An Gearanach

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An Gearanach
An Gearanach (left) and An Garbhanach (right) from Stob Coire a' Chairn
Elevation	982 m (3222 ft)
Location	Highland, Scotland
Range	Mamores
Prominence	151 m
Topo map	OS Landranger 41, OS Explorer 392
OS grid reference	NN187669
Listing	Munro, Marilyn
Translation	"short ridge" or "the complainer" (Gaelic)
Pronunciation	[an gʲɛɾanax]

The An Steall Ban waterfall falls into Glen Nevis on An Gearanach's lower northern slopes.

An Gearanach is a Scottish mountain situated in the Mamore Forest, 11 kilometres south east of Fort William. It is a Munro which reaches a height of 982 metres (3222 feet) and is part of a group of mountains commonly called the Mamores which lie between Loch Leven and Glen Nevis and consist of 10 Munros and two Corbetts. The translation of the mountains name from Gaelic is uncertain with some publications giving it as "short ridge" from Gearr Aonach while others give a translated name of "the complainer" or "the sad place".

An Gearanach is a popular mountain, not just because of its Munro status but because it is part of one of the best and most exposed ridge walks in the whole of Scotland, the Ring of Steall. This route takes in the three other Munros of Stob Coire a' Chairn, Am Bodach and Sgurr a' Mhaim during a circuit of the Allt Coire a' Mhail, a valley which feeds the An Steall Ban waterfall. The An Steall Ban ("the white spout") is a fine sight as it drops 120 metres down the northern lower slopes of An Gearanach. The base of the falls is passed on the approach to the mountain from Glen Nevis.

An Gearanach has a subsidiary peak, An Garbhanach ("rough ridge"), which lies 400 metres to the south: the two are connected by a narrow ridge which at one point is quite tricky as it tapers to a knife edge arête dropping into deep glens on either side and requires a good head for heights. An Garbhanach reaches a height of 975 metres and in 1921 was accidentally elevated to Munro status and An Gearanach reduced to a "top" due to the vagaries of old fashioned mapping techniques (and probably the similarity of the names). The mistake was rectified in the 1933 revision of Munro's tables with an explanation that it had all been a mistake. The northern slopes of An Gearanach require some care when descending from the mountain to Glen Nevis and there have been fatalities as walkers have left the stalkers path and tried to descend directly to Glen Nevis and got into difficulties on the crags above the An Steall Ban waterfall.

An Gearanach can be climbed from either Glen Nevis or Kinlochleven. The approach from Glen Nevis is shorter and has the advantage of approaching through the lovely Nevis gorge and past the foot of the An Steall Ban waterfall. After crossing the Water of Nevis on a wire suspension bridge and passing the foot of the waterfall, a stalkers path zig zags up the hillside to gain the NNE ridge and up to the summit. The approach from Kinlochleven involves firstly ascending Stob Coire a' Chairn by the stalkers' path up Coire na Ba before continuing to An Gearanach giving an out and back trip of 14 kilometres.