The Aonach Eagach (Scottish Gaelic for 'notched ridge') is a large mountain ridge in the Scottish Highlands, marking the northern edge of Glen Coe. It stretches east–west for several miles and includes two Munro summits: Sgùrr nam Fiannaidh at 967 m (3,175 ft) high, and Meall Dearg at 952 m (3,124 ft) high. The ridge is very rocky and the route along it requires scrambling ability. The slopes to each side are extremely dangerous, with steep grass-and-scree slopes hiding even steeper slopes which end in cliffs on both north and south sides of the ridge.
Aonach Eagach
The Aonach Eagach above the A82 road, looking up Glen Coe
The Aonach Eagach is usually regarded as the most difficult horizontal 'scrambling' ridge in mainland Scotland, though it vies with Liathach (and, in winter, An Teallach) for this title. In his book "Scrambles in Lochaber", local climber Noel Williams warns that there are no other ridges in the area that are "so narrow and so difficult to escape from once committed. Some sections are extremely exposed. This makes it a difficult outing to grade, because the technical difficulties are not great".[4] Williams settled on grade 2, implying it is easier than the (optional) grade 2/3 approach scramble up A'Chailleach, but added a further warning (in bold type) that "there are no safe descents on the south side of the ridge".[5]
In August 2023, a party of three climbers perished on the ridge.[6]
The Aonach Eagach is normally tackled from the Glen Coe (south) side in an east–west traverse. The best parking for this scrambling route is located just off the A82 at grid reference NN 17335674.[7] From Allt-na-reigh near the head of Glen Coe a good path ascends Am Bodach (a subsidiary Munro top) and continues westwards along the ridge to the first Munro proper, Meall Dearg.
From here the summit of Sgorr nam Fiannaidh lies only two kilometres to the west, but a number of pinnacles must be scrambled over, and it is not uncommon for parties to take more than two hours to cross this short distance. There are a couple of sections where the use of a rope may prove prudent.
In winter, the ridge is a fine expedition, though considerably harder than in summer (Scottish Winter Grade I/II), and many parties will go roped for some sections. Because of the short winter days, benightment on the ridge or its approaches is also not infrequent.
Competent summer scramblers have plenty of time to reverse the ridge and descend Am Bodach, saving a walk back up the glen.[5]
From Sgorr nam Fiannaidh, the most direct descent is to head south by southwest, down a steep zig-zag path leading by the side of Clachaig gully. This 'path' is exceptionally steep and extremely loose in places, and has many small rock steps; it approaches close to the main gully in several places and so is potentially dangerous (fatal accidents have occurred here). A gentler alternative is to continue along the ridge, until reaching the bealach between Sgorr nam Fiannaidh and the Pap of Glencoe. From here a track heads down the hillside, ending on the road just outside Glencoe village. It is also possible to retreat approximately 200 m east from the summit of Sgorr nam Fiannaidh and descend directly down the scree slope to Loch Achtriochtan, taking care to avoid being drawn into gullies further down. This descent also requires care, particularly near the top, but is still far safer than the Clachaig Gully descent.
Alternatively, the two Munros may be climbed individually by simply descending by the route of ascent. However it is for the traverse that the Aonach Eagach is best known.
Devil's StaircaseEdit
A path known as the Devil's Staircase crosses the range about 6 km east of Meall Dearg. Today, as part of the West Highland Way, it is used primarily by walkers and mountain bikers travelling between Kinlochleven and Glencoe.
The Devil's Staircase was given its name by the soldiers who were part of the road building programme of General Wade, because of the difficulties of carrying building materials up that stretch of the road. Later, however, the road lived up to its name when workers building the Blackwater Dam chose to travel to the Kings House Hotel after they had been paid, rather than walking down to Kinlochleven. The journey to the pub often proved to be more difficult than they realised and on the return trip, after a few drinks on a cold winter's night, the devil often "claimed his own".[8]
In 1692, the path was the approach route for the (apparently delayed) troops coming from Kinlochleven to provide reinforcements for the Massacre of Glencoe.
ReferencesEdit
^"Aonach Eagach". Hill Bagging - the online version of the Database of British and Irish Hills (DoBIH). 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
^"Aonach Eagach". walkhighlands. walkhighlands. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
^Williams, Noel (1996). Scrambles in Lochaber. Milnthorpe, Cumbria, UK: Cicerone Press Ltd. p. 88. ISBN978-1-85284-234-5.
^ abWilliams, Noel (1996). Scrambles in Lochaber. Milnthorpe, Cumbria, UK: Cicerone Press Ltd. p. 90. ISBN978-1-85284-234-5.
