Tower Ridge - It’s not just about length

Wake up to this!

Another cheer for modern weather predictions, after the elation of a perfect days’ climbing on Ardverikie Wall, as the latest forecast suggested a window of opportunity for Tower Ridge. Ok, it looked like it was going to rain hard for most of the next day, but crucially would ease off around teatime, allowing us to make our planned evening walk up to bivi high in the coire above the hut. 

A tricky museum/gear shop/cafe traverse was completed during the day and then the wait began, first down by the quay side, then up in the north face car park. As the clouds continued to leak beyond 5pm, doubts crept in. A beer was even consumed in the car, such was the nagging feeling that we weren’t walking up there anytime soon. But with a rain radar website to encourage us, patience was rewarded with a sudden clearing up to a sunny, steamy evening. Freeze-dried dinner was consumed whilst throwing kit in rucksacks, trying to be swift but not forget anything. 

The walk in was magnificent with clouds lifting, sun setting and terrain becoming more imposing and dramatic all around. I’ll admit we rushed to find a high bivi spot as darkness arrived quickly and probably could have done better, but a night in the mountains is always memorable. 

We laid down to pretend to be asleep for a few hours. Resting, yes. Sleeping? Sort of, for a bit. At least the flip side of a bad night’s sleep on a cold night up high was the drama of clear skies, a view of the milky way and millions of stars completely invisible from our East Midlands homes, occasionally interspersed with meteor displays between rock pinnacles.

Being cold and excited in the morning meant a quick and efficient start to the day and with a short moment to appreciate the sun touching the tops of the peaks, we had the ridge to ourselves. With heavy rain and thunderstorms forecast from mid afternoon, we opted to access the ridge from the gully, avoiding the Douglas Boulder.

Taming the eastern traverse

Classic Rock describes Tower Ridge in terms of it’s superlative qualities, the longest climb leading to the highest summit. From the very first step towards the base of the route, it feels like a big day out amongst the giants of our sport. With esteemed winter routes in Coire na Ciste on the right and the same as well as the Long Climb (will have to wait until a drier period) on Orion Face to the left, our eyes and spirits were constantly lifted, whenever the seriousness of our own route abated, which it often did between steeper sections.

For all of it’s grandness and potential for an epic, long day, the ridge is actually fairly straightforward for an experienced climber to follow, with crampon marks and polished rock usually taking the best path. After the initial pitched chimney, the rope was put away until a misreading of guidebook comments led us into terrain that was probably trickier than necessary. Taking the eastern traverse description seriously we got the rope out there until we realised it was just a path; the steep rocks above beyond the slab tunnel much more serious in terms of exposure and consequence. I know it’s quite a different experience in winter and one which we have savoured in mind for future visits.

The Gap

Undoubtedly the grand finale of Tower Ridge is the gap after the Great Tower. By this stage, the exposure has become familiar, yet still the narrow gangway and tricky down climb brings the excitement back. Within earshot of people watching from the summit plateau I took a moment to soak it all in, exhilarated by the situation, where a non-climber may be simply focused on clinging on. After the gap, a straightforward scramble to finish one of the longest continuous rock experiences available on mainland Britain and instantly we were transported to another world of hustle and bustle to join the hundreds of people who have taken the other way up the Ben.

The popular Ben Nevis summit, get in line.

Having never seen the view from the top of Britain before, we spent a bit of time looking around the summit and back across to Tower Ridge, where we silently cheered on the other 2 parties we could now see ascending. It seemed strange to feel a bit out of place on top of a mountain, but the throng of crowds on what is rightly a popular peak was what climbing got us away from. I felt grateful again, that our skills and experience enabled us to achieve this summit away from the crowds, a just-right challenge, a peaceful ascent.

It was tempting on the descent to feel superior to the line of less-equipped walkers moving ant-like up the zig-zags, but even without such judgement, moving past endless panting, forlorn, exhausted faces, I was certain that as a team of 4 mates grinning all the way up Tower Ridge, we’d had way more fun.