Ewan Lyons on the steep ramp above the crux on the first ascent of Right Major (IV,6), a new 320m-long direct start to Route Major on The Little Brenva Face, Ben Nevis. (Photo Ewan Olivarius)
Ewan Lyons and Ewan Olivarius went to climb Route Major on the Ben on Saturday January 29 but missed the start in the mist. “We ended up doing a weird and wonderful variation before joining up with the parent route,” Ewan L explained. “There were in-situ tapes at the start and below the crux rock step but we were wondering if it had been recorded in its entirety before. The route was fairly straightforward on good neve and ice just about all the way, apart from the crux rock step.”
The two Ewans climbed the surprisingly large area of cliff between Ramsay Gray and the Lime Green Gaiter on the lower right side of The Littlle Brenva Face. They started about a third of the way along the approach ramp to North-East Buttress (an in-situ sling five metres up marks the start) and then zig-zagged up ledges and grooves to beneath a steep rock step. They then joined a short section of The Lime Green Gaiter before reaching easy snow and the junction between Route Major and Frostbite.
There is no record of this area of the cliff being climbed in winter before, so Right Major (IV,6) stands as a new a six pitch-long direct start to Route Major. “We followed Route Major after its intersection with Frostbite,” Ewan told me. “We moved together as time was tight and conditions were good, and just pitched the final ice bulge with the headtorches on. It was a lovely evening with all the stars out, and more headtorches could be seen at Tower Gap.”
