Beinn Eighe; Cuillin/Torridon map OL8
26th Oct 2004, 12th Oct 2006 & 3rd April 2008

Route 1: 11⅓ miles; 1435m=4700' ascent; 9hrs 10mins (excluding the two eastern tops)
Route 2: 14¼ miles; 1880m=6175' ascent; 9hrs 15mins
Route 3: 15½ miles; 2000m=6560' ascent; 10hrs 35mins (excluding Ruadh-stac Mor)

Traverse of this ridge is unquestionably 5*. Note, for example, the stunning views of Coire Mhic Fhearchair from Ruadh-stac Mor with, in the Spring, its snow laden plateau and cornice typically in sun with thick clouds behind. Note also the brilliant turquoise algae around L. Coire Mhic Fhearchair.

1. Those without scrambling experience should omit Sail Mhor, but it is a Munro top and very well worth the effort to visit. More details for this top are given below.
2. The standard route up Ruadh-stac Mor is via the stone chute at the far (S) end of L. Coire Mhic Fhearchair. The second route below gives a much pleasanter alternative up its NW corner.
   
3. An apparently frequent mistake made in the cloud is to assume the trig post on Spidean Coire nan Clach is at the summit. In fact, the highest point is another 200 yards further on and 21 metres higher.
4. A detour from Beinn Eighe to the two eastern tops Sgurr Ban & Sgurr nan Fhir Duibhe and back adds 2.0 miles to the distance, and 400m more to the ascent.
5. The fastest and easiest descent from Spidean Coire nan Clach trig pt is as follows: Descend from the post by path directly towards Stuc Coire an Laoigh. After approx 8 minutes, 1m after a cairn, the path takes sharp left and decends S into Coire an Laoigh. From the coire lip there is an engineered path S beside the Allt Coire an Laoigh.
6. If the corrie lip into Coire an Laoigh has an impenetrable cornice, a descent can be made by dropping off SW from the cairn on the corrie rim into Coire nan Clach where there is a good 500' of excellent scree running, although the path becomes rather faint once the corrie is left. The path follows the park boundary southward, ending at a large well-built cairn on the roadside at Slugach.
7. A direct descent to Kinlochewe is possible from Sgurr nan Fhir Duibhe using the ridge northwards to Creag Dhubh, and then the excellent path due east down the ridge and along beside the Allt a' Chuirn. However, the pinnacles between Sgurr nan Fhir Duibhe and Creag Dhubh require some scrambling, and they form the most difficult section of the whole ridge with the single exception of the descent from a'Coinneach Mhor to Sail Mhor.
8. The Corbett Ruadh-stac Beag might be more usefully paired with its neighbour Meall a' Ghiuthais, another Corbett, in a separate expedition.

Sail Mhor: Routes 2 and 3 below include a difficult traverse from a'Coinneach Mhor to Sail Mhor with some non-trivial down-climbing (details next). A much easier alternative which still includes Sail Mhor is given in Route 1 which starts with an ascent of the steep but straight-forward slopes below the Triple Buttress from L. Coire Mhic Fhearchair to the col between a'Coinneach Mhor and Sail Mhor. After going out to Sail Mhor, the route ascends to a'Coinneach Mhor and then does a detour to Ruadh-stac Mor and back. This reduces the scrambling to ascent only, and eliminates the route finding problems between a'Coinneach Mhor and Sail Mhor, which only occur in one direction. Of course, once up Sail Mhor the route can be reversed back to L. Coire Mhic Fhearchair and home, enabling the Munro top to be conquered without any scrambling.

Beware of the difficult descent off a'Coinneach Mhor towards Sail Mhor. It requires some easy but sometimes exposed scrambling. (Sail Mhor must be the second most difficult Munro top on the mainland, with Liathach's Meall Dearg being first.) The ridge over to Sail Mhor starts with an exposed scramble down the western edge of the Triple Buttress. (See photo above.) Descend due W from cairn; do not take the neighbouring ridge to right which is the middle of the Triple Buttress. The descent is difficult and very dangerous in poor conditions, especially if there is no visibility. There are usually signs of a path, but some easy path choices lead to cliffs where many feet appear to have trodden incorrectly. This is because the natural build up of fine sand and gravel in gullies through weathering looks just like a path caused by the passage of feet. Often there is no view forward which would allow difficulties to be assessed. However, the rule is easy: return to the crest of the ridge whenever necessary.

