An excellent climb in an awe inspiring setting, the Eagle Ridge on Lochnagar is one for the tick list.
Difficulty: UK Grade Severe
Equipment: 60m rope plus rock protection.
Start from the public pay and display car park at the Spittal of Glen Muick.
Route Map
Approach
1 – (NO 31011 85141) Follow the path out of the car park turning right to cross the floor of the expansive Glen Muick to the shooting lodge on the far side. Follow the track past the house and into a subsidiary valley up behind.
2 – (NO 27389 86042) At the highest point of the track take a left and follow a recently armored footpath up past a memorial to the bealeach between the mass of Lochnagar and the smaller summit of Meikle Pap.
3 – (NO 25836 85832) Descend down into the spectacular Coire of Lochnagar, following some intermittent paths to a stretcher box poised above the dark and murky waters of the lochan. From here the splendor of the mighty cliffs surrounding the Coire can be seen all around and makes for quite an intimidating sight.
Eagle ridge is truly the royal crown among the jewels of these cliffs and can be seen up above towards the largest section of cliff.
The Scramble
4 – (NO 25035 85763) Head up the scree to the left flank of the ridge, aiming for a long groove split with cracked walls. There is a great gearing up spot just at the base of the groove.
The route climbs the groove, before moving back onto the crest and with some variation, follows that for a further 150-200 m to the top.
5 – (NO 24732 85560) Since you’re so close and you’ve made so much effort, you may as well tick the Munro, which from the top of the route is reached by following the Coire rim in a north westerly direction for a few hundred meters.
Descent
6 – (NO 24369 86126) The easiest descent is to follow the Coire rim back east to the bealach with Meikle Pap and then follow the path back to the car park.
Recommended Guidebook & Map
The best guidebook for this route is The Cairngorms: Scottish Mountaineering Club Climbers’ Guide, available on Amazon in paperback here.
The best map for this route is the OS Explorer OL53 Lochnagar, Glen Muick & Glen Clova, available on Amazon here.
Recommended Scrambling Guide: (coming soon)
Recommended Accommodation
You can find local accommodation at all price ranges on Booking.com here.
Route Info
| Distance | 16 km |
| Elevation | 950m +/- |
| Duration | 10 - 12 hours |
| Grade | SEVERE |
| Transport | Car - Spittal of Glen Muick Car Park |
Navigation
| Guidebook | Best Book |
| Maps | Best Map |
| Guided Tours | Guides |
| Accommodation | Where To Stay? |
| Contributor | Who Contributed? |
Route Contributed by: Sam Wainwright
“I live for everything outdoors and to me a bad day in the hills still beats a good day in the office.”
Sam regularly publishes route blogs on his website Wainright Climbing here.
This route was created by Sam Wainwright and donated to the UK Scrambles website through our contributor program.
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