Aonach Mòr via the Nevis Range gondola

Climbed by year and month

Climbed by year and month

I've been feeling the summer is in danger of passing me by. Post solstice and the combination of poor mountain weather and lack of confidence in my fitness has not been helping my mood. I've had in mind for a while now the idea of using the gondola to get me a bit of height onto Aonach Mòr and Aonach Beag. However the timing would be everything.

The gondola starts running at 9:30am and last down is at 4:15pm. If you miss it the walk back down looks very unpleasant. Whilst there appears some sections of path beside the mountain bike tracks looking down on them from the gondola was not encouraging.

Whilst generally walking back down is usually quicker, descending steep grass slopes might be easy or it might take as long as I did to walk up. So I penciled in a turn-around time of 1pm to 1:30pm at the latest.

I didn't get the first gondola as there was a queue at the ticket office, but was off before 9:40am. It was an 'interesting' experience! The gondola runs slowly on a track at the bottom, and held at the top by a big wheel with teeth, the doors close and then the car is clamped to the cable. You're then accelerated and the gondola rocks back and forth, rattling over pulley wheels and other vibration and scary noises. But of course there's no changing your mind! Once going it was actually okay. Skye didn't mind it at all and looked out the front window a few times.

Below me I spotted a guy trying to walk up a rough path straight up the steep slopes. He was struggling badly. I made a mental note, as if I hadn't already, not to miss the last gondola down. We passed through some atmospheric cloud and then it was into the top station with more rattle and clanks. I'd been so 'in the moment' on the gondola that I'd almost forgotten my route. It took a moment to remember. It was basically hang a right onto a track and then in only a few metres left straight up the hillside beside a ski fence.

Way above me was a walker already obviously into there stride.

By the time we were approaching the ridge-line the walker was long gone. So was any chance of a good view. Low cloud hung around and it started to rain. A hut and phone mast appeared out of the gloom and occasional signs by the cliff edge warned of the drop beyond. We didn't hang around and kept up a good pace heading for the summit cairn above and somewhere to the south in the mists. I kept an eye out westwards for even a glimpse of The Ben and the CMD but no joy.

The summit of Aonach Mòr is a disappointingly squat cairn. The rain had come on harder and I had a decision to be made. Turn around now (midday) and have an easy walk back. Or continue, and hope everything goes well to make the last gondola down. Lack of a view and the rain, as well as a cold breeze made it easy. I headed back.

I made good progress, taking only 1.5 hours to get back to the gondola. I faffed around a bit and sat on a step watching the world go by in the sunshine. Very different day down here with little hint other than the cloud of just how crappy it was. Ah well. I could have made it over to Aonach Beag.

Going down on the gondola was 'an experience'. When leaving the top station it lurches and swings over a steep drop which really isn't a great feeling! Then it slowed and stopped multiple times, bouncing up, down, swaying back and forth, and side to side on the wire. It was obviously only humans (me) worry about things like this. Skye was just watching the view.