NE Buttress & Tower Ridge - Ben Nevis

The North East Buttress route on Ben Nevis is a classic and striking rock climb on the mountain’s North Face.

Plan

1. Climb the North East Buttress route (VDiff) that tops out very close to the summit of the mountain.
2. Traverse through the summit plateau heading for the Tower Ridge.
3. Scramble down the Tower Ridge (Diff).
4. Merge with the approach path and return to the parking lot.

Ben Nevis 1345 m

• North East Buttress ↗ Very Difficult / 400 m
• Tower Ridge ↘ Difficult / 600 m

Logistics

• Start/Finish Point: The North Face Car Park

Approach:

• Follow well marked signs from the car park to the Allt a’ Mhullinn burn and follow the path to the Charles Inglis Clark (C.I.C.) Memorial Hut (1.5 to 2 hours).
• From CIC: North East Buttress is the massive furthest left buttress on the crag
• Tower Ridge is the massive ridge rising out of the Douglas Boulder.

Links

• NE Buttress summer route (ascent) - UKC
• Tower Ridge summer route (descent) - UKC
• YouTube NE Buttress Video
• YouTube Tower Ridge Video - Full Solo Scramble
• Route description

Notes

• First ascent: 6 Sep 1892 - J E B & C Hopkinson
• The rock becomes extremely slippy and greasy when wet, best tackled in dry weather.