The Aonach Eagach ridge, 3,000 feet high, in Glencoe, Scotland, is said to be mainland Britain's narrowest ridge walk. It's a narrow traverse, just a few feet wide, with several rocky pinnacles to be upclimbed, downclimbed or side-tracked on tiny paths that are often much scarier than the actual rock climbs!
I did the Aonach Eagach traverse two days ago, and I loved every minute of it!
But I want to add a disclaimer.
The Aonach Eagach is NOT for beginners!
I am not trying to be elitist here. I'm trying to prevent inexperienced people potentially getting into difficulties if they look at the lovely views in my post and think…
"We're going to Scotland next year. Let's do the Aonach Eagach!"
If you're an experienced climber or mountaineer used to all types of terrain, go ahead! If not, I'd recommend taking a course in climbing first, building up experience over a year or so, including some outdoor climbing, bouldering and/or scrambling up to Grade 2.
This is simply to ensure that the experience is an enjoyable one, as it was for me, and not a kind of nightmare tightrope walk of terror, as it was for one or two of my friends, who did it before they were ready!
Alternatively, you can climb the Munro summits that sit at each end of the Aonach Eagach ridge without actually doing the ridge. That way, you still get the fabulous views without having to do the rock scrambles.
I know a couple of very experienced mountaineers who have done this. Some people have an actual phobia of "exposed" heights, just as I have a phobia of spiders (but that's another story…).
Building up experience
I first heard about the Aonach Eagach about three years ago, when my interest in hillwalking was just starting to become a passion. At that time it loomed like a terrifying ordeal of passage, and I couldn't imagine ever really wanting to do it.
As my experience in the hills grew, I started to think I might be ready to do it someday, but I decided to get some less scary ridge walks under my belt first. I did the Tarmachan ridge in the Lawers range, Striding Edge and Swirral Edge on Helvellyn in the Lake District, and a winter traverse of Beinn a'Beithir in Glencoe.
I started learning indoor climbing two years ago, and indoor bouldering four months later. This became a new passion, and I usually go to the climbing centre two or three times a week.
I've done just a couple of outdoor bouldering sessions. I think this is the best type of preparation for tricky scrambles.
I recently did some scrambling up to Grade 3 on a mountain called Creise in Glencoe, and I took my hillwalking Meetup group to Torridon, where we did some fantastic scrambles on Beinn Eighe and Beinn Alligin.
After all that experience I felt more than ready to tackle the Aonach Eagach. My friend Fatima, who had done the traverse four times before, offered to be my guide.
I'm sure I could have done it much earlier, but I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much, and it might even have put me off doing it again in the future (which I fully intend to do!).
Rocky road
Most people traverse the Aonach Eagach from east to west, and we also chose this route. To reach the ridge, you have to climb to the top of Am Bodach ("The Old Man"), a Munro "top" at 943m (3093ft).
I admit that I was rushing a bit, as I could see so many people coming up behind us! I didn't want to get caught in a queue on the ridge. My friend was much more relaxed.
The first challenge on the ridge is a long, tricky downclimb, the descent from the summit of Am Bodach.
I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this challenge, though it is one where great care is needed at times. The rock was very dry and grippy after weeks of hot weather.
I'm not sure whether I would enjoy this downclimb in wet conditions!
After that it's up and down, up and down, over the lumpy, bumpy, pinnacle-laden track – enormous fun if you love scrambling; a trial if you don't. A woman about six people ahead of us didn't seem to be enjoying the experience. Her partner was coaxing her along, and she was sensibly taking her time. However as it was a busy Saturday, this meant that a queue soon started to build up, especially as the couple behind them had brought ropes and climbing gear which they were taking some time to set up at each pinnacle or downclimb.
The climbing couple eventually moved aside to let the rest of us pass. The last thing I wanted to do was to make the nervous woman feel pressurised into moving faster than she could handle, so once I spotted an alternative route, I nipped down it and the others followed me, without the nervous lady even noticing.
There was one spot where I got a few vertiginous trembles – a very narrow step, in the stretch known as the "Crazy Pinnacles". I'm not sure if their name comes from their random shapes or because you have to be a bit crazy to be traversing them.
There were also a couple of exposed slabs along the way where I felt aware that I was putting a lot of faith in the grippiness of my Vibram soles.
Not just a Saturday stroll
Looking at the photos showing loads of mostly young people on the route, you could be forgiven for thinking that it's just another fun thing to do on a sunny Saturday. And for some people it probably is. But I suspect that most people on that ridge will actually be regulars at their local climbing centre and/or out on the hills every week, with many scrambles under their belt.
We met a couple of friends from our hillwalking groups. They are out on the hills almost every week, in winter as well as summer. And a young couple up ahead of us, who later kindly gave us a lift back to our car, were visiting from the south of England. They are passionate climbers, who had done a more technical rope-climbing route the day before.
How dangerous is the Aonach Eagach?
It seems surprisingly difficult to source accurate statistics on the number of accidents on this ridge. In fact I didn't find any reports of fatalities from people falling directly from the ridge – which is quite comforting, given the number of people who cross it each day.
What does become clear as you start to search, is that it's the descent from the ridge that can be really dangerous, depending on which route you take.
The traditional route down from the western end of the Aonach Eagach is a horribly steep path beset with loose stones and scree that runs alongside the Clachaig Gully. There have been several fatalities on this descent in recent years.
Source
We took the slightly longer but much safer route that descends west, joining with the track for the Pap of Glencoe.
I noticed how much quieter this route was, and wondered where all the crowds on the ridge had gone. I think many people continue to use the Clachaig Gully, which leads directly to the popular Clachaig Inn, despite warnings all over the place about the dangers of this route.
Scottish Mountain Rescue's annual report for 2010 showed that most of their callouts to the Aonach Eagach ridge that year came from people who were "cragfast" – in other words, too nervous to progress in either direction.
The previous year had seen two fatalities when people fell from the Clachaig Gully path, and a man was killed after a fall from the path last year.
I'm not trying to spread fear and gloom – I'm just aware that when people start to post lovely photos online of a beautiful location, it can make it a magnet for visitors, many of whom might have no idea of the dangers involved.
A member of the UK Climbing Forum summed it up perfectly:
The main ridge section is inescapable and requires confidence with exposure and moving on steep rock.
If you're confident with exposure and moving on steep rock, you will LOVE the Aonach Eagach ridge.
I hope you enjoy my video, which is at DLive
Music: FreeBackgroundMusic
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