Conquering "The Ben"

Sit. Come closer and I'll tell ye a tale of a wee lassie and a bonnie mountain named ‘The Ben’. (Scots love tellin' stories). This mountain is the tallest in all the land (Brisith Isles) and the last mountain in my wee 3 Peaks challenge. Harsh conditions rained from above or shall we say snowed? Ye canna help it if blizzard conditions move into the summit and ye canna see five feet in front o' ye. Even the most skilled climbers can get turned around on the mountain top and drop to their death near the Five Finger Gully. Take GPS or ye be lost.

Did I mention I saw the Coast Guard rescue chopper during me wee climb? Serious stuff. But dinna fash tis not all gruesome.

Ben Nevis, nestled near the sleepy town of Fort William and Nevis Valley, reaches over 4,500 feet in elevation making it the tallest mountain in the United Kingdom. Snow and icy conditions await you if you’re lucky enough to reach the summit. (Don’t be looking for a tea room or a train on this mountain either!) Temperatures at the top are about 30°F/-1°C (Yes, this was during the summer!) Brrrr…pack accordingly.

I dinna think this wee lass was all that fit but it took approximately four hours to ascend using the directions below via the Mountain Trail. It took another five hours to finally reach the bottom! The totally distance in the climb is about 11 miles with a 3,000 ft elevation climb.

How to get to Fort William and Ben Nevis

Fort William by road from Edinburgh is 134 miles.  The roads in Scotland are not fast, so expect your journey to take just over 3 hours.  It's 109 miles from Glasgow, and this trip can be done in 2 and a half hours.  From Inverness it is 65 miles, and takes 1 hour 32 minutes. 

Ben Nevis Visitor Centre is PH33 6PF.
Once you've arrived at Fort William need to follow the Glen Nevis signs.  The Tourist Path begins around 3 miles along the Glen Nevis road at Achintee.

To get to the start of the walk follow the signs for Achintee, Claggan Industrial Estate, and then take the turn to Achintee where the Tourist Path starts.  Your starting point is about 20 metres above sea level, so you'll be ascending 1,324 metres. 

Stage 1

The 'Mountain Track' - as it reamins a tough and strenuous walk. Park at the Visitor Centre in Glen Nevis; there may be a charge. Cross the bridge over the River Nevis, which is downstream from the centre. Once across the bridge, turn right and follow the river bank for a few hundred metres; then turn left over a stile, heading up a path between a wall and a fence.

Stage 2 Cross a stile at the top of this and go ahead across a trak to meet the original path which started at the Ben Nevis Inn on the left; turn right up the rising path. Follow the wide path which climbs across the hillside. After passing above a small plantation the path from Glen Nevis Youth Hostel joins in from the right (this path leads directly from the Hostel to the main path and gives a shorter route; but there is little car parking at the Youth Hostel). Further on the path doubles back on itself to ascend the steeper, rockier slopes in a wide zigzag. There are grand views up Glen Nevis to the Mamores, with Stob Ban prominent.

Stage 3 The path crosses a couple of footbridges over small streams and curves round, climbing above the valley of the Red Burn. As the head of the burn is approached the path takes a very sharp left turn; please don't use the old path ahead which is eroded and loose. The correct path winds up much more easily to reach the plateau that holds Loch Meall an t-Suidhe, known as the half way lochan - which is slightly optimistic. The walk doesn't approach the actual loch though, keeping well to the right

Stage 4 As the path begins to climb once more, a junction is reached. Turn right (the path keeping left heads round below the North Face of the mountain). After another half kilometre the path crosses the cascading upper Red Burn stream. The path is good at this point, but after a couple more bends becomes much rougher, a well-worn route through the boulders and scree, climbing relentlessly in a series of very wide zigzags. Hill runners participating in the Ben Nevis race short cut straight down the scree in the middle of this slope, but sticking to the path gives much better going. 

Stage 5 Much higher up, the path passes above the steep screes which fall to the right into the head of Five Finger Gully. This has been the scene of many fatalities in descent, when walkers attempting to avoid the North Face of the mountain steer too wide a course and heading too far south and fall into the gully. In good weather, the views of the Glen far below are superb. The top and Carn Dearg - fringed by great cliffs - comes into view on the left.

Stage 6 The gradient now eases as the beginning of the summit plateau is reached. The path passes close to the top of Tower gully, and, just before the summit, the vertigo-inducing top of Gardyloo gully. The summit of Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The summit area has several memorials, a trig point, and many cairns; some of the memorials have been removed in recent years to prevent the area looking a mess. There are also the remains of the (meteorological) observatory which operated here early in the twentieth century. 

Stage 7 The view is tremendously extensive and covers much of the Highlands, but there is nothing more dramatic than peering down the north side, across or down the massive cliffs; again, do not approach if there is snow as there could be cornices of overhanging snow which could collapse if you step on them. You may spot rock-climbers coming up Tower Ridge or other classic climbs.

Ben Nevis Summit- Warning near the edge!

 Stage 8

The return is made by the same route. In misty conditions and with snow covering the path, very careful navigation can be required to steer a course between Gardyloo Gully and Five Finger Gully. Follow a bearing of 231 degrees for 150 metres, and then a bearing of 281 degrees, to pass the most dangerous section.

After a five hour descent, a hot bath and a pint are in order ya ken? Don’t miss out on the things to do around Fort William. After conquering the mountain, try the Ben Nevis distillery. Go on, by now you’ve certainly earned a scotch!