^Associated Press, "3 hikers found dead near notorious ridge in Scottish Highlands", Fox News, 9 August 2023
^"Aonach Eagach Scramble". UK Scrambles. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
^Anon. . Discover Glencoe and Lochleven. Glencoe and Lochleven Marketing Group. Archived from the original on 16 December 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
aonach, eagach, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, june, 2019,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Aonach Eagach news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Aonach Eagach Scottish Gaelic for notched ridge is a large mountain ridge in the Scottish Highlands marking the northern edge of Glen Coe It stretches east west for several miles and includes two Munro summits Sgurr nam Fiannaidh at 967 m 3 175 ft high and Meall Dearg at 952 m 3 124 ft high The ridge is very rocky and the route along it requires scrambling ability The slopes to each side are extremely dangerous with steep grass and scree slopes hiding even steeper slopes which end in cliffs on both north and south sides of the ridge Aonach EagachThe Aonach Eagach above the A82 road looking up Glen CoeHighest pointElevation967 7 m 3 175 ft 1 Prominence623 m 2 044 ft Parent peakBen AlderListingMunro MarilynNamingEnglish translationnotched ridgeLanguage of nameGaelicPronunciation ˈɯːnex ˈekex ˈs kɔɾ nem ˈfian ˠɪ 2 3 GeographyLocationGlen Coe ScotlandParent rangeGrampian MountainsOS gridNN141583Topo mapOS Landranger 41Climbing Edit nbsp Meall DeargListed summits of Aonach Eagach Name Grid ref Height StatusSgorr nam Fiannaidh NN14065830 967 7 m 3 175 ft MunroMeall Dearg NN16135835 952 2 m 3 124 ft MunroThe Aonach Eagach is usually regarded as the most difficult horizontal scrambling ridge in mainland Scotland though it vies with Liathach and in winter An Teallach for this title In his book Scrambles in Lochaber local climber Noel Williams warns that there are no other ridges in the area that are so narrow and so difficult to escape from once committed Some sections are extremely exposed This makes it a difficult outing to grade because the technical difficulties are not great 4 Williams settled on grade 2 implying it is easier than the optional grade 2 3 approach scramble up A Chailleach but added a further warning in bold type that there are no safe descents on the south side of the ridge 5 In August 2023 a party of three climbers perished on the ridge 6 The Aonach Eagach is normally tackled from the Glen Coe south side in an east west traverse The best parking for this scrambling route is located just off the A82 at grid reference NN 17335674 7 From Allt na reigh near the head of Glen Coe a good path ascends Am Bodach a subsidiary Munro top and continues westwards along the ridge to the first Munro proper Meall Dearg From here the summit of Sgorr nam Fiannaidh lies only two kilometres to the west but a number of pinnacles must be scrambled over and it is not uncommon for parties to take more than two hours to cross this short distance There are a couple of sections where the use of a rope may prove prudent In winter the ridge is a fine expedition though considerably harder than in summer Scottish Winter Grade I II and many parties will go roped for some sections Because of the short winter days benightment on the ridge or its approaches is also not infrequent Competent summer scramblers have plenty of time to reverse the ridge and descend Am Bodach saving a walk back up the glen 5 From Sgorr nam Fiannaidh the most direct descent is to head south by southwest down a steep zig zag path leading by the side of Clachaig gully This path is exceptionally steep and extremely loose in places and has many small rock steps it approaches close to the main gully in several places and so is potentially dangerous fatal accidents have occurred here A gentler alternative is to continue along the ridge until reaching the bealach between Sgorr nam Fiannaidh and the Pap of Glencoe From here a track heads down the hillside ending on the road just outside Glencoe village It is also possible to retreat approximately 200 m east from the summit of Sgorr nam Fiannaidh and descend directly down the scree slope to Loch Achtriochtan taking care to avoid being drawn into gullies further down This descent also requires care particularly near the top but is still far safer than the Clachaig Gully descent Alternatively the two Munros may be climbed individually by simply descending by the route of ascent However it is for the traverse that the Aonach Eagach is best known Devil s Staircase EditA path known as the Devil s Staircase crosses the range about 6 km east of Meall Dearg Today as part of the West Highland Way it is used primarily by walkers and mountain bikers travelling between Kinlochleven and Glencoe The Devil s Staircase was given its name by the soldiers who were part of the road building programme of General Wade because of the difficulties of carrying building materials up that stretch of the road Later however the road lived up to its name when workers building the Blackwater Dam chose to travel to the Kings House Hotel after they had been paid rather than walking down to Kinlochleven The journey to the pub often proved to be more difficult than they realised and on the return trip after a few drinks on a cold winter s night the devil often claimed his own 8 In 1692 the path was the approach route for the apparently delayed troops coming from Kinlochleven to provide reinforcements for the Massacre of Glencoe References Edit Aonach Eagach Hill Bagging the online version of the Database of British and Irish Hills DoBIH 2019 Retrieved 19 June 2019 Presenter Muriel Gray with pronunciation by Sorley MacLean 1991 Aonach Eagach The Munro Show STV via YouTube Aonach Eagach walkhighlands walkhighlands Retrieved 30 January 2011 Williams Noel 1996 Scrambles in Lochaber Milnthorpe Cumbria UK Cicerone Press Ltd p 88 ISBN 978 1 85284 234 5 a b Williams Noel 1996 Scrambles in Lochaber Milnthorpe Cumbria UK Cicerone Press Ltd p 90 ISBN 978 1 85284 234 5 Associated Press 3 hikers found dead near notorious ridge in Scottish Highlands Fox News 9 August 2023 Aonach Eagach Scramble UK Scrambles Retrieved 30 July 2018 Anon Great walks Devil s Staircase Discover Glencoe and Lochleven Glencoe and Lochleven Marketing Group Archived from the original on 16 December 2009 Retrieved 16 December 2009 56 40 44 N 5 02 13 W 56 679 N 5 037 W 56 679 5 037 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Aonach Eagach amp oldid 1169504257, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
