A WILLINGNESS to be flexible about your plans can make all the difference to a successful mountain day, and this venture was a perfect example of that.
In this case it was the weather that brought about a change to the set course — a big round of the Carn Mor Dearg arête and Ben Nevis.
The new north face path up to the Ben from the car park near the golf course at Torlundy makes a huge difference to the speed and ease of access to the cliffs.
It’s a great boon for winter climbers wanting to reach their routes quickly when daylight hours are short.
Walkers can follow the path as far as the CIC Hut under the Ben to view the rugged north face, and it is the standard line for the start of the Carn Mor Dearg arête.
John Davidson and I had set our sights on a clockwise circuit of the arête and Ben Nevis, returning to the car park by the outward route.
The path begins climbing fairly steeply from the word go but the surface is firm and we made steady upward progress to the small dam on the Allt a’ Mhuillin, where the path continues at a gentler angle, weaving its way along beside the burn.
To gain the start of the arête involves a long slog up a grassy, heathery slope to Carn Beag Dearg, at 1010 metres. As we approached the slope the heavens opened, enveloping the north face of the Ben in dark cloud, which boiled around in the bowl of Coire Leis.
I suggested we change tack and climb Ben Nevis first, then take stock if a promised improvement in the weather arrived in the afternoon, and traverse the arête from the other direction.
Since John had not been to the top of the Ben, this would give him his first ascent and we had the option of reversing the route from the summit if the weather stayed bad.
Agreed on this course of action we crossed the Allt a’ Mhuilinn and made for the bouldery path that leads away from the north face to Lochan Meall an t’ Suidhe. The lochan is the well known half way point for anyone trekking up Ben Nevis on the "tourist path".
Once past the lochan we joined the stream of walkers heading for the top of Britain’s highest mountain — in striking contrast to the few people we had seen until then. The rain was off though, and we pressed on relentlessly upwards along the well-maintained path that takes thousands to the summit every year.
Nebulous figures milling around in the mist told us we were near our goal. We joined them and took advantage of brief partings in the veil of cloud to look over the precipitous north face and watch a couple of parties climbing Tower Ridge, one of the Ben’s most famous climbs.
It took me back to a glorious winter day when I climbed the ridge for the first time under a blue sky — magnificent.
Fed and watered and with a distinct improvement in the weather, we took a compass bearing on the top of Coire Leis and made our way gingerly down the Ben’s blocky east ridge towards it.
Losing height we dropped below the cloud layer and into brilliant sunshine, so the change of plan had paid off and we could traverse the arête in clear visibility.
A lone walker made his way up to us, having done the traverse the way we originally intended, and we were to meet other parties following in his wake, but no-one going the same way as us. I couldn’t help feeling a little smug at having rolled the dice and come up with a double six.
The Carn Mor Dearg arête is one of those scrambles you can make as easy or as difficult as you like. Sticking to the crest provides the most excitement and exposure, with superb views of the complex network of ridges and gullies that characterise the Ben’s north face. But the main difficulties can be avoided by following a path off to the east side.
A fairly steady head and good balance allow you to make the most of this exhilarating traverse and we revelled in getting to grips with the rock, occasionally passing through the mist as it rolled in and then away again.
We reached the Munro summit of Carn Dearg and carried on over Carn Dearg Meadhonach to Carn Beag Dearg. A long, seemingly endless descent brought us to the path alongside the Allt a’ Mhuilinn once more and an easy walk back down to the car park.
Thanks to our revised plan we had enjoyed a more enjoyable and interesting day, full of variety and making the most of what has to rank as one of Scotland’s finest mountain circuits.
