Lochnagar has so many good climbs, it is difficult to single out a selection of the really great climbs on the mountain. A route that may have hit the spot for one person may have failed to ignite the rocket of another. To get some kind of consensus, the opinions of a number of loyal Lochanagar climbers have been sought to produce the list below - eyes down for a full house!
An atmospheric snow climb, which when banked out will rarely provide any difficulties that the competent hill-walker could not negotiate. For those adventurous skiers out there, both branches of the gully make excellent ski descents, with a maximum angle of around 40º.
The quintessential enclosed Scottish gully, full of character and history. The difficulty depends on the amount and quantity of snow build up but in any condition the route is serious and should not be underestimated.
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Black Spout Gully Buttress
III,5
A bit of turf, a bit of rock, a bit of snow, everything that is good about mixed climbing on Lochnagar.
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West Gully
IV,4
A steep ice pitch leads into an enclosed snow gully to finish up a tricky mixed recess. The final pitch can be a bad place to be when the spindrift is pumping.
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Route 1
V,6
Perhaps not as famous as some of the other classic V's on the mountain but Route 1 gives a long and exposed route with a great mountaineering finish to the summit of The Pinnacle. In good conditions the route may be entirely iced. From the summit, a short abseil gains a small exposed notch, where a short scramble leads to the plateau.
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Eagle Ridge
VI,6
Can't really argue with Eagle Ridge. Save this classic for good conditions so you're not floundering like a fish in deep powder and you will find it perhaps easier than the grade suggests. Can be very busy with long queues at the crux pitches.
The easiest of the hard routes on the Tough-Brown face, which requires ice to bank out the big traverse on pitch three and the delicate slab on pitch four. In these conditions, the protection may be sparse but the belays are all good.
Perhaps the finest winter line on Lochnagar. The Link Direct takes a very steep and compelling line up grooves in the left hand side of Black Spout Gully Wall. Although only technically grade 7, the first ascensionists found the route so sustained that they gave it an overall grade of VIII.
The hardest route and only grade IX on the mountain. Enough said. If you are good enough to contemplate this puppy, you will have already done your research.
The Future
The major lines may have already been looted but the 'gar is far from worked-out. There still are plenty of challenges of all grades to be climbed for those with an adventurous spirit and a pair of binoculars.
An example of what might be possible with a big pair of arms and an open mind comes from Slovenian super-alpinist Marko Prezelj. When he was descending Black Spout during last year's international meet, he spotted the huge peg on the first pitch of Black spout Gully Wall (E3, 5c) and was keen to give it a go, only the dwindling daylight stopping him from trying. Last winter I saw the first pitch of this route almost fully iced up. The definition for this generation?
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