Nevis is pretty much a long slog. can take it an easy pace about 4 to 4.5 hrs up the main path. It has several mixed gradients so ye can get a breather. Its also good to turn round and take in the view (presuming the mist or rain has lifted).
It can be dangerous when people just use the path and dont take map compass etc and mark waypoints,the mist comes down, they get disorientated and out comes the mobile phone for mountain rescue
. Normal rules apply prepare, dress properly and plan.
For the highest mountain in scotland i think there are better walks for better views but i suppose it is good to have done it. Its more of a climbers mountain than a walkers.
I agree with every word of this.
It can be
very cold on top even when it is t-shirt weather at the bottom. In addition, the weather can change very quickly indeed. It is bloody Scotland after all.
The 'tourist' path goes within a few feet of the potentially lethal Gardaloo Gulley close to the summit. To make life even more interesting, the 'path' at this point is virtually non-existent as the top is a barren boulder field. It's not an issue if you can see where you're going, but be prepared to navigate a dog-leg on a compass bearing if the visibility is really bad. A year or so ago, one of the walking mags gave directions (complete with compass bearings and map) that lead straight over the edge!
Don't worry though, if you stray too far the other way you fall down Five Finger Gulley instead.
There are much more interesting routes up the mountain than the 'tourist' path but they are a bit 'airy' and not for the uncommitted.
The last time I climbed it was in Summer with my daughter who was then about 10. We marched steadily up the tourist path in about 3 and a half hours. We were admiring the view at the top (which consisted of unbroken cloud below us, i.e. bugger all) when we heard bagpipes! A group of a dozen or so Munroe baggers were arriving, having climbed the long arrete up the other side of the mountain. The last one to arrive at the trig point on top was completing his 284th and final Munroe. To the sound of said bagpipes (from a cassette deck), the popping of champagne bottles and the clicking of his mates' cameras, he climbed the two or three steps up to the top of the trig point
...................and fell arse over tit as he slipped on the icy steps. Not quite how he had envisaged his moment of glory, I guess!
There are about 7,291 more interesting mountains in Scotland than Ben Nevis, but I still want to have a crack at the fell race one day. The thing that is worrying me is that the record time is under 90 minutes. Going up at that pace must be truly brutal and the descent positively suicidal. In fact I suspect that the record was awarded posthumously
On second thoughts, perhaps this is one ambition that is best left unfulfilled.
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