In hindsight it’s ridiculous, but I was never overly enamoured with the Cairngorms. They’d always seemed a bit ‘beige’ to me; big and meaty, but without any spice.
As someone who prefers Indian or Mexican food over the meat-and-two-veg fare, both metaphorically and literally (I’m of the controversial opinion that the traditional English roast dinner might be the most overrated meal on the planet), I’d found other places I’d rather go – places with pointy bits and spiky bits and ridgy bits – and so shunned the Cairngorms.
But gradually I was introduced to the corrie sculpted mountains, ethereal summit plateaus, and deep cut passes that are so unique to this National Park, and my opinion changed. It wasn’t immediate, it took time and familiarity, but I now rate the Cairngorm peaks among some of my favourites.
A quicker way to sway my point of view would have been to introduce me directly to the Fiacaill Ridge. Pronounced ‘f-yee-akal’ to rhyme with vehicle (and definitely not faecal), its full name as would appear on a passport is Fiacaill Coire an t-Sneachda – Tooth of the Corrie of the Snow.
The ridge juts out like an elongated fang between Coire an Lochain and Coire an t-Sneachda, separating these two in what would otherwise be a single enormous corrie. If scrambling is your thing, the fun stuff is all at the head of the ridge where it butts up against the crags and merges into Cairn Lochan. You can wander whimsically up onto the ridge via its gently climbing northern spur before getting stuck into the good stuff, but there's a better way…
For a flavour of the Fiacaill Ridge scramble, read on. If you'd prefer a detailed step-by-step guide, check out how to scramble the Fiacaill Ridge.
Superb grip, plentiful holds and magnificent views
The walk from the Cairngorm Ski Centre car park follows a relaxed path into the heart of Coire an t-Sneachda. It’s a magnificent corrie with steep headwall crags that look fierce and foreboding even in the bright sunshine of a summer day. The pools that fleck the base of the corrie are idyllic and silent, and a sense of serene peace hangs over the place, despite the brutality of its architecture.
From the corrie floor, a secret pre-scramble leads up and onto the Fiacaill Ridge. I say secret – I discovered it on page 158 of the Highland Scrambles South guidebook from the Scottish Mountaineering Club where it’s described in detail, so it is possible that others are aware of it. Regardless, it’s not that easy to find.
The easiest way to find it is to head right off the main path just before the lochans come into view, which may require backtracking once you’ve seen them. Among the boulders about halfway up the western wall of the corrie (which is also the eastern flank of the ridge) are the Twin Ribs.
This pair of rocky spurs become more obvious (and smaller) as they’re approached. Once you’ve found the base of the ribs, clambering over the large and shifting boulders to reach them, the way up is clear. Holds are good and plentiful, but the entire thing is bypassable if having got this far you decide you want to save your appetite for the main event.
And once you reach the backbone of the ridge, the main event is all you’ll be able to look at. Unlike most ridges which look as though they’ve been carved, the Fiacaill Ridge looks like it’s been built, and possibly in Minecraft (which, if you don’t have kids or aren’t an online gaming enthusiast, is a bit like digital Lego).
I could, at this point, give you a blow-by-blow account of how the ridge unfolds, which moves you need to make to tackle which obstacles, and take you on a virtual journey up this most magnificent of scrambles that would make actually having to go there and lay hand on rock yourself almost redundant.
I’m not going to, because that would be to deprive you of experiencing this with totally virgin eyes first-hand. And, besides, I’ve already done so – and you can find a guide to Fiacaill Ridge here. But I will share these pertinent facts with you...
Beyond a couple of gravelly saddles and a sequence of tors, the ridge suddenly soars upwards in a tower of improbably stacked granite blocks. This rock is rounded and fissured in the way that granite left outside in the Scottish weather for millennia is wont to do, but the grip is superb and holds are gratuitous, all of which makes the scrambling some of the most enjoyable I’ve experienced anywhere.
The steep left wall of the ridge becomes increasingly airy, and while the mosaic of cracks and fissures in the grey-black overhanging wall ahead is fascinating, creating a visage that lies somewhere between elephant skin and an expertly tessellated dry-stone wall, the empty space beneath it is hard to ignore.
If the exposure proves too much, moving to the right shifts the drop a more stomachable distance from your feet. But to drift too far in that direction is to lose the phenomenal views back down into Coire an t-Sneachda and the green-blue pools sparkling like gemstones set at its centre.
After a final lumpen tor, the ridge ends with little to no fanfare and the cobbled ground of the Cairngorm plateau is reached. Form here you can go anywhere. You see, far from just being a simple scramble, the Fiacaill Ridge presents a way onto and into the Cairngorms that knocks all other ascent routes out of the park.
Heading for Ben Macdui? You can start by climbing the Fiacaill Ridge. Destined for Loch Avon? You can get there via the Fiacaill Ridge. Just popping up Cairn Gorm for a bit of fresh air and to check the weather station mast is still standing? The Fiacaill Ridge will get you there.
But, if time is short and Aviemore is calling, I’d recommend descending via Fiacaill a’ Choire Chais, Fiacaill Ridge’s opposite number on the eastern side of Coire an t-Sneachda. Not only is it the most direct route back down, but it also affords unrivalled views of the ridge you’ve just scrambled in profile. And, oh my, does it look tasty.
About the author
Ben Weeks has been with Trail magazine for over 10 years and is our main point of contact for all gear reviews. As well as being a hugely talented writer and photographer, Ben is also a qualified Mountain Leader and Climbing Instructor.