Ben Nevis...

potato

Hey...

My firend and I are heading to Fort William in about 2weeks time just for a bit of an outdoor adventure, some mountain biking and canyoning and of course it's the week before the mtb races in fort william so there will be plenty of action around the place.

We were also thinking of climbing Ben Nevis and we were wondering if anyone here has climbed it or has any advice about climbing it? We've both done a fair bit of mountain climbing in Ireland and are used to all the rotton weather etc.

Any advice/comments would be much appreciated!

thanks

aoife

Alun

I've been up the 'tourist track' to the top and it's pretty easy, you really can't go wrong ... just follow everyone else Took us just over 7 hours there and back. One of the best things about it is that there's a good pub at the bottom with a car park where you can park for the day .. very handy.

DublinDilbert

have climbed it twice... the tourist track up isn't too bad, i would of said about 6 or 7 hours or so from memory... definitely worth a ramble...

you'd be surprised how little some people bring with them... once you have decent rain gear, foot wear and enough to eat/drink, you'll be grand...

if its a clear day the view from the top is excellent..

fort-William is a nice town....

Dr Pepper

Was there 2 years ago. As the other lads have said, it's very handy if you just follow the main track (very easily done - it's just a path all the way up). The view from the top makes it seem considerably higher than any mountain here. It was a bit like looking out from an airplane It's kinda like Croke Patrick on a Sunday afternoon.

You will see people from 8 months to 80 years old walking there and many people walking up in a pair of clunky black shoes, a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. No food, no water, no rain gear, no hiking boots Of course, I would strongly recommend that you go well prepared and bring all of those things.

Enjoy the trip,
Brian

PS - Keep an eye out for Hogwarts! (in 'Glencoe' valley if I remember correctly.. of course the castle isn't real but I did see Dumbledor's (sp?) cottage at the time)

MonkeyWrench

I was there mountain biking a few months ago. There is a trail at the bottom of the mountain but there is also a pro track you can do downhill on. You can attach your bike to the gondala and head up from there..

Viscosity

Have a look at Mountain this coming Sunday at 9PM on BBC1, it will be based around Ben Nevis and should give you a taste of what lies in store. The episodes so far have made pretty good television.

Here's the link.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mountain/

Best of luck.

potato

hey,

thanks a mil for all your help and advice there, its been really helpful. That programme on BBC on sunday sounds excellent aswell thanks guys

Lucas10101

Anyone thinking of climbing Mt. McKinley??

Evil Phil

Maybe, or Aconcagua. Do you have something in mind?

Lucas10101

Nope, I heard that Aconcagua is supposed to be technically easy and the Oxygen demands aren't the worst. Although I think you have to pay a fee of €400 or so.

As regards McKinley, I know of some experienced chap that got his fingers removed and his leg by falling off an ice sheet. He was very experienced though, a bit unfortunate.

I know that after I do Carrantouhill sometime early next year, and Ben Nevis, Snowdon and Sca Fell, I'd want to do Kilimanjaro and because of the technically easy Aconcagua, I would do that as well. Possibly Blanc or Elbrus as well. I'll be getting further training anyhow but over the next few years, I'm hoping to get all them done.

After reading about that chap doing McKinley, I think people would be bound to be apprehensive about it.

Declan A Walsh

Let me just add my tuppence worth. I climbed Ben Nevis with a group of about 25 during the May Bank Holiday last year (2006). In fact, it was still April.

We also did the aforementioned track. We were laden down with extra gear - ice picks, crampons and plastic boots. The reason being that given the time of the year it was unclear how cold and how much snow there would be. In the event, it was a lovely warm day, with snow just for the last 500 feet or less. So we used our crampons and carried our ice picks!! It took us closer to 9 hours - I think it was the conditions and the luggage we were carrying!

From talking to various people, I understand that this time of the year should be relatively handy. However, watch out for sheer drops, especially near the top, where the snow can be misleading... and of course if visibility is bad you have to be extra careful.

We found frequent snack stops worked out better than a specific lunch stop.

By the way, Fort William is a nice outdoor-oriented town. We stayed in the Swallow Hotel, which was actually very comfortable and reasonably priced.

potato

thanks declan, brill info but i think we'll leave out the ice picks!

we'll check out the swallow hotel aswell and we'll keep an eye out for the sheer drops. hopefully i'll be back on this in a week to say how it went.

thanks for the advice

Alun

Declan A Walsh wrote:

From talking to various people, I understand that this time of the year should be relatively handy. However, watch out for sheer drops, especially near the top, where the snow can be misleading... and of course if visibility is bad you have to be extra careful.

When there's snow about, and/or bad visibility, there are specific bearings to be taken when near the summit to avoid falling over the edge, or through snow cornices.

See http://www.mountaineering-scotland.org.uk/safety/nevis_bearing.html

and http://www.mountaineering-scotland.org.uk/leaflets/nevis.html

I seem to remember from when I did it that there's actually a pole or somesuch at the point where you turn and take the second bearing, but I wouldn't swear to it.

mrgalway

I climbed it last may and took me about 3.5 hours to go up and 3 hours to come done.

Didn't see any poles but was advised to folow compass readings on each zig and zag in case of fog to avoid getting to the edge. Fortunately it was a warm sunny day though.

I was told to take the alternative route up (I guess that called the Glen Nevis trail) which meets up with the main turist trail by the lake before you start climbing the actual peak. I decided to do the tourist thing, but comming down I noticed that it may had been a better alternative. In fact I was told latter that the Glen Nevis trail is the one recommended during bad weather.

As for Fort William, has anybody been into the Volunteer Arms? That kip make's you homesick for even the worst pub at home.