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Ben Nevis |
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| The
Munros |
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Country: Scotland |  |
Location: Glen Nevis |
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Accommodation: Fort William (hotels, B&B), Glen Nevis (Youth Hostel, caravan/camping site, nice B&B and bunkhouse at Achintee House). Camping is allowed in the upper glen (beyond the carpark and Nevis Gorge). |  |
Transport: Train and bus station in Fort William. A summer bus service goes to the carpark in Glen Nevis. |
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Maps: OS Outdoor Leisure 32 (scale of 1:25,000) or OS Sheet 41 (1:50,000). |  |
Trip Date: 23 May 1992 |
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Also See: The Lochaber 4000 footers by Paul Kennedy. A Winter Climb of Ben Nevis. Lots of big, beautiful photos for climbers plus maps and diagrams. Journal Excerpt: Ben Nevis by Greg Slayden. |
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Introduction | ||
Ben Nevis (possibly from an old Gaelic word meaning venomous) is the highest mountain in the British Isles at 1344 metres. This also makes it the highest Munro. It is easily accessible from Glen Nevis via the old pony track which used to service the observatory on the summit. The path can be started from the youth hostel or from Achintee House (B&B and a bunkhouse available) lower down the glen. Note that this is the 'tourist route' up Ben Nevis - it may be crowded and does not give the best view of the Ben.
Despite there being a 'tourist route', any trip up the Ben must be taken seriously. You will be spending many hours on a mountain that is known for sudden and unpleasant weather changes. Take sensible clothing and wear good walking shoes or boots. I recommend the OS Outdoor Leisure 32 map since it has a 1:10,000 insert of the summit with the compass directions to get off safely in mist (remember to take your compass!). People have died on this mountain.
The route I describe is one of the longer ways to climb the Ben. I took 12 hours to do it (from 9 am at the distillery to 9 pm at the Glen Nevis Youth Hostel) at my usual slow pace during an extremely hot day (for Scotland). It can definitely be done faster. On both routes the height gain is nearly the full 1344 metres (4409 feet) but the tourist route is shorter - 14 kilometres versus 17 kilometres (8.6 miles vs 10.5 miles).
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Route |
Start from the distillery just outside Fort William at Victoria Bridge. Unfortunately you should be starting too early to sample its wares. Pass to the left of the buildings and cross the railway tracks. There is a muddy path that leads via a track and a line of posts to an intake (this takes water under the slopes to the factories above Fort William) and bridge on the Allt a'Mhuilinn. Cross the bridge and follow the bulldozed track upstream. Just before the track becomes a footpath, there is a good spot for a swim. On a hot day this is also the best place to refill your water bottles.
After about a kilometre, leave the path and make your way up the broad ridge leading to Carn Beag Dearg (1010m). This 600m climb is a bit tedious but the opening views to the north and up the Great Glen compensate. Have a breather on Carn Beag Dearg and look south to the massive cliffs of Ben Nevis. The same point can be gained from the path up from Glen Nevis by following it as far as the Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe (also known as the halfway lochan), heading NNE along a level path for a kilometre and dropping NE over rough heathery ground to cross the Allt a'Mhuilinn for a final 600m climb eastwards to Carn Beag Dearg. This is the best way to do a round trip from Glen Nevis.
Follow the ridgeline south to Carn Dearg Meadhonach (1179m) and then to the pink granite summit of Carn Mor Dearg (1223m - another Munro). From here the path drops 200m to where the ridge sharpens to a narrow arete. The exposed arete is composed of huge granite blocks which give good footing - needed for the section that actually overhangs the ridge. Try to ignore the scratches engraved in some blocks - these are just the marks from the crampons of winter climbers, not from the fingernails of summer walkers! You can avoid most of the exposure via a narrow path on the south side of the crest. The arete gives impressive views of the North-East Buttress.
After the arete, you come to a level section of the ridge with abseil posts on the north edge. The last post marks the start of a reasonably easy descent into Coire Leis which may be used as an escape route (not to be used if there is snow on the headwall). A faint path now climbs 250m over the next 500 metres through a boulder field to the summit. The path is the easiest way up unless you like clambering over boulders. Most of the year the summit has a cap of snow providing beautiful cornices above Tower Gully. Keep well away from the summit edge since it will also have cornices. The summit is a bit crowded with structures - the OS pillar, a war memorial, an emergency shelter and the ruins of the observatory. The views can be stupendous (weather permitting).
To return you can either:
Follow the route back or
Drop down the tourist path to Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe and follow the path
northwards until you can descend into the Coire Leis and regain the route or
Follow the tourist path down to the youth hostel to stay, be picked up or call
for a taxi.
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| Carn Mor Dearg Arete to Ben Nevis |
| The Munros |
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