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Summit Gully

Ben Nevis

Ski directly from the summit of Aonach Mor via the choice of two wide & chargeable gullies!

Freeride Skiing Moderate

Distance
3.1 km
Ascent
87 m
Descent
512 m
Low Point
741 m
High Point
1.2 km
Gradient
40˚
Summit Gully Map

Summit Gully gives you an awesome 470 metres of descent, directly from the summit of Aonach Mor (hence the name!). It never gets too steep or technical and for that reason, should be on the ’to-do’ lists for all intermediate and above level backcountry skiers/snowboarders who wish to escape the hustle and bustle of the Back Corries in favour of something a little quieter.

Description

Technically compromising of two wide gullies, Summit Gully is found on the skier’s right hand side of ‘Spikes’ and is of a similar steepness to its neighbour.

You may find that the skier’s left hand side gully has a large cornice flanking the entirety of its entrance and the right hand side gully has a much more manageable entrance, particularly so if you’re not too keen to huck your way into gullies!

The two gullies themselves are joined together through a shallow ridge throughout, so you can always mix it up and head into the opposing gully as you wish, or if there’s better chance to find a little fresh.

The two gullies then join into a wide single gully as it begins to mellow out a little and leads down towards to Coire an Lochain, where you can follow the same traverse path back to resort as ‘Spikes’. This area is also the perfect spot for a bit of lunch whilst you’re nestled down in the wild valley floor, which gives the perfect vantage point to watch other skiers or climbers in the area.

Please be aware that you will require ski touring equipment (and thus a short skin/walk back to Rob Roy’s Return), incase Braveheart Chairlift cannot open due to weather conditions or a low snow level.

Difficulty

Moderate

Slopes become slightly steeper at around 25-30 degrees.

Low Exposure (E1)

1 out of 4

Exposure is limited to that of the slope itself. Getting hurt is still likely if the slope is steep and/or the snow is hard.

Remoteness

2 out of 4

Away from help but easily accessed.

Best time to visit

between January and May

Features

  • Couloir

Equipment required

  • Skins

Similar routes nearby

Guidebooks in this area