Discover the best Winter Climbs around Ben Nevis and Glen Coe

• Location
• Description
• Contents
• Introduction
• Sample Route
• Reviews

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The Orion Face

The biggest face on Ben Nevis forms a narrow fan shape between Minus One Gully and Zero Gully. The toe of the buttress takes the line of Astronomy and projects into the approach slopes leading to Orion Direct, which starts up a steep icefall with the Great Slab Rib to the left. In the centre of the face lies The Basin, a large snow patch, at the top left side of which is a steep icy chimney known as Epsilon Chimney, the easiest escape from The Basin to North East Buttress in the event of poor snow conditions. Up to the right of this basin is the Second Slab Rib, which is often the only feature showing in the middle of the face when snow and ice obliterate all other detail. Higher up is another smaller snow patch, and left of this at a higher level is the exit chimney.

Astronomy  300m  VI,5***

H MacInnes, A Fyffe and K Spence, March 1971

Start about 16m to the right of Minus One Gully and climb twin cracks to leftward-slanting snow patches. These snow patches lead to a groove. Climb the groove and go right to a large corner. Go up the corner then move right, then back left by walls and grooves. Skirt left below the upper rocks and escape by descending into the top of Minus One Gully (or follow the next route which gives a better finish).

Astronomy – Direct Finish  120m  VI,5**

C Fraser and M Thompson, 16 February 1986

Instead of skirting left below the upper rocks into Minus One Gully, trend slightly right to belay below the right-hand end of the steep upper rocks. Gain the crest of the buttress on the right and climb an iced slab, trending right to gain a fine ice groove near the crest of the buttress. Follow this steeply to easier ground. Less often in condition than other routes on the Orion Face.

(Author’s note: Tim Jepson and Roger Baxter-Jones climbed a similar line in the late 1970s.)

Smith-Holt Route  420m  V,5**

R Smith and R Holt, January 1959

Starts left of Orion Direct and climbs leftward-facing corners immediately left of the Great Slab Rib until it is possible to cut back right into The Basin with difficulty. From The Basin the steep and icy Epsilon Chimney is taken, and the exit made easily via a ledge leading up left to the crest of North East Buttress at a V-notch. A great route which avoids the queues on Orion Direct.

The Black Hole  350m  VI,6**

A Saunders and M Fowler, 5 April 1986

Starts 15m left of Orion Direct. Climb an awkward right-facing corner to gain the left side of the Great Slab Rib (50m). Follow the corner on the left side of the rib for 30m, then move left to an obvious ice-choked overhanging crack, which is climbed to a snow patch (45m). Climb the overhanging fault line above to belay at the top left of another snow patch (35m). Move back right into the fault line, which is climbed to join Astronomy where it traverses left into Minus One Gully (45m). There are another couple of pitches in the same line up thinly iced grooves (60m). Much of this route had been climbed previously.

Urban Spaceman  350m  VII,6***

D Hawthorn and A Paul, 12 April 1983

Start at the same point as Orion Direct and move up left to below the Great Slab Rib (35m), which is followed on the crest to a stance (30m). Continue on a similar line to a belay (40m). Reach a set of open grooves up right (30m) and follow them to beneath the steep upper section (50m). Move over slabs up right to a stance (30m). Follow a steep ice-filled chimney which overlooks The Basin, then steep mixed ground (45m). A further 90m leads to North East Buttress. An excellent route but not often in good condition.

Orion Direct  420m  V,5***

R Smith and JR Marshall, 13 February 1960

A classic: the technical difficulty is often low, but in such conditions belays are usually poor. Climb to the left end of a broad ledge stretching out from Zero Gully and take a steep chimney-line above until an upward traverse left leads to the bottom left side of The Basin. It is possible to continue direct to The Basin from the chimney, but harder. Move up rightwards to an obvious rock rib (Second Slab Rib) and take this by the face to the right, or by a longer traverse right below the face. Trend up leftwards in three pitches to finish in the steep icy exit chimneys.

A direct start in two pitches of steep sustained ice is possible in good conditions to reach the right side of The Basin. Starts just left of Slav Route and stays right of the lower pitches of Orion Direct original route (V,5HH, S Docherty and N Muir, March 1971).

