We have walked up Liathach by the classic route and some less popular approaches, but never from the north. With its steep sandstone crags and towering pinnacle much of the north face is the domain of rock climbers and winter climbers, and beyond us! However, the North Ridge of Spidean a' Choire Leith, which separates Coireag Dubh Mor and Coire na Caime, and leads directly up to the summit offers a less demanding and technical ascent. The Guide Books classify it as a moderate climb if you stick to the arête or suggest it can be tackled as grade 1/2 scramble by staying to right of the arete on steep grass. It was our aim to stick to the arête as much as possible, which we managed with the help of a 20m rope and a small amount climbing gear.

We started out from the main Beinn Eighe carpark at 8am following the Coire Dubh Mhor path between Liathac and Beinn Eighe, hearts beating faster at the sight of these two magnificent mountains. It almost seemed sacrilegious to be aiming for an alternative route, but then, as we came around the eastern end of Liathach and crossed the Allt Coire Dubh Mhor we could see our target, the North Ridge, on the skyline.

It was a perfect June day for hill walking, warm without being hot and enough of a breeze to keep the midges at bay. We continued on the path to the point where it divides to climb up to Coire Mhic Fhearchair then doubled back for a few metres before crossing the Allt Coire Dhub, (although there was very little of it), to meet up with a burn flowing down from Coireag Dubh Mor. It was a delightful walk on a faint path by the side of the waterfall, with Marsh Orchids and Violets in flower by ones feet and the impressive tiers of rock in the coire ahead.

Before reaching the coire floor, at a band of rock, we filled our water bottles from the stream, and headed right to gain the ridge.
The lower section of the ridge was broad, lots of loose stones and boulder to go up, plus some easy scrambling and a couple of horrible steep slimy steps, one of which reduced me to my hands and knees .

As the ridge narrowed we walked around the first bands of rock to find the perfect spot for lunch.



Restored and sustained it was onwards and upwards
It would have been quite possible to walk around the next tier of rocks and then to avoid many of the difficulties by keeping right but our objective was to climb the arete, and so time to stop faffing and get on with it.
The initial scrambling was straightforward.

But then it became steeper and more exposed so we roped up. The rock was very rough and the climbing was not technical, but then it may have felt far more tenuous without the rope!



The steepiness eased of but rather than untie from the rope we moved together along the narrow ridge then made an exposed traverse to regain the true arete! The traverse was avoidable, but fun!

We followed the main route from Spidean back to the road, and were. surprised at how loose and eroded the footpath seemed. It did seem to have deteriorated since we were last that way and I don't think it was just because we were tired.
I was concerned that I had lost what little fitness and tolerance I had for scrambling over the past year so was very pleased to have completed this route with no real difficulty or major outbreaks of squeaking. The varied nature of the route also provided lots of opportunities for practising scrambling skills that had grown a but rusty over the last year!
The North Ridge of Spidean may not be an alternative to the classic Liathach traverse but was a great day out with superb views in addition to the exciting scrambling