Ben Nevis via CMD Arête, Highlands
Visit the ‘Wee inn at the foot of The Ben’ and enjoy a cold one after tackling the famous CMD Arête on Ben Nevis.
As far as walking pubs go, you’ll find it hard to beat the location of the Ben Nevis Inn. Set in Glen Nevis, at the foot of the mountain, it offers a bunkhouse, a pint and good evening food after a big day out. The perfect setting to see out an adventure.
The Carn Mor Dearg Arête is a big day out whichever way you tackle it. The usual route starts out at the North Face car park and loops back around, but ours starts out from the Glen Nevis side and literally finishes at the pub.
This approach is far more interesting too. It starts by winding along the Steall Falls path before taking a sharp detour and climbing up through a remote and wild-feeling little coire, then scrambling up to and over the main attraction – the CMD Arête – a sprawling ridgeline that sweeps past the North Face of ‘The Ben’. The return is a bit of a trudge but it’s a small price to pay for an otherwise memorable outing. Oh, did I mention that cold, refreshing pint at the end? It will be glorious!
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Make your way to the Steall Falls car park. I’d leave the car at accommodation and get a bus/taxi/lift to the start point. Buses will take you as far as the last Glen Nevis car park and you’ll have to walk the rest of the way from there, simply following the road but adding a few more km. Pass through the Steall Falls car park, taking the path at the eastern end that winds through the woods steeply above the river. ignore the offshoot paths, before exiting about 400m away from the Steall bridge. Pass the bridge and continue along the path on a rough easterly track through the marshy ground to the small footbridge at the Steall ruins.
2 NN186687 From the bridge, take the steep track north, keeping left of the Allt Coire Giubhsachan, which eventually levels out after about 1km. On reaching the floor of the coire, stay close to the river or skirt to the left which might avoid some boggy patches if the weather has been wet. Follow the course of the river uphill again, to the north-east, before exiting at the bealach near an old section of wall.
3 NN186722 At the wall, turn left and climb up the eastern ridge of Carn Mor Dearg. The route is a mix of path and some bouldery steps to scramble in between. Stay pretty much at the crest of the ridge, taking care for loose and wobbly boulders you might encounter along the way. The route should be fairly obvious and take you directly to the summit.
4 NN177721 From the rocky summit of Carn Mor Dearg, descend south to reach the ridge proper. You have two options here – either tackle the blocky crest of the ridge head on or take the path to the right-hand side and a little lower. Depending on your comfort levels, both might feel a little exposed.
The scrambling is pretty easy stuff, moving from block to block, watching for wobbly ones. There should be nothing above Grade 1 level and at any time you can move down to the path and walk it. The ridge gradually sweeps right alongside the North Face of ‘The Ben’. One for the future maybe? This second part of the ridge can also be cautiously taken head on or avoided, this time to the left.
It’s all well worn and obvious, if a little adventurous!
5 NN171710 The ridge begins to widen out and climb as you reach the boulder field. It can be surprisingly easy to lose the path here by pulling too far left. If you manage to keep to the path, the terrain should be straightforward. If you find yourself clambering over boulders, stop and have a look around. The route through the boulders takes you north-west all the way to the summit.
6 NN166712 The walk down is relatively straightforward and on an obvious path but drawn out and tiresome. It’s important to walk south-west from the summit for 150m, then west, avoiding the two large gullies. Follow the path down to the waterfall and then to the loch. A switchback here takes you south-west to the recently improved path and soon crosses a wooden bridge. After the bridge, keep straight on, through two zigzags and ignoring the left-hand gate, continuing north-west all the way to the Ben Nevis Inn.