Rightly or wrongly, Ben Nevis looms large in the thoughts of many who aspire to climb Scotland’s mountains. I thought that I was immune from such thoughts, but when my son said that he wanted to climb “The Ben”, I couldn’t resist.
So down to the planning; any trip ‘Sooth’ from Orkney is a logistical exercise, and we selected a few days in Mid July when my wife had some time off work. As a bonus, my daughter was going to come up from Edinburgh; she has Ben Nevis fever too.
After the usual early start to catch the ferry, we drove down to Fort William, arriving just in time to pick my daughter up from the bus station. We camped at the Glen Nevis site, in our Coleman Mosedale 5 man tent, the “Mosedale Whale”, as I have started calling it.
Our tent with Sgurr a Mhaim and Stob Ban in the background; Ben Nevis lost in the clouds to the left.
Sunday 15th July 2018 Unfortunately the weather let us down, rain forecast for all day, and the clouds down. No point in having a miserable time, so we drove east to the Cairngorms in an attempt to dodge the rain; it is often drier there. We were only partially successful, and it rained for the last two miles of the walk up Glen Feshie to Ruigh Aiteachain Bothy. A lot of driving for just a few hours walk, but better than mooching around fingering Gore Tex in a wet Fort William!
Sadly my daughter had to return to Edinburgh that evening, so she missed her chance at The Ben this time around.
Monday 16th July Better forecast today, and the clouds were somewhat higher, clearing the tops of the nearby Mamores - Stob Ban and Sgurr a Mhaim. Hills for another day, perhaps.
We got away at around 10:30. We took the short cut up to the Pony Track, which starts opposite the Youth Hostel, as the campsite is just down the road. After crossing the valley floor passing lots of bog myrtle and alder, we started to climb. What a brutal start - a steep stone staircase zig zagging up the hillside, and I was glad to get to the junction with the Pony Path, where the gradient eased somewhat.
A brutal start
This part of the path is pleasant, traversing across a steep wooded hillside as it climbs, with fine views back down into the glen. Lots of other walkers on the way up, as was to be expected, and we soon met the occasional group coming down; they must have had an early start.
Lower Glen Nevis and the campsite
The well constructed path curled around the side of the hill as we climbed the slopes above the Red Burn; steeper now, and we left the trees behind.
The procession up the staircase above the Red Burn
We avoided the eroded shortcut that follows the course of the Red Burn; the main path leveled off somewhat as it passed above Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe; a welcome respite. After filling our water bottles from a small stream, we started to climb again, gently at first to the crossing of the Red Burn, then more steeply, as we started climbing the Zig Zags.
The Red Burn
Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe; Loch Linnhe in the distance
On and on we went, the path getting rougher and the vegetation changing from grass to specialized plants adapted to live in scree, and then nothing much at all. The monotony of the climb was relieved by the fine views unfolding to the south and west, particularly of the Mamores and down Loch Linnhe. But we entered the cloud at around 1000m, and it was just a case of putting one foot in front of the other.
Stob Ban and Mullach nan Coirean (Western Mamores) from beside Five Finger Gully
Eventually the angle of the slope eased, and shortly afterwards, the zig zags ended and the path struck off in a more direct line up the lessening slopes onto the summit plateau. I took careful note of the line of well built cairns stretching across the plateau, and a stone shelter circle at a path junction. Following the cairns, we came across a patch of old snow in a shallow depression, much to the delight of our springer spaniel, Tess, who loves to dig.
Snow dog
Up a steeper loose section; then the gradient eased, and shortly afterwards we came across a steep gully falling away to our left. This was Tower Gully, shortly followed by Gardyhoo Gully, a trap for the unwary in bad conditions if it is corniced, as the path turns sharply to the left (north) immediately afterwards.
Tower Gully One of the well built cairns on the plateau
Suddenly the ruined observatory buildings came into view - we were at the summit! Unfortunately so were several dozen other people, so many that there was a queue to get up onto the plinth upon which the trig point is mounted (we didn’t bother).
The despoiled summit
The mist was swirling around us, so no chance of a view, and it felt quite cold once we stopped, so on with an extra layer before we sat down for lunch amongst some rocks a short distance from the summit. At one stage a ragged cheer broke out from the crowd as the sun threatened to break through the mist, but it was not to be, so we packed up and headed on down.
Tess had been quite a help on the way up; she’s a strong puller, but what a menace she is when descending; jerking and pulling as I struggled to keep my balance. Very hard on the knees.
We had an uneventful if long descent; quite a few people still on their way up. The zig zags weren’t too bad, and we dropped out of the mist so could admire the view, but the lower section was a chore, like a giant stone staircase, me fighting both gravity and the pull of the dog!
Emerging from the clouds
Eventually we reached the top of the short cut down to the Youth Hostel, but we ignored this, as I had my sights set on a pint in the Ben Nevis Inn. Thankfully the gradient lessened, and I enjoyed the last mile.
Enjoyed a few pints of excellent ‘West Highland Way’ ale and a meal on the terrace of the pub (dogs not welcome inside) - we had earned it!
I’m still not sure what to make of the whole experience, it was certainly unlike any other mountain that I have climbed. The summit is despoiled, both by the various structures and by the sheer number of people there, and the path is like a busy giant staircase, but there’s a lot of camaraderie on the climb, and at times a cosmopolitan feel. Perhaps Ben Nevis is a mountain that has to be ‘got out of the way’ before one can go on to enjoy better things. Maybe I’m being unfair, a return trip in winter conditions or by a more roundabout route would offer a different experience, say up the valley north of Steall at the head of the Glen Nevis gorge, then onto Carn Mor Dearg and along the arete to Ben Nevis. But I’ll not be joining the hordes on the tourist path again.
Tuesday 17th July Awoke the next day feeling very stiff, so all we could manage was a short hobble up through Glen Nevis gorge to Steall falls; both quite spectacular.
The Nevis Gorge and Steall Falls