The Mamores
The best approaches are generally from the north with deep corries and narrow ridges to admire. A walk up the Glen Nevis gorge to the the Falls of Steall is one of the best low level approaches to make before striking up the northern slopes admiring the view of Ben Nevis and the Aonachs on the other side. Steall is one of the best waterfalls in Britain. The southern slopes are more uniform, covered in heather and so don't provide so much spectacular close up scenery.
There is an excellent network of stalkers paths that criss cross these mountains providing comparatively painless approach to the ridge. The western side of the Mamores is however guarded by thick plantations with only one or two paths breaking through the thick defences, the SMC Munros guidebook provides details of ways through this forest. Central Mamores topographical map
The western Mamore range has two munros and whilst they are quite easy, the views from them are quite simply drop dead gorgeous. A view from the western summit, Mullach nan Coirean, guides the eye right down the length of Loch Linnhe as well as over the Ardgour summits. Stob Ban itself has the largest buttress in the Mamore range with a spectacular V shaped gulley enclosed by vertical cliffs that you can look right down from the summit ridge.
In the central part of the ridge, two mountains strike out north of the main ridge that encircle Coire a' Mhail. A traverse of the mountains around Coire a' Mhail is known as the ring of Steal, and is regarded as one of the finest outings in the highlands of Scotland. The western part of the ridge is known as the Devils Ridge. It's very narrow and quite exposed though there is no difficulty except for a short 10 foot rock step to be negotiated at the saddle between Carn' A Mhaim and the Devils Ridge.
The southern end of the ring of Steal takes in the summits of Sgorr an Iubhair (demoted munro), Am Bodach and Stob Choire a' Chairn. The ridge between the first two summits is easy, but small quartzite rocks make progress tough and slow. The traverse from Am Bodach to Stob Choire a' Chairn descends steeply at first from Am Bodach's summit before easing into a pleasant grassy ridge for the remaining distance.
The eastern arm of Coire a' Mhail reaches An Gearanach via a narrow ridge also. This ridge has a bulbous rock that prevents a pure traverse of the ridge. Instead you are forced to traverse slopes 10 - 20feet below the east side of the crest. One move is a little aukward but rather exposed. The rest of the ridge is an easy enjoyable scramble becoming a spectacular walk once you reach An Gearanach.
Na Grugaichean is the next munro east along the ridge and is perhaps the rockiest summit of all the Mamores. The northwest ridge provides some rocky clambering with a minor scramble near its base. Binnien Mor is the most easterly summit of the Mamore ridge and the highest. An ascent of the summit from the south ridge provides no difficulty, but it's northern corrie is full of interest.
Further east, two outlying summits require extra effort as really they lie beyond the main ridge and thus demand more ascent. Sgurr Eilde Mor is the highest of these two summits, and affords two routes of ascent from Coire an Lochan. The southeast ridge is one such ascent route and the northeast corrie, gaining access to the west ridge is another popular route to this summit. Binnien Beag is the smaller of the two summits at 943m. This mountain has a conical appearance from most directions and its usual route of ascent is from the southern side at the base of a small lochan. The approach to the eastern Mamore summits is best aschieved from the south. Stalkers paths provide relatively trouble free access from this quarter. The northern approach from upper Glen Nevis is very rough once you depart from the Cross Country Path linking Corrour with lower Glen Nevis. Ben Nevis & The Aonachs
Ben Nevis - Grey Corries map
The most boring route up Ben Nevis has to be the pony track zig zagging crawling up the western slopes. Not only is the scenic factor very low but you have to share it with the crowds - clueless tourists, prams, and all too common folk completely lost hoping to 'hitch a ride' with a well prepared walkers when in mist. Despite the hordes of tourists, solitude can still be found. You can avoid all that by starting at the road end car park in Glen Nevis.
There are signs at the car park warning you not to climb 'The Ben' from there. They are referring to slabs on a direct ascent. Instead - I'd walk up the gorge to the meadows beneath the Falls of Steall - one of the best low level walks in the country. The walk then continues up a glen between Ben Nevis and the Aonachs where it levels out on the 500m mark. From here you can strike up a grassy eastern shoulder to reach a ridge that curls north and broadens out to the bouldery slopes to the CMD arete. Here it's a steep boulder clamber to the summit plateau. This route is ace for several reasons - no erosion for the main part, few folk about and varied scenery.
The ridge linking Ben Nevis with CMD is quite easy. I managed it twice in strong winds - once with a backpack. There's no scrambling just boulder hopping and great views out to the north face of Ben Nevis.
As said before, the Aonachs can be linked in with CMD via a high bealach. The descent from CMD to the bealach is straightforward but the ascent to the Aonach plateau is steep - at 45o. There is, however a well worn path though that's difficult to find at the bottom but is marked by a small cairn at the top. Watch out for avalanches here in winter! When on the Aonach Mor plateau, you'll find it very broad and grassy. Steep cliffs fall to the west and east of Aonach Mor. An approach to Aonach Mor from the north is not recommended. While easy, it's scarred by skiing development though many folk take this route as they like the easy start at 600m courtesy of a Cable Car. Aonach Beag is more shapely and it's summit backs right up against the edge of north east facing cliffs. These cliffs fall 500m to the corrie floor below. The summit thus feels very lofty. An obviously exciting approach from the corrie floor is via the north eastern ridge - said to include some rock climbing upto 'Diff' standard. Walks can approach the summit via a bealach to the east from the corrie floor or from the scenic Glen Nevis. The approach to the aforementioned corrie is the best and wildest approach to these hills as well as the Grey Corries. Beware though, it's a 10km walk in from the north! The walk from Glen Nevis is also very scenic taking in views of the Mamores and has also proved to provide a swift ascent. The Grey Corries
This ridge is very remote and generally your're best to allocate an entire weekend to it's exploration. The walks in from the north are generally on good tracks through the forest with a track going right to the base of the ridge further east.
All the munros lie on the ridge except one - Stob Ban (977m). It's a bit of a diversion, and considerably lower than the other summits, but a shapely hill it certainly is. The ascent to Stob Ban is from the saddle with Stob Coire Claurigh, a steep 170m ascent up scree with a some minor scrambling near the summit.  Stob Ban seen from Stob Choire Claurigh Stob Coire an Laoigh (1116m) and Stob Choire Clauigh are the two central munros on the ridge and ones that are most readily accessible as a circuit from the north. The quintessential grey corrie ridge sits between these munros, offering 2km of walking and seldom dropping below 1050m.
The best summit in my opinion however is Sgurr Chionnich Mhor (1094m). This summit is the most westerly of the grey corries and it's narrow northeast ridge in winter conditions will not fail to put a smile on your face. On the Easter of 2006, a particularly good late winter, the ridge was double corniced. The summit rises up 150m above its saddle with the other Grey Corries and offers occasional rock steps to concentrate the mind.
East of the Grey Corries sit another group of summits. Two Corbetts sit on the east side of Lairig Leacach rising just 350m from the glen. Despite the modest rise, both have boisterous summits which offer some interesting route finding opportunities. Two Corbetts that are both shapely and rocky.  Cruach and Sgurr Inse seen from the Lairig Leacach |
