Aonach Eagach ridge

GLEN COE, CENTRAL HIGHLANDS

A TRAVERSE OF GLEN COE’S AONACH EAGACH RIDGE IS ONE OF THE MOST THRILLING AND UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCES IN THE UK HILLS. WALK IT

Scrambling experience usually follows a fairly familiar pattern. Hillwalkers make the transition to scrambling someplace where the line between walking and scrambling is a faint and blurred one – Striding Edge on Helvellyn, for example. From there they might try another arête with more exposure, such as Crib Goch on Snowdon, or a route that’s a little less walking and a little more climbing, like the north ridge of Tryfan. At some point, though, the Aonach Eagach ridge is going to blip onto their radar. The actual scrambling isn’t overly difficult; it’s Grade 2 at most, and some of the wider, greener parts of the ridge are hands-in-pockets simple (although bear in mind that a coat of snow changes everything). But – and it’s a but of substantial proportions – where the scrambling terrain kicks in the exposure is epic, the drops big, and the bypass or escape options non-existent. Seriously, this is a ridge that you have to commit to, because once you’re on it there’s no getting off it easily. But with incredible views and the kind of challenging ridge terrain that you can see in the photo above, there really is nowhere else quite like the Aonach Eagach ridge.