six months to write

[mr_mrsH]

yes, i've been meaning to write this report for the last six months but there was always other things cropping up but here we go.

On holiday last year in Glencoe with the intention that Ben nevis would be one of the Munro's climbed, and to make it more interesting we'd go via Carn Mor Dearg arrete.

looking at the weather forecast we decided that wednesday would be the best day. so it was up early, breakfast (had arranged with B&B owner to have an early breakfast,although just toast, cereal etc,) a stop at the local shop in Glencoe village for sandwiches etc and away.

arrived at visitor centre at 9 o'clock ish and after a quick visit to the toilets we were of.

just setting of

when we got to the halfway lochan and found the left fork in the path to take us around and up the corrie towards the climbers hut and the steep ascent to Carn Mor dearg, it was here that we first met Geoff, he'd forgotten his map and asked if he could follow us (he'd been told at the visitors centre not to leave the main route). more about Geoff later.

halfway lochan

mrs H on the way round the left fork

arrived at the climbers hut and stopped for a bite to eat, energy required before tackling the steep slope that was to come.

mrs H on the ascent Geoff in the background

spotted some deer at the bottom

view back down

After what seemed like a never ending ascent we finally reached the summit of CMD and this is where we got talking to Geoff, it seems that he was a former South African rally driver and journalist who had decided to walk 25,000 miles the equivalent of the cicumference of the Earth, he'd set of only 2 days before from the Iona and was walking for the Findhorn Foundation,(you can find his blog at their website or just google Geoff Dalgleish) when I last looked he was in antarctica.

mr&mrsH onthe summit of CMD

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with Geoff

Now for what looked like a hair raising walk along the arrete, which wasn't nearly as bad as it looked.

mrsH at the start of the arrete

mrH nearing the end of the arette

then up the boulder field to the summit, which i must say was a bit of a let down, very drab but also very busy.

summit of Ben Nevis

Note little girl in bottom right hand corner, later on she and her dad overtook us on the way down, and talking of the way down compared to the way we went up it was plain and ordinary, the only good thing about it was the Ben Nevis inn at the bottom where i had one of the best pints ever.

altogether a cracking day out on the hills

[Redrock]

Thanks for sharing! I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that finds it hard to get the reports done quickly! It's good to be reminded what summer is like! The pictures of the arête are great!

[MarilynMunro]

It was worth the wait for the pictures alone,
The CMD arete is one of the sights that really got me interested in hillwalking, I would love to do it, so many reports and photos have conjured up great expectations but now started doing a bit, and seen what a "wee bit of exposure" looks like I'm pretty sure I would brick it trying to go across the arete .
Cheers and well done

[tomyboy73]

well worth the wait, would love to do this in the summer

[mr_mrsH]

[

[mr_mrsH]

It was worth the wait for the pictures alone,
The CMD arete is one of the sights that really got me interested in hillwalking, I would love to do it, so many reports and photos have conjured up great expectations but now started doing a bit, and seen what a "wee bit of exposure" looks like I'm pretty sure I would brick it trying to go across the arete .
Cheers and well done

going along arrete not nearly as bad as it looks, and there is a path lower down on the left.

[spiderwebb]

As said a reminder of the summer as many of us wish for more snow !!

Great pics of the ridge really captured it well.

Done it a 3 times now and its not as bad as it looks, quite wide enough, I found the final push up the ben worse, would imagine its an exposed walk/climb up in full on winter conditions.