Underestimating Ben Nevis

Wind and snow at the top of Ben Nevis

To avoid disappointment, I should start by saying that we didn't make it to the top of Ben Nevis. Everything pointed towards us doing it. Easily. The forecast was the best it had been in weeks, all three of us are seasoned walkers, we had had a good night's sleep and were feeling a bit sheepish that we were 'only' taking the tourist path up. Thousands of 'normal' people do it every year, we thought, as we powered up the path at 7.30am, keen to tick the box and get back down in time for a spot of shopping in Fort William, so no big deal.

 

We first realised we'd been a bit cocky when, a mere 400 m from the top, having taken the 'short-cut' route straight up the mountain rather than the longer, zig-zagging option, we found ourselves digging our shoes into snow on an increasingly steep slope. 'This could be a bit dangerous couldn't it?' Lucy commented.

The point at which we should have gone right

Minutes later, the snow had become ice, the wind had picked up and kept buffeting us with gusts of rock-hard hail, threatening to send us flying down the icy slope, and the 'path' had disappeared. Heading back down the steep slope would, we decided, be too dangerous, as without crampons or ice axes we could easily slip and slide back down and over the ominous-looking edge . And so began a hairy traverse across the icy snow to the safer, tracked path, slowly but surely digging our feet in, and ducking down onto all fours when the wind became too strong. 100 m across took well over half an hour.

We ploughed on up to the plateau at the top after that, only about 200m from the summit, overtaken by hikers in crampons zooming past us.

So close...

 

Sobered by our recent experience and warned off by fellow walkers who had also turned back, we decided the exposed walk across the snow without the right winter gear and in the wind, which could easily bring in bad weather within seconds wasn't worth the risk. At least we were able to catch sight of the top, so close and yet not quite attainable - this time at least!

 

More than a little gutted, we used up the last of our energy by running back to the bottom, making it down in an hour. We were foolish, over-confident and underprepared; a lesson that every mountain should be respected, even those 'easy' ones.

Soph x