Aonach Eagach and Sgorr Dearg

Aonach Eagach ("the notched ridge") is one of the most well-known walks in Scotland. It involves some interesting non-technical scrambling in superb surroundings. I made the traverse in the normal direction, from Am Bodach in the east to Sgorr nam Fiannaidh in the west. Since the weather was fine, I could not resist the idea to bivouac on the ridge. This way I saw a most beautiful sunset from Meall Dearg, and a glimpse of the whole ridge before the weather turned from a bright, frosty midnight to a morning of thick mist. In the mist, the ridge was ghastly, only revealing one pinnacle at a time, and giving the feeling that they never end. The rocks being humid, and the rugsack containing all bivouac gear, the steps perhaps required more care than under optimal conditions. But I never felt I had to take risks - I just had to stop now and then to study the route and plan a few steps ahead. The clear path and crampon marks on rocks made orientation easy.

Sgorr Dearg the next day was a recreational trip, in a weather oscillating between sunshine and white-out in show storm. The north-east ridge should be a good place to try out some scrambling, before proceeding to places like Aonach Eagach.

This was my first real hillwalk in Scotland, and I really like the varying terrain and friendly atmosphere. Thanks, all you fellow walkers whom I met on the hills and in the valley!

You can click on the pictures to make them bigger. The jpg file size is around 1M.