The Aonach Eagach Ridge Traverse

Walkhighlands calls the Aonach Eagach the narrowest ridge on the British mainland, though it rates Liathach and An Teallach close behind, and grades the traverse as a grade 2/3 scramble, included in some climbing guides as a Moderate rock climb. It links two Munros, Meall Dearg and Sgòrr nam Fiannaidh, above the north side of Glen Coe; the National Trust for Scotland manages the land south of the ridge, west of Sron Gharbh, as part of its Glencoe estate.

From the small car park near Allt-na-reigh, the route climbs steeply to the first top, Am Bodach. The first real scrambling comes on the descent from it, an awkward, slippery, slabby cliff with a long drop below, before easier ground leads on to Meall Dearg at 953m, the first Munro and, as Walkhighlands notes, famous as the final Munro climbed by the Reverend A.E. Robertson in 1901, the first person to complete the full round, said to have kissed the summit cairn and then his wife. The ridge ahead has several steep rocky chimneys and a section nicknamed the Crazy Pinnacles, and Walkhighlands is explicit that there is no safe escape route once committed, only the option of turning back before Am Bodach. Easier ground then leads to the second Munro, Sgòrr nam Fiannaidh, the ridge’s highest point at 967m, with a view down the length of lower Glen Coe.

The descent runs west off the ridge to the bealach with the Pap of Glencoe and down to the Glencoe to Clachaig road, a different spot from the start, so getting back to the car needs arranged transport or a walk up the glen, not counted in Walkhighlands’ figures of 9.5km and 1,100m of ascent over eight to nine hours. It suits an experienced scrambler with a head for heights, fit for a full day and willing to wait for dry rock, since Walkhighlands warns the holds are slippery when wet and suggests a guide if in doubt. It does not suit anyone without scrambling experience, since there is no easy retreat partway across. For a full Glen Coe mountain day without the exposure, Buachaille Etive Mòr by Coire na Tulaich is steep and rough but has no committing ridge.