Ben More, Isle of Mull
Navigating a simple but challenging clockwise route round Big Ben gets the most out of the Isle of Mull’s majestic Munro.
The Isle of Mull’s monolithic 966m Ben More – a great hulking pyramid of a mountain – is the only island Munro outside the Isle of Skye. Extracting maximum value from an ascent of this magnificent mountain requires an indirect approach via Beinn Fhada and A’ Chioch, the contiguous summits along the ridge forming the Ben More Horseshoe.
In some ways, climbing Ben More from A’ Chioch via the north-east ridge is similar to climbing Ben Nevis via Carn Mòr Dearg and the CMD Arête, in that it makes for an exhilarating, well-rounded hillwalking excursion with a frisson of challenge, magnificent views and far fewer folk than the popular ‘up-and-down’ route.
Most walkers climbing Ben More via the A’ Chioch ridge start up the north bank of the Abhainn na h-Uamha to gain the bealach between A’ Chioch and Beinn Fhada. This way is shorter, with less ascent, and benefits from good views of Ben More, but it is quite boggy. The route described here is a horseshoe that starts by ascending Beinn Fhada before tackling A’ Chioch and Ben More then descending along the ‘easy’ up-and-down route from Dhiseig.