Aonach Beag (Fort William)

Park at the car park at the very end of the Glen Nevis road. There is a tremendous water slide descending from Ben Nevis here. Follow the main path up the glen into predominantly deciduous woodland. The path is very popular but the surface is still somewhat rugged and rocky in places. After a few hundred metres the glen curves to the right and narrows, with the cliffs across the river giving some of the feel of an Alpine gorge. The path continues up the glen and soon emerges from the trees. Keep on the main path, ignoring the turning on the right towards the cable bridge. As the path rounds the corner to the left it has superb views of the Falls just across the river.Continue on the now much quieter path up the glen for a further kilometre to a footbridge; cross this to reach the Steall ruins on the far side. These sad, crumbling remains are a reminder of a time when even the upper glen was inhabited. Turn off the main path here, and follow the faint path (which soon fades to nothing) which heads up the rough ground to the right of the Allt Coire nan Laogh.As height is gained, bear right to climb onto the ridge which leads up towards Sgurr a'Bhuic and avoids the complex ground at the back of Coire nan Laogh. Follow its northeast ridge down to the bealach before the steep climb along the edge of the cliffs to reach the higher summit of Stob Coire Bhealaich. From here the route descends slightly before beginning the final ascent to the great dome of Aonach Beag..Although 'Beag' means small and 'Mor' big, Aonach Beag is the higher of the two mountains; at 1234 metres it is the seventh highest summit in Britain. The name refers to the lesser bulk of the hill compared to the more massive Aonach Mor to the north. From the summit, descend the initially broad and gentle slopes to the northwest. These slopes soon steepen (with a rough zig-zag path) and the ridge narrows to the tiny bealach connecting with the broader slopes of Aonach Mor; this area would be tricky to navigate in mist, especially in winter.Continuing to the north, the slopes soon widen once more as a path leads up onto the great, flat, long but narrow plateau of Aonach Mor, with impressive cliffs falling to the east. The summit, at 1221 metres, is in the very centre of this long plateau and again could be difficult to locate in mist; the view from the actual cairn is rather restricted by the flat surrounding slopes.In such conditions, finding the descent route will be trickier still. Begin by retracing your steps towards Aonach Beag, but fork right on the way down to the bealach (there is a faint path in summer) to reach a couple of small cairns. The descent leads off the steep western side of the plateau from here, down a very steep ridge, to the 830 metre bealach between Aonach Mor and Carn Mor Dearg; luckily there is a fairly clear though eroded path all the way down once the small cairn at the top is found. Once at the bealach, turn left and continue downhill into boggy Coire Guibhsachan. There is little sign of a path, but the grand scenery helps keeps the spirits from sinking.Follow the glen right down to Steall ruins where the outward route is joined. Turn right over the footbridge to return via Steall Falls to the start on the excellent path.