy as the ridge descends from there to the col but then rises easily to the second peak (top) Stob Coire Leith. You can then admire the pinnacles

or even descend to examine them more closely... and then turn and go back the way you came!

The following year I did the middle Munro, Meall Dearg, from the back passing south of Garbh Bheinn. That completely took a guy doing the ridge by surprise – he asked where I’d popped up from and I told him I was doing the mountain by stealth and had come up the back from Kinlochleven. He kindly offered to take me along the ridge with him but I turned him down as I’m not really up to it nerves-wise at all.

I then did Am Bodach a couple of days later on a long walk from The Devil’s Staircase with my friend Richard who continued along to Meall Dearg and then decided to give the rest a miss until next time – he said that was enough excitement for one day.

Until I found him on the Kinlochleven road, I thought he’d got stuck on the ridge as I’d seen 2 figures on Meall Dearg instead of the single figure I was looking for – turned out I was actually seeing double! It was about a mile away but I think my eyesight is definitely going somehow. I had to laugh at where he was waiting – it was the hottest day of the year, well over 80 degrees – he was waiting, not only in the shade of a nice little woodland, but with a nice wooden hut/box to sit on (think it was a water tank), by the river, and there was a tap and hosepipe to cool off with! This was completely in the middle of nowhere!

Now if only I can do Liathach in the same manner, i.e. piecemeal, I’m onto a winner with my Munroing!;-)… well, until Skye that is…

[doogz]

Mate ..is your last pic not ""the Chancellor""

good pics ..similar day for me in the summer and we went out to the chancellor before doing the ridge itself

cheers


doogz

[mountain coward]

I'm definitely not an expert on the 'bad bits' of the Aonach Eagach but I looked on the map and thought the whole bit between Am Bodach and Meall Dearg was The Chancellor. You're probably right though...

[Rekrab]

i'm glad to see i wasn't the only person making walk reports at 0200 in the on a saturday morning!!!!!

[mountain coward]

To be honest, I'm that way round... I mainly sleep in the day and am up or working at night. I really struggle to get up in the day for Munroing and stuff unfortunately - it's just not natural for me. Probably why I don't get any done mid-winter when the daylight hours are so short.

[helenw]

Great report - I will definately be doing the Aonach Eagach this way. The ridge has been building up in my head (not helped by bravado comments from friends who use phrases like 'its a walk in the park', 'there are only one or two exciting features' or ' its best done on a winters night by full moon') and I just know I would get half way along and freeze and be unable to do anything but cling to the rock and cry for my mum (who is not a mountaineer so would be no help whatsoever). Its almost as if the reputation and anticipation of the 'scary ones' brings on a panic. Anyway thanks for this report, its good to know I'm not the only one on all fours when everyone else is walking upright!

[mountain coward]

Glad it's helped someone:) The way I did it, there's nothing but steep and only very slightly narrow - not even any scrambling. I know what you mean about the reputation of mountains though... I was doing a quite difficult scramble over a big drop once on Elidir Fawr and my friends asked wasn't I worried? I said why? it's only Elidir Fawr? they said what about the drop - I honestly hadn't noticed it as I class it as a 'safe' mountain with no bad reputation. It was quite a drop when I looked and I was on a very narrow ridge definitely needing both hands but it still didn't bother me. The night before things with a reputation I get myself in a real state.

[Robinho08]

I reckon I'll be doing Aonach Eagach this way too, until I build up more experience to tackle it from An Bodach.

[doogz]

just posted a trip report on aonach for paul from the summer its in the walk for that actual hill...its fantastic to do the ridge ..we done a wee bit extra

doogz

[mountain coward]

Done a bit of googling about whether 'The Chancellor' is just that particular side peak or the whole part of the mountain between Am Bodach and Meall Dearg - the 1:25,000 definitely says it's the whole part of the mountain but some websites says it's just that side peak in the pic. Here are a couple of links which also think it's just the whole section of ridge between the other 2 summits though:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/fraser_d/W ... -ridge.htm
http://scotclimb.org.uk/aonacheagach.shtml
So I think it's probably just the whole section...