December Ben Nevis

Berty

Soooooo...............

Im planning on a jaunt to Ben Nevis on December 4th for 4 people.

I understand the weather would be a factor but seriously HOW BAD? I picked Winter specifically because of the snow and the cold.

Has anybody done this or anything similar in Winter?(Besides Carrauntohill or any other Irish mountain, been there done that in Winter)

Thanks in advance.

Mickeroo

Done a week in scotland last january. There was a lot of snow around, we didn't do ben nevis but did a fair few others around Glencoe. There was a lot of snow around, I was inexperienced with winter mountaineering but we were with guides. The mountains up there are a very different prospect to irish mountains in winter, there might not be that much snow in december but you really need to know what you're doing if you go up there in the snow or make sure to bring someone who is experienced in winter conditions.

mcguiver

Last time I did it was November a few years back, a little snow on it, and very cold winds, bad visibility.

I'm assuming your walking up, not doing any of the technical routes?

As always wear and bring the right gear. Plan for being stuck overnight in an emergency.

Towards the top the track is hard to make out in fog etc, with some deadly sharp drops.

Start early, take your time and enjoy the experience.

Most importantly know your limits, a good mountaineer knows when to turn back.

Berty

We will have a friend who has been up and down a few times so he will become our sherpa. We expect bad visibilty and the cold.

We may also decide on arriving in Glasgow airport to go drinking instead so all will not be lost.

Sev

You'll be extremely surprised just how much snow Scotland gets, way way way more than any of the mountains in Ireland. In January/Feb/March, when you get above 800m or so, you might as well be in the Alps. This is what the summit of Ben Nevis looked like in March last year when I was there

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0cXScn7EL0o/Sb--ewpMSXI/AAAAAAAAAcI/Je_JG1rdzns/s1600-h/IMGP2564.JPG

December will be early in the season however, so there might not be as much snow as you might expect in January/February/March, although I may be wrong, I'm not too familiar with Scottish conditions.

That said, here's a photo looking up into the gullies of Ben Nevis taken on the 17th of December

http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/848/4202/1600/284173/Imgp0544.jpg

The photos I have shown you are of course of the north face of Ben Nevis, where most snow collects, which is a much steeper and more technical climb and will require some mountaineering experience and equipment. But if you climb from the other side, it really is just a gentle walk. But I would be very prepared, expect there to be a LOT of snow on the summit and if the weather is cold, it may be frozen over and be difficult to walk on without crampons. As well as this, very large cornices can build up on the north side, which can be dangerous to walk on.

This picture for example is taken under a cornice at the top of Ben Nevis in winter!

http://lh5.ggpht.com/theyoungapprenticesilver/SAOekSdQwxI/AAAAAAAAAPM/YcFT0hHSx3M/IMG_0357.jpg

On the summit in winter, the temperature can easily get to -10C and with wind chill factor it can feel like -40!

So be very prepared. The Scottish mountains in winter are not like Irish ones.

You can get information on mountain weather conditions and avalanche reports here

http://www.mwis.org.uk/

The SAIS blogs are particularly helpful too, the Lochaber and Glencoe blogs are the ones relevant to the Ben Nevis area.

http://saislochaber.blogspot.com/

You can also keep up to date on the weather on Ben Nevis here

http://www.bennevisweather.co.uk/weather.asp

serendip

Conditions in Scotland in general (and the Ben in particular) can be very variable in December. It could be anything between cold, hard winter conditions with perfect snow and ice, or simply wet a miserable. The most likely conditions are probably some snow above about 700 or 800 meters, and little ice.