It's a big day out that I try to do at least every year or so. It's type one fun in an environment that would scare all but the most experienced.
The Cárn Mór Dearg Arete is a narrow ridge that creates a high altitude horseshoe from the top of the north face car park up and over Ben Nevis and back to the start again. The centre-piece being the Charles Inglis Clark (CIC) memorial hut.
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On this trip I stayed in my van at the North Face Car Park in Leanachan Forest. (GR: NN 144 764) Theres no facilities there and the road down is dog rough but when its quiet it's very quiet. Nicely tucked away from the noises of the road. Beware however, quietness here is also a rare thing. Its a popular spot and is almost always rammed full.
The walk from the car park to the start of the CIC path is a cruel warm up. Its great underfoot but its very steep and pretty much relentless. Rising well above 200m love a 2km walk just to get to the Newley installed style one the deer fence that takes you into the wilderness.
"When you think you've taken enough food and water. Take more. You have to be well fed and hydrated the whole way round."
It's about 2.5km in a virtual straight line to the first Munro Car More Meadhonach (1179) About 900m in all from the style to the summit. It's a calf burning climb and completely relentless. When you get there remember and stop though as if you walk to fast its a 500m drop into the glen below.
It's still all upwards at this point. Theres a small bealach between this top and Can More Dearg at 1220m then it's the descent onto the Arete itself. The most physically demanding bit is over but the most mentally challenging part is about to start.
I always appreciate how difficult these days are. The technical and physical nature of them is severe. But sometimes when you arrive, you just forget until you're knee deep in them
The ridge is amazing. It gets as narrow as a 1m and in some areas takes real commitment if you want to follow the spine all the way. Whenever there is a really big commit however, there are workarounds below. These are less severe but carry very high concequences should you take your mind off the task at hand.
When you find your footing and get used to the environment the larger granite rock is very grippy. When confidence is high and if you're surefooted enough you can skip to and fro cross the rocks from one place to another. There are also very fragile rocks that are stratified and will break under your feet causing you to slip and have moments of clarity.
Even if confidence is high and conditions are optimal you should never forget where you are. If you cause a rescue situation with one of these slips you are potentially putting dozens of others at risk.
Once you reach the rather neat cairn at the end of the Arete, the scramble up to the summit of Ben Nevis is a relatively straightforward navigational task, but the boulders are big. Grippy then slippy at a seconds notice. They can move underneath you and the path is not really obvious enough to give a clue as to your direction. Just head up but don't stray too far to the right in poor visibility as the north faces of Ben Nevis await to consume you!
I did a rough count of people coming up Ben Nevis via the tourist path from the summit to the (shitting) stones The number? 438!
On my way so far, I had seen one person and a Border Collie. As I reached the summit of The Ben, I began to see people around the trig point mount. People milling around and the faint sound of chatter hanging on the mist. By the time I'd walked 100m off the summit the people just kept on coming.
it's around 4km from the summit to the "shitting stones" on my way there passed (roughly) 438 people on the way up. This is great, but at my very core it worries me that the level of preparedness varied from jogging bottoms, football jerseys and boob-tubes to full on hiking gear with full 40l rucksacks. I won't go on about it but those of you that have been in the hills long enough will have seen and most likely had to help those whom I speak of?
Anyway, along to the CIC hut. A place that fascinates me. I've never been inside, but I'd desperately like to spend the night there. I actually don't know that much about it so I'll leave a link to more info here.
It's still a decent walk back to the style from here. It's fairly level (but obviously downhill) until you cross the fence again. The path back to the car park is pretty savage though. Remember that initial uphill at the beginning? Well after half a day ascending and climbing around the UK's highest peak its a bona-fide calf burner!
In closing, I'll be back to do this again next year. Maybe the other way round down onto the ridge from The Ben. Perhaps less of a leg burner. This is a hard hike and takes a bit of commitment firstly to start and then to actually get round once you're up there. If you take it on, please "over prepare" as the highland weather is a cruel mistress. Also, take as much food and water as you can sensibly carry.
Mainly so you don't fall prey to the mistakes of these Trip Advisor users that expected a little more than they actually got!
Thanks for reading, see you on the next one.
Allan
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