Orion Directissima  375m  VI,5

S Richardson and R Webb, 16 April 1994

Much of this route has been climbed in parts before, but it is worth recording as a steeper alternative to Orion Direct. It stays right of the original line all of the time. Climb the Direct Start mentioned above (Docherty/Muir). Go up right of a rib on the right side of the basin to below the Second Slab Rib. Climb up right of the Second Slab Rib and head up towards the prominent curving corner in the headwall right of the ordinary finishing chimney. Climb the groove and easy ground above to the top.

The following routes are described from The Basin.

Zybernaught  240m  VI,5

D Hawthorn and A Paul

Follows a set of zig-zag grooves between Epsilon Chimney and Astral Highway. From the foot of Epsilon Chimney move up right and below a steep bulge (45m). Climb the bulge and ground above to a left-trending groove (45m). Follow the groove to an open corner (45m). Climb the corner and ground above to North East Buttress.

Astral Highway  240m  V,5***

C Higgins and A Kimber, 28 December 1976

A direct finish from The Basin starting at the top of The Basin, left of centre at the groove right of Epsilon Chimney. Gain the groove and climb it and successive grooves to reach North East Buttress above and right of the 40ft corner.

Space Invaders  240m  VI,6

J Preston and A Nisbet

Starts 10m right of Astral Highway and follows a steeper line of icy walls and grooves to the right of that route. At one point on the second pitch it would be possible to traverse left onto Astral Highway. Two initial 50m pitches provide the main difficulties.

Journey into Space  240m  VII,6**

A Kimber and C Higgins, 8 March 1980

Start midway between Astral Highway and Second Slab Rib. Climb directly to the right of a short corner, where a delicate traverse right leads to a short ice wall, which is climbed to a belay ledge. Climb diagonally leftwards by an obvious iced slab until a break right can be made onto the upper section of the wall. Climb the slab, move right beneath the overhang then go by groove direct, climbing the occasional bulge until the right end of the prominent snowfield is reached. Move diagonally left up the snowfield to the obvious corner finish (possible to finish direct by Space Walk).

Space Walk  200m  VII,6

R Clothier and A Forsyth, April 2001

Starts just left of the Second Slab Rib and follows a series of grooves, corners and slabs parallel to Journey into Space before finishing directly, when Journey into Space goes left towards the top of North East Buttress.

Long Climb Finish  240m  VII,6***

A Cain and R Clothier, March 1983

A steep alternative finish to Orion Direct which follows the steep and icy tapering groove that forms the right side of Second Slab Rib. Above the Second Slab Rib climb steeply up left by grooves and a slab, and eventually follow the same snow ledge left as Journey into Space. Finish by the obvious corner of that route.

The following routes are described from the foot of the face.

Slav Route  420m  V,5***

D Lang and N Quinn, 23 March 1974

Takes a line just to the left of Zero Gully, but completely independent. An obvious icefall at 50m is climbed direct, or possibly avoided a long way to the left. Near the top an exit can be made into Zero Gully, but a better line slightly leftwards is taken to an obvious open corner up left of the gully.

Orion Grooves  420m  VI,5

T Stone, I Small and S Richardson, 21 March 2010

Start up the first three pitches of Zero Gully before following grooves on the right of Orion Face and a final steep mixed pitch up a groove on the right side of the steep 50m headwall.

Zero Gully  300m  V,4**

H MacInnes, A Nicol and TW Patey, 18 February 1957

The easiest but most serious of the big three classics: the lack of belays meriting the V grade. Climb the gully to a stance below a left-facing chimney to the left of the main gully. Ascend the chimney, then traverse right to an amphitheatre in the gully. Take the narrow gully above to easy ground by a long pitch.

Note An alternative start can be made to Zero Gully by climbing the steep ice on the right, thus avoiding the rightward traverse higher up. This option varies with conditions. Also, as with many other steep gully-lines, Zero is not a nice place to be when breezes on the summit deposit vast quantities of powder snow down the climb! Beware of debris from other parties.