Guided Traverse of the Aonach Eagach, Glencoe

Aonach Alastair Lennon shxt himself Eagach Ken and Tom were both a pleasure to deal with from start to finish. Had a pretty all round amazing day on Aonach Eagach. Tom is a great guide and very knowledgeable, whilst having a laugh but also showing you the ropes at the same time (no pun intended) Really appreciated the day and be sure to use West Coast Guides again. Many thanks guys 😃

Amazing Aonach Eagach - ambition achieved! Amazing traverse of the Aonach Eagach, guided by Ken. A daunting day out and ambitions to tackle the 'scary' ridge became relaxing and enjoyable thanks to the Ken's huge knowledge, experience and good company.
Having someone who knows the route and can gently point on the best way to tackle any tricky sections is hugely reassuring, and we felt we were in safe hands as our confidence grew during the day.
Alas,... read moreAmazing traverse of the Aonach Eagach, guided by Ken. A daunting day out and ambitions to tackle the 'scary' ridge became relaxing and enjoyable thanks to the Ken's huge knowledge, experience and good company.
Having someone who knows the route and can gently point on the best way to tackle any tricky sections is hugely reassuring, and we felt we were in safe hands as our confidence grew during the day.
Alas, nothing could be done about the steepness of the descent - or our ageing knees. read less

Highly professional and second to none. We booked the four day Skye Cuillin Munros course to celebrate our 30 year wedding anniversary. With 155 Munros under our belt, what better way to up the ante than to tackle the Cuillin?
Seriously the best decision we ever made booking a guide with this excellent company.
Our guide was Mark and the word "guide" is woefully insufficent to capture the level of care, intelligence, skill, knowledge and insane... read moreWe booked the four day Skye Cuillin Munros course to celebrate our 30 year wedding anniversary. With 155 Munros under our belt, what better way to up the ante than to tackle the Cuillin?
Seriously the best decision we ever made booking a guide with this excellent company.
Our guide was Mark and the word "guide" is woefully insufficent to capture the level of care, intelligence, skill, knowledge and insane levels of fitness that Mark consistently demonstrated throughout. Not to mention Mark's first class sense of humour.
Our group comprised of four; Mark, us two and (more experienced than us) climber Giulio who was also fantastic company.
You are not a passenger on this course and what Mark does is enable and empower. His extensive knowledge of the Cuillin area was instantly reassuring and at absolutely no point did we feel that we were in any danger. The lengths that a mountain guide goes to, to ensure everything is as safe as can be for their group is staggering.
We have learned so much from Mark's steady, gentle encouragement but that also served to highlight how much we still have to learn.
If Mark is reading this, know that several "Markisms" have become part of our lexicon: "...slow and smoothy; smooth and steady..." "..need to be switched on.." "...we will bosh on down... " "...everything in the rucksack has purpose..." "...take the rope for a walk..."
We've been out on the Munros since our Cuillin course and have taken on board Mark's advice regarding our rucksack content choices not least because Mark said "he'd throw my spare socks down the hill". Thank goodness I never told him about my tiny bottle of Body Shop Coconut perfume.
This was one of the highlights of our life and we cannot recommend West Coast Mountain Guides enough. Even with some of the heaviest rainfall that the Cuillin could throw at us we still had the most exhilarating and satisfying experience.
Our Cuillin course ended on Friday after four tough days and we were buzzing all the way home to our Airbnb. To top off our epic achievement, we witnessed our first ever sighting of the Aurora Borealis too. Two bucket list ticks in one single day. Not many people get to say that.
Our next biggie is the Aonach Eagach and we will absolutely be booking a guide with West Coast Mountain Guides.
Can't thank Mark enough- our Cuillin course experience was nothing short of perfect. read less

Traverse of the Aonach Eagach We had an excellent day traversing the Aonach Eagach in Glencoe with our guide Dave who kept the whole group safe and entertained us with his knowledgeable chat. I would recommend West Coast Mountain Guides if you are considering doing any mountain that is outside your comfort zone or where you need help and reassurance.

6 out of 5 on Aonach Eagach A traverse of Aonach Eagach has been on my to do list for over thirty years. With 60 fast approaching I decided it was time to have a go at some of the hills I didn't get around to when I was younger.
I am pretty cautious these days so decided I would only attempt this route with a professional mountain guide. After some research online, and a reassuring chat... read moreA traverse of Aonach Eagach has been on my to do list for over thirty years. With 60 fast approaching I decided it was time to have a go at some of the hills I didn't get around to when I was younger.
I am pretty cautious these days so decided I would only attempt this route with a professional mountain guide. After some research online, and a reassuring chat with Ken (from West Coast) I booked the September AE traverse.
I had managed to rope in my friend Jon to join me although he was far from confident. We managed to get some easier scrambling in over the summer (Tryfan, Sharp Edge) but knew that our trip North would be a far bigger challenge.
We were both pretty nervous on Saturday morning. We arrived at the meeting point and looked up at the ridge covered in swirls of cloud. We were joined by another client (there is a 1:3 guide to client ratio) and then our guide Dave arrived.
After driving up to the Eastern end of the ridge we set off for the first summit, Am Bodach. The path is pretty steep and relentless but we plodded up into the cloud. Dave put us at ease right from the start, explaining how we would approach the route together with a bit of history and some friendly banter - by the time we got to the start of the ridge we had all got to know each other and were raring to go.
We were roped together on all of the scrambling sections with Dave taking the lead on the uphill section and then following us on the descents.
The ridge was physically tough and there is plenty of exposure (although the cloud helped with that) but with Dave's help we felt safe and secure the whole way. He broke each section down, explaining how to tackle the moves and, most importantly gave constant reassurance and encouragement.
My friend Jon isn't a big fan of the bits with lots of fresh air but Dave really looked after him, letting us go at a pace that we were all comfortable with.
We got back to the car park around 9 hours after we started, it's a tough day but a superb challenge. For anyone who isn't a very competent grade 2/3 scrambler it's far better to have a guide - it's safer, the weather is less of an issue (if not perfect) and you actually get chance to enjoy the scrambling rather.
I can't recommend WCMG enough. It was an absolute pleasure to spend the day with Dave who clearly loves the mountains and is passionate about helping people push themselves and achieve their goals.
I am already planning An Teallach next year,
Jon said he's up for it "as long as Dave's coming". read less

