ROUTE: From North Face Car Park. Generally tried to follow the route description in the SMC Guidebook "Ben Nevis Rock and Ice Climbs". Avoided Douglas Boulder to the east, traversing back in to the crest above the Douglas Gap from Observatory Gully. We were delayed by my travails at the Little Tower(see below) and again by failing to find the Eastern Traverse at the first attempt - apparently a not uncommon mistake (?). Descended via Tourist Track to Half-Way Lochan and back to Allt a Mhuilinn Path.
MEMBERS OF PARTY: With Marion and our friend Ian McCulloch.
CONDITIONS: Warm, sunny, light winds. Dry rock.
DURATION: c. 12hours - Minor epic!
SKILLS PRACTISED: Lead climbing. Some moving together. I had planned to share the lead with Ian for the full route. I got a wee bit stuck on the Little Tower, and had to call Ian through from half-way up the step - I may have been off-route! . Thereafter I led again from the ledge to the right of the Little Tower. I also led on the Eastern Traverse to the belay beyond the Fallen Block. Ian led the rest of the route. Surprisingly, we were quite efficient crossing Tower Gap - lots of in situ slings, many in almost new condition!
MOUNTAIN ENVIRONMENT: We were appropriately awed by the scale of the ridge, the rock architecture, and the exposure!
KEY LEARNING POINTS/CONTRIBUTION TO EXPERIENCE: A Rite of Passage as a mountaineer but a harsh lesson in what it takes to climb a long route efficiently. Amazingly, the route was quiet that day and we had to do our own route-finding - which was undoubtedly the biggest challenge. My relative inexperience as a lead climber meant that we pitched too often, and having three on the rope didn't help our speed either. We kept it together however and were always safe and in control - another fundamental lesson.
Area :
Ben Nevis, Aonach Beag and Aonach Mor (Summer)
Ben Nevis and the Aonachs are of course best known for their winter climbing, with the exception of the outstanding trad climbs of Carn Dearg Buttress. But the north face of 'The Ben' also has many other fine crags which tend to get lost amongst the immensity of it all, well worth exploring. The classic ridges offer fine summer outings of a mountaineering nature, and a limited number of summer climbs of similar style can be found on both Aonach Mor and Aonach Beag.
