Ben Nevis by Tower Ridge
A guided ascent up Ben Nevis by Tower Ridge is an amazing route up the North Face and was once described as, ‘A time-honoured classic by virtue of its great length and the scale of its rock architecture. The classic north face ridge that takes you right up to the summit.’
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Pick a date through the summer to suit you.
Want to do this route in winter? Click here.
Prices
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Route Length: 600m
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Grade: Diff****
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Terrain: Mountain Path, rocky ridge, rough moorland
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Duration: 1 Day
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Start/Finish: Torlundy, North Face Car Park
Pre-requisites
Experience of mountain walking, other scrambles or rock climbing, a good head for heights and the ability to move over rocky terrain
Stats
What we offer
All our mountaineering instructors are local to the area and have many years’ experience in the mountains, helping people achieve the famous Ben Nevis classic of Tower Ridge, so you’ll be in safe hands.
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Our guides know the best route and are very knowledgeable about the mountain environment, so the day can be easily split up with interesting chats, wildlife and great views along the way.
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We only organise private groups up Ben Nevis via Tower Ridge.
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The prices quoted are for one guide per group or individual, so our routes will always go ahead.
Summary
A mountaineering route with continual interest along the entire length and definitely a route that should be on every mountaineers' tick list.
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The day starts with a walk up the north face path to the CIC hut which sits at the base of the main north face buttresses. Here we can have a break whilst taking in the grandeur of the surroundings: the largest mountain face in the UK, made famous by generations of keen climbers having new adventures in both summer and winter. From this position we will be able to see the main ridge lines of Ben Nevis: to the left the North east buttress, to the right Ledge route and in the middle our goal for the day, Tower Ridge.
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From the CIC hut we will continue up the river on a smaller mountain path towards the base of the Douglas Boulder (more of a massive crag, than single rock) and into the base of Observatory gully, named after the old weather observatory on the summit. From here we gain the start of Tower Ridge, probably the most famous ridge on Ben Nevis. The classic sections that we will climb over just roll off the tongue: the 1st steepening, the little tower, the eastern traverse, the chock stone pitch and then the famous tower gap. Guaranteed to be memorable for all.
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From the top of Tower Ridge, it is a short walk to the summit of Ben Nevis. From here we have 3 options of descent: 1st is a walk down the Pony Track, over the moor and back to the north face path. 2nd is to descend down onto the Carn Mor Dearg Arête, or more commonly just the CMD Arête and get views of our route up Tower Ridge and take in the peak of Carn Mor Dearg. Or 3rd to descend via Ledge Route and back to the CIC hut. The best option and makes the day into one of the classic mountaineering outings in the country, covering 1050m of graded ridges on Ben Nevis.
