Ben Nevis via Càrn Mòr Dearg Arête

Happy to tick this off the list, in typical fashion the cloud moved in and spoilt some of the views but the actual route along the ridge was superb

A really beautiful hike at the beginning, despite the moor, which was extremely strenuous to hike through. The K1 climbing section in particular was indescribably beautiful. From the summit it was tourist hell, because of a very well-developed path from Glen Nevis above. Queuing at the summit for a photo. Going down in crowds. But the view from the top makes up for everything.

Total hiking time of 10 hours, with a few breaks. A nice steady climb from the North Face car park to the Càrn Dearg Meadhonach 1180 m, then not far from the Munro Càrn Mor Dearg 1220 m with the famous ridge. The path from the CMD Arête over the rocks/cliffs to the Ben Nevis plateau was very strenuous, there was no path marked, you had to decide for yourself. On the way down we unfortunately took the quick tour over the scree fields, not recommended, takes just as long and is very strenuous, risk of slipping! Before the lake, we turned right and then only went over moorland heath meadows, no path was visible until the last 2 km stretch on the hiking trail to the starting point of the North Face car park

My rest day turned into a wee hike up Ben Nevis, obviously I couldn't do it up the mountain track and had to add into an additional munro ( Càrn Mòr Dearg) and then headed across the Ridge to the ben Nevis Summit. Definitely recommend this route to any experienced hill walkers that are thinking about doing Ben Nevis over the standard route

An 8-hour tour with impressive views of the north face all the way up to Càrn Mòr Dearg. Crossing the arête is a long level 1 scramble. We came down on the Mountain Track, and it can't compare! Fewer people, stunning views of Ben Nevis, and a super fun scramble all the way up to the summit after the arête await you if you take the north face trail. 🙂

Ben Nevis via Càrn Mor Dearg and the CMD arete. The best of days 🥰 a tad breezy on the ridge but never enough to make me want to put a jacket on. Joined by Chris and Ben.

At 1370 metres, Ben Nevis is the highest peak in the United Kingdom, or in all of Britain. You might like to laugh at that, but you should note that the climb is not to be sneezed at (unless you take the boring zig-zag path from the south). To avoid the majority of hikers, we started from the north side of the mountain. Here, the access to the overcrowded car park at Torlundy was remarkably bumpy. After artfully parking, we set off. The path initially led through a shady forest. With the weather gods' favor, we were blessed with (initially) blue skies and sunshine on this Tuesday. We gladly accepted. Continuing uphill, we found a beautiful stream behind a fence, which we followed. The path was well developed and well signposted. In Gaelic, as it is spoken here, we had no doubt that it would lead us to the summit. So we followed the original route we had chosen, ignored the turnoff and continued hiking, motivated by the many other hikers and the great condition of the path. Where were we going? Ben Nevis, of course - that's all there is here. The terrain became steeper, rockier. To our left, the ridge grew to an enormous height, but to our right, the wildly jagged rock faces of the massif dominated. At 300 meters, they were the highest on the island. The stream made its way into the valley over some pretty cascades. A hut above surprised us, as it was not visible at lower altitudes. To our further surprise, our path ended here. No path, no trace. Just a few rocks in the high valley, a view of the insurmountable ridge, a few remnants of snow from which water poured over the rock. Crushed rock in scree slopes to the south. We ended up in a dead end. To the right over the rock face, nothing was to be expected, to the left up to the ridge it was almost vertical, but seemed doable with effort. 450 meters of altitude separated us, which we fought hard for. When we reached the ridge, it was time for a break. Although it was less steep, I still found the ups and downs on the ridge very strenuous. Large blocks, criss-crossing, tripping hazards everywhere. Where possible, we used a narrow path a little further down the slope before reaching the ridge, where we went up again very steeply and uncomfortable. I was already panting hard. The climb an hour earlier had not yet been digested, the sky was now overcast again, the thick air of the local area was heavy in my lungs. When I reached the summit with the ruined remains of the old observatory. The view stretched far over the gray slopes below. Here and there, volcanic cones stood out from the neighboring ones as "real Munros". A sound, a fjord, a "hole" or a bay. Waters are easy to see from above, but difficult to distinguish. Behind me, the edge of the former crater. Covered in snow. Lovely last impressions before we walked down the zigzag path for a long, long time. Rough gravel and lots of rubble didn't make this any easier for us. Above all, the path stretched for kilometers, partly through mud, but above all through barren terrain, until we had the stream at our side again and ended our hike with the last few kilometers down through the forest. Conclusion: An alpine mountain tour in rugged, strenuous terrain. Fascinating because of the wild ruggedness, the exposed location and the scenic charm.