Incredible day! We had an amazing day on the Aonach Eagach. The weather was perfect but what made the day so stunning was our wonderful guide Sam. What a pleasure to spend the day with him. I can’t thank him enough for his careful guiding of the three of us along the ridge. He was so skilled at knowing when to support, when to leave my daughter... read moreWe had an amazing day on the Aonach Eagach. The weather was perfect but what made the day so stunning was our wonderful guide Sam. What a pleasure to spend the day with him. I can’t thank him enough for his careful guiding of the three of us along the ridge. He was so skilled at knowing when to support, when to leave my daughter to find her own route and when to give us instruction. We learnt so much and all three of us were utterly inspired by the day. Thank you for such a wonderful experience and please pass on to Sam our most heartfelt thanks and gratitude. read less

Experienced guides with a good sense of humour I've had my eye on the Cuillin traverse for some years, but on contacting West Coast Mountain Guides, Ken recommended getting more scrambling experience first, so I booked the Aonach Eagach ridge instead. I always found Ken helpful, knowledgeable and responsive to my queries in the run-up to the route.
Once the day came, I met up with five other clients and two guides, Dave and Mike, which felt like... read moreI've had my eye on the Cuillin traverse for some years, but on contacting West Coast Mountain Guides, Ken recommended getting more scrambling experience first, so I booked the Aonach Eagach ridge instead. I always found Ken helpful, knowledgeable and responsive to my queries in the run-up to the route.
Once the day came, I met up with five other clients and two guides, Dave and Mike, which felt like a manageable ratio. Both guides clearly had tons of experience on that route in particular and in mountaineering generally, which immediately put us ease - several of our group commented afterwards that we found the route less scary than expected thanks to their expertise. Another client and I were reasonably confident on the ridge, so the guides were flexible enough to allow us to go on ahead, while hanging back to give extra reassurance to a fellow client with less experience. Both Dave and Mike also had a good sense of humour, which definitely helped to make for a fun day out.
I would have no hesitation in recommending West Coast Mountain Guides, and hope to use them again in Skye next year! read less

Aonach Eagach ridge - a phenomenal day Aonach Eagach rigde traverse with Dave and Mike as guides. Amazing day - both guides superb, and made the day safe, enjoyable but still challenging and pushed out of our comfort zones. Great chat throughout also. Couldn't recommend highly enough.

Very experienced, brilliant guide! I booked the Aonach Eagach ridge with WCMG without really knowing anything about the company. I was desperate to do the ridge but didn't have the confidence to go it alone. My guide was Scott and he was brilliant. He clearly has a huge (and I mean huge) amount of hiking/climbing/guiding experience in Scotland and beyond. He was great company and very good at explaining to me how to deal... read moreI booked the Aonach Eagach ridge with WCMG without really knowing anything about the company. I was desperate to do the ridge but didn't have the confidence to go it alone. My guide was Scott and he was brilliant. He clearly has a huge (and I mean huge) amount of hiking/climbing/guiding experience in Scotland and beyond. He was great company and very good at explaining to me how to deal with tricky parts on the ridge and using ropes. I felt completely at ease and we hoped along the ridge on a stunning autumn day. So I'm now delighted I've got a go-to company for my next adventure! read less

Aonach Ridge Booked myself and the wife onto the Aonach Eagach route. Do a bit of scrambling but no rope experience hence the booking.
Had first rate correspondence all the way through lockdown and was offered our money back, but we were willing to hold on for this iconic ridge.
It was a wet day, but if Ken had any reservations he certainly didn't let on so didn't make us nervous any more than... read moreBooked myself and the wife onto the Aonach Eagach route. Do a bit of scrambling but no rope experience hence the booking.
Had first rate correspondence all the way through lockdown and was offered our money back, but we were willing to hold on for this iconic ridge.
It was a wet day, but if Ken had any reservations he certainly didn't let on so didn't make us nervous any more than we were.
Ken's confidence was apparent and we were at ease the whole way, even when confronted with the pinnacles 😁.
My wife isn't the best by any means at the climb downs, but Ken was patient whilst I helped coax her feet into the appropriate holds.
We had a great day out and were able to relax and let Ken work out the ways across and down.
We will use West Coast again in the future, especially if going over for the Cuillins. read less

Aonach Eagach Traverse Had a fantastic day out on the Aonach Eagach ridge traverse with Ken guiding. I booked very last minute but found the company to be extremely accommodating of this. It was my first time doing any real scrambling and I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone else. I will definitely be booking further courses with West Coast Mountain Guides, including planning a Skye Cuillin traverse.
The quality of guiding... read moreHad a fantastic day out on the Aonach Eagach ridge traverse with Ken guiding. I booked very last minute but found the company to be extremely accommodating of this. It was my first time doing any real scrambling and I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone else. I will definitely be booking further courses with West Coast Mountain Guides, including planning a Skye Cuillin traverse.
The quality of guiding was excellent from both the side of ensuring everyone’s safety and confidence during the traverse, but also being general good company on the day out. read less

Aonach Eagach Ridge I can’t recommend them enough.
Jon the guide was very knowledgable, professional and also provided a good laugh.
You could ask him anything about the mountains and the Aonach Eagach ridge and you would get an answer.