Ben Nevis
Another in the long line of walking posts which really serve no more purpose than to remind me when I did things.
Anyway, today was Ben Nevis. Two of my compadres from the Caley Challenge and I decided that, with no ridiculous 54-miles-in-24-hours walks available at the moment, the highest mountain in Britain would do. I am aware that Ben Nevis is very touristy (though not as much as Snowdon) and not rated as a difficult munro by those in the know but it still seemed like a considerable challenge to me.
So we left last night and stayed at a caravan park outside Kinlochleven which has also been our base for the two Caley Challenges; it's very economical at £39 for the hire of a 6 berth caravan for the night but was also freezing cold due to the lack of any sensible heating (the grill providing much more heat than the fire and the windows not sealing properly). Still, we arrived at 9pm last night and woke and departed just before 7:30am this morning.
Now I'm a big fan of the Scottish countryside but the hills from Glen Etive up to Fort William and around the Nevis range are nothing short of stunning. I have no intention of linking to any of my pictures are there are much better ones out there but, seriously, this place is just beautiful even from sea level.
The highest climb I've done before this was Ben Lomond earlier in the year which cost me a toenail and was taxing to say the least. However, having completed the Caley Challenge this year, bought and actually used a rowing machine and been walking in the Pentlands most weekends since May, I was hopeful that Ben Nevis wouldn't be too much of an embarrassment. Thankfully, I was right.
There are many descriptions of the walk on the internet so I won't add to them in any detail save to give my main observations:
1. It's a long way. 8 kilometres with an ascent of 1344 metres so an average of about 1 in 6 gradient. Only regular consultation of a map will stop you thinking that you must be nearly there which was a fatal flaw with Ben Lomond and led to numerous disappointments.
2. The weather is incredibly changeable. You'll sweat buckets on the first stage and be tempted to strip down but, as soon as you undo your jacket, the clouds will roll in and it will start raining. We went through two hailstorms, one short snow shower, two rain showers and numerous interludes of sunshine.
3. The views are wonderful . . . when you can see them. We lost all visibility at about 800 metres which was a shame and meant that the top was just lots of rocks shrouded in mist. However, the views down towards Fort William and Kinlochleven from the first 700 metres were worth it.
4. There's a loch nearly half way up. That shouldn't have been a surprise given the background reading I did but still was as we had 10 metres visibility while walking past it and only saw it once about 100 metres up from it. It's very pretty and a good place for lunch.
5. The steps on the first 600 metres are the most difficult. That's not to say that the rest is easy as you're more tired and sharp ascents always hurt but the initial rocky steps are the steepest part of the course.
6. The switchbacks on the second stage are great; they allow you to get a real sense of progress by marking yourself against a map and they are very handy landmarks in case you're concerned about getting lost.
7. The path on the summit is pretty easy to find in reasonable visibility (10-20 metres) but I can see that it could be terrifying with snow or less visibility. The path goes very close to two very steep gullies and tumbling, screaming death is a possibility.
8. Finally, getting down is a bitch. Seriously, the steps that were bad on the way up are much worse on the way down, particularly if your knees are pretty broken anyway and your toes could stand to avoid more punishment. I was considering the 3 peaks challenge (Ben Nevis, Scafel Pike and Snowdon in a day) and after getting up Ben Nevis in 3 hours 50 (with a number of breaks) that seemed do-able. But after the descent my knees feel bruised to hell and the thought of doing it again, twice, is not pleasant.
So, all in all, a great day. Ben Nevis is a considerable challenge but it's just hard work, not actually anything technically difficult. I won't be hurrying to do it again but I'm very proud to have stood above everyone else in Britain for a few moments; it's quite a feeling to be on the highest place in the British Isles. What's better is that I don't feel too tired and am vaguely hopeful that I might not be too achy tomorrow.
Next: don't know actually but miss_tilney is currently looking at holidays in Austria so apparently we might be going to the Alps.
Anyway, today was Ben Nevis. Two of my compadres from the Caley Challenge and I decided that, with no ridiculous 54-miles-in-24-hours walks available at the moment, the highest mountain in Britain would do. I am aware that Ben Nevis is very touristy (though not as much as Snowdon) and not rated as a difficult munro by those in the know but it still seemed like a considerable challenge to me.
So we left last night and stayed at a caravan park outside Kinlochleven which has also been our base for the two Caley Challenges; it's very economical at £39 for the hire of a 6 berth caravan for the night but was also freezing cold due to the lack of any sensible heating (the grill providing much more heat than the fire and the windows not sealing properly). Still, we arrived at 9pm last night and woke and departed just before 7:30am this morning.
Now I'm a big fan of the Scottish countryside but the hills from Glen Etive up to Fort William and around the Nevis range are nothing short of stunning. I have no intention of linking to any of my pictures are there are much better ones out there but, seriously, this place is just beautiful even from sea level.
The highest climb I've done before this was Ben Lomond earlier in the year which cost me a toenail and was taxing to say the least. However, having completed the Caley Challenge this year, bought and actually used a rowing machine and been walking in the Pentlands most weekends since May, I was hopeful that Ben Nevis wouldn't be too much of an embarrassment. Thankfully, I was right.
There are many descriptions of the walk on the internet so I won't add to them in any detail save to give my main observations:
1. It's a long way. 8 kilometres with an ascent of 1344 metres so an average of about 1 in 6 gradient. Only regular consultation of a map will stop you thinking that you must be nearly there which was a fatal flaw with Ben Lomond and led to numerous disappointments.
2. The weather is incredibly changeable. You'll sweat buckets on the first stage and be tempted to strip down but, as soon as you undo your jacket, the clouds will roll in and it will start raining. We went through two hailstorms, one short snow shower, two rain showers and numerous interludes of sunshine.
3. The views are wonderful . . . when you can see them. We lost all visibility at about 800 metres which was a shame and meant that the top was just lots of rocks shrouded in mist. However, the views down towards Fort William and Kinlochleven from the first 700 metres were worth it.
4. There's a loch nearly half way up. That shouldn't have been a surprise given the background reading I did but still was as we had 10 metres visibility while walking past it and only saw it once about 100 metres up from it. It's very pretty and a good place for lunch.
5. The steps on the first 600 metres are the most difficult. That's not to say that the rest is easy as you're more tired and sharp ascents always hurt but the initial rocky steps are the steepest part of the course.
6. The switchbacks on the second stage are great; they allow you to get a real sense of progress by marking yourself against a map and they are very handy landmarks in case you're concerned about getting lost.
7. The path on the summit is pretty easy to find in reasonable visibility (10-20 metres) but I can see that it could be terrifying with snow or less visibility. The path goes very close to two very steep gullies and tumbling, screaming death is a possibility.
8. Finally, getting down is a bitch. Seriously, the steps that were bad on the way up are much worse on the way down, particularly if your knees are pretty broken anyway and your toes could stand to avoid more punishment. I was considering the 3 peaks challenge (Ben Nevis, Scafel Pike and Snowdon in a day) and after getting up Ben Nevis in 3 hours 50 (with a number of breaks) that seemed do-able. But after the descent my knees feel bruised to hell and the thought of doing it again, twice, is not pleasant.
So, all in all, a great day. Ben Nevis is a considerable challenge but it's just hard work, not actually anything technically difficult. I won't be hurrying to do it again but I'm very proud to have stood above everyone else in Britain for a few moments; it's quite a feeling to be on the highest place in the British Isles. What's better is that I don't feel too tired and am vaguely hopeful that I might not be too achy tomorrow.
Next: don't know actually but miss_tilney is currently looking at holidays in Austria so apparently we might be going to the Alps.