Climbing Ben Nevis was brought forward a couple of weeks this year as Easter fell at the end of March rather than early April. In addition, there was a sudden cold snap for the UK which started off in Scotland and worked its way South.
Ben Nevis
K and I set off around midnight Thursday, driving up to Fort William to arrive at the Glen Nevis campsite early on Friday morning. We spent the day setting up camp, shopping for provisions and catching up on a little sleep as well as sneaking a quick look at Ben Nevis itself, plus examining the weather reports for the summit. It was K’s first hike up the mountain and he was unsure what to expect. I was fairly more certain, but the erratic weather conditions on Ben Nevis can catch anybody out.
Saturday dawned quiet and clear in the glen which is always a good sign. We could see some snow blowing around the summit but it was clearly intermittent, suggesting occasional wind rather than a continuous gale that would have caused serious problems. We had a quick breakfast and set off up the steeper path near the Hostel.
As soon as we joined the main path from the Ben Nevis Visitors Centre we could feel that the wind was gusting, and from previous trips I could tell that it was going to be a cold one. The forecast had given temperatures of -1°C and -24°C with windchill taken into account, and it certainly felt like it! By the time we reached Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe, K was ready to add a jumper under his coat and a quick, almost military operation was needed.
The rest of the trip up the Ben was uneventful but tiring. With the cold snap came much more snow which helped pack together the loose rock at the expense of making everything more slippery and twice as cold. All things considered, I think I prefer the ascent with the snow than without it, as the rocks played hell with my feet last time.
We reached the summit around 13:30 having spent a good 6 hours hiking, stopping for multiple breathers and photo opportunities along the way. The emergency shelter was covered in snow and ice in the extreme cold but was still surrounded by a large group of avid climbers. We stood for a few photos, made a phone call or two (mobile phones do work on the mountain, but you should not rely on them) and then decided to head back down after about half an hour. It might seem a short stay after all that climbing, but I had no desire to be on the mountain after dark and K was in agreement.
Ben Nevis Summit
The descent of Ben Nevis is a different kind of torture altogether. Where the climb is hard on the muscles, coming down the mountain does horrible things to your joints. Even with the aid of hiking poles, my hip and knees were all protesting by the time we’d reached the summit, and they were screaming blue murder all the way down. Although we didn’t stop as often, we did need to give our joints a few rests to recover from the repetitve pounding of descending what feels like a million steps.
In a couple of places, especially on the uppermost slopes, we found long stretches of snow free from rocks and other detritus, and we slid down these on our backsides where it was safe to do so. Probably nowhere is safe on Ben Nevis to do this, but we did it anyway. A Chinese couple who were fully kitted out with climbing spikes, axes and wotnot watched on in amazement (they probably thought we were mad) and then joined in, sliding down 20-25m at a time until we could see the path that had brought us up.
Back at camp we had a cup of tea, a burger and a nice long sleep. The rescue helecopter was out plucking a few unlucky souls from the sides of the mountain and it was still flying after dark, which brings home just how dangerous Ben Nevis can be – roughly eight people die on the mountain every year.
Sunday brought all our aches and pains around again, as we hobbled around the camp making cups of tea, reading (Blaze by Stephen King Richard Bachman this time) and doing the odd spot of cooking. We took a walk up to the Ben Nevis Visitor’s Centre and looked through the exhibits, I bought the DVD shot by a local chap for my mum who – despite being almost of retirement age – still wants to climb at least halfway herself. I figured it would show what she was in for if she attempted it at least. We also bumped into the Chinese couple again who recognised us straight away and laughed about coming next year.
The cold snap had passed us and headed towards where we live while we were up in Scotland, and I received a great photo of my little niece building her first snowman. Our drive back South this morning was cold but careful since we were heading through patches of snow on occasion, but on arrival home we found it had all melted – typical! Still, a nice long bath, a long-deserved shave, a cup of tea and a quick check of the email (mostly spam – grrrr), and I’m feeling a bit more human again. Job done for another year!
Some thoughts on provisions:
- 200g Fruit & Nut
- 3 Medium Bananas
- 1L Lucozade
Other stuff you need if you want to attempt this yourself:
- Stout, comfortable boots.
- An emergency blanket, plus a poncho.
- Mobile phone, torch, whistle, compass.
- Warm, windproof clothing.