A'Chir Ridge.

A week after Arranachs and our visitors had the company of Doug Scott, the first British man to conquer Everest in 1975 and a great inspiration to my life; I would like to share something more historic and emotive in my final summer climbing article unlike my previous detailed accounts.
On 30th January 1892 Messrs’ Douglas, Campbell, Gibson, Robertson, Fleming and Dr Leith completed the first South - North traverse of A’Chir Ridge (‘the comb’) between Beinn Tarsuinn and Cir Mhor. One of the party, William Douglas, an accomplished mountaineer of the Highlands and Alps, once said of Arran: “To know any hill well is indeed a privilege, but to become on intimate terms with a mountain group such as that of Arran, is something that adds much to a man's life.” I appreciate entirely his sentiment. 118 years later this classic traverse remains largely unchanged and it was our turn. On a crisp and slightly overcast morning my great friend Darryl Urquart-Dixon of Balmichael (MRT), myself and Tim Hobden, my surrogate brother from Buckinghamshire, set off to tackle the Ridge in the opposite direction to Douglas’ party.
Approached from Glen Rosa toward Coire Buidhe below Cir Mhor and up to a col at 591m we gained the Ridge along a path leading to the first section of easily navigated boulders. This brought us to A’Chir’s first great granite buttress whose Cyclopean wall dominated the foreground like a mighty rampart protecting what lay beyond. With Tim’s eerie broken spectre below us we scrambled our way up the arête with an airy void to the left which was only broken 40 meters below by a sea of mist.

The views were astounding as we crossed the top of the buttress to reach a sudden drop which, given I think we veered from the route, required a careful scramble descent and an uncomfortable crawl under an overhanging boulder to reach a gully where we prepared for the climb. The very amusing ‘Bicycle Step’ (or ‘Chimney’, SMC Journal Vol.3 No.4) offered the opportunity for some laughs on a damp day as I watch both my colleagues attack head on the slippery polished rock (pic1) as they tried to squeeze themselves through a gap only big enough for a child.



Tim Hobden squeezing himself through the Bicycle Step Chimney on A’Chir Ridge (pic1)

I decided a delicate approach was more my style rather than a full on frontal assault opted for by the bigger men. Traversing along the face on a seam for my feet and the edge of the upper shelf for my hands I pulled up to join my friends, grinning from ear to ear with their boots dangling over the precipice (pic2).



Darryl & Tim on the ledge before the climb up to the ‘Mauvais Pas’ (pic2)

Darryl led the way up the exposed mid-face ledge with its vertical drop at the edge of our fingers as we crept up to a head wall and our first short climb. I volunteered to lead, placing some gear into a crack half way up for the rope to secure me should I fall. Sitting on the platform at the top I body belayed (90kgs of) Tim as he admirably handled his sweaty palms and nerves on his first climb. From this section we reached the ‘Mauvais Pas’ (bad step) after a lofty scramble around some obstacles to reach a narrow flat block which we jumped down to before Darryl, rope in hand, gave us his impression of disco legs as he hopped across the gap in the rock which opened below to treacherous gullies on both sides – bad step indeed! (pic3, below).



Darryl carefully leading Tim across the ‘Mauvais Pas’ whilst Tim’s just hanging on (pic3)

Tim tentatively weighed up his options, knees trembling; crawl or go-for-it. He opted for both! Looking on, keeping to the left and the natural arête of the next buttress we scaled a gradually inclining chimney which was testing in the damp, particularly dodging Tim’s debris as I followed. After an intense deviation where Tim nearly broke his tibia in a deep slab crack as we down climbed, we moved on unhindered to the summit at 745m with about 1km of the Ridge completed. The views back under a clearing sky were breathtaking; the jagged pinnacles of Cir Mhor, the colourful ‘U’ shaped glacial glen of Rosa and Iorsa with Loch Tanna and the Kilbrannen Sound in the distance, and to the South; the blocky Consolation Tor and outline of Beinns Tarsuinn
and Nuis sketched by the sun through misty skies.

The exposure and environment were truly inspiring and thought provoking; more than once we discussed how insignificant we were in this mighty landscape. These views were enjoyed over a brew before we set off on the remainder of the Ridge which offered at least three other interesting challenges: a featureless 4m vertical block with only a rounded foot wide crack to use as best we could, a 10m crumbling chimney and a chock stone defying gravity, especially with me on it (pic4), all of which added diversity to the traverse.

A final contemplation was enjoyed as we looked back at the ridge from Beinn á Chliabhain (pic5), with the knowledge that experience, fair weather and proper equipment make A’Chir a thrilling day’s adventure across one of the finest ridges in Scotland with its own unique character and surprises.



David contemplating his future on the chock stone (pic4)



The 2010 team. Tim Hobden, Darryl Urquart-Dixon and David Lilly with A’Chir Ridge behind (pic5)



Article by D.Lilly, as featured in the Arran Banner, all photos copyright D.Lilly 2010.