At the first difficulty of the traverse to Sail Mhor there is a minor detour to the south side of the ridge, but do not descend more than half way down to the cliffs. Sand rivulets indicate a path which ends at the top of cliffs, but that is because too many people have gone too far when seeking an easy route. Do not attempt to descend the cliffs on the south side. Instead, traverse horizontally back to the crest of the ridge. The cliffs become higher as you progress westwards, so that you should regain the crest close to the point where the cliffs meet it. Allow a few minutes to find the right alternative, and do not be afraid to retrace your steps. If the traverse is done at the right point, it is possible to cross the prominent crest of the ridge and descend easily about 5m on the Triple Buttress side before traversing almost horizontally back to the crest. The crux is then reached: a vertical 3m/10' pitch at the bottom of the descent just round from the crest on the S side. This borders on rock climbing rather than scrambling (see photos). However, it has really good foot and hand holds despite being essentially vertical. It is not at all difficult. A minor pinnacle to the west of all this can be skirted to the south or climbed over, as preferred. (It presents no difficulties.) The return ascent of this ridge is straightforward scrambling; route visibility is much better. Difficulties ascending immediately above the bad step are avoided by going temporarily to the left, i.e. towards the Triple Buttress.

Ascent of Beinn Eighe from Ruadh-stac Beag: The northern outlier Corbett Ruadh-stac Beag is easily reached from the excellent path which starts at the A832 1km north of Kinlochewe – see Route 3. The ridge N from the col at Lochan Uaine is entirely large scree of sharp quartzite at its angle of rest – unpleasant to ascend. The north ridge of Spidean Coire nan Clach can be ascended directly from the col with a bit of scrambling: ascend the screes as far as possible, follow the ledges diagonally upwards to the right until further screes are reached; ascend those screes until the cliffs are attained; then climb the rocks, moving to left or right as necessary to pick the easiest routes. The screes on this side of the col are also very steep, but of much smaller rocks and sand. The rock on the ridge end is crumbling quartzite with plenty of ledges and very good hand and foot holds of sufficient quality for wet and windy weather.

Route 1 (3/4/08): This route starts at the usual car park on the A896 between Liathach and Beinn Eighe. It provides an excellent way to do Sail Mhor, avoiding route-finding problems and avoiding a descent of the bad step on the ridge back to a'Coinneach Mhor. Start by ascending from L. Coire Mhic Fhearchair taking the line of least gradient, initially S then veering almost round to due W, to arrive at the lowest point of the ridge out to Sail Mhor.
The table below omits the eastern Munro tops of Sgurr Ban and Sgurr nan Fhir Duibhe (due to lack of daylight) but they can be added as in the GPS link above or as in Route 2.
Weather (3/4/08): Slow progress due to heavy wet snow underfoot above 600m. Persistent rain am. Thick cloud at 400m till 1430, then rising to 1100m, so blind ascent to Sail Mhor.

Route 2 (26/10/04): This route starts at the usual car park on the A896 between Liathach and Beinn Eighe. Unlike Route 1, Ruadh-stac Mor is ascended first, followed by a west to east traversal of the main ridge from Sail Mhor, eventually returning to the starting point.
Weather (26/10/04): No rain; almost dry feet. Rising clouds, eventually just touching tops.

Route 3 (12/10/06) This route starts in Kinlochewe and includes (optionally) the Corbett Ruadh-stac Beag. If this is omitted then it is comparable to Route 2 in ascent and distance. The final descent into Kinlochewe starts with some interesting pinnacles and concludes with a fast, easy path. To reach every Munro top, some parts of the ridge need to be traversed twice. This one repeats different parts from the previous two routes.
Weather (12/10/06): Strong winds and rain all day.