Ben Nevis and Europe Oct 2004

On my way to Holland to do some work for my MSc, I stopped off for a day in Madrid. I was in Holland for 5 weeks during which time I also visited Brussels and took a bus trip to Malmo in Sweden. I flew back via the UK and spent some time with friends in London and Durham before taking the train from Newcastle to Fort William via Edinburgh and Glasgow. I stayed over at Fort William Backpackers the nights before and after my ascent of Ben Nevis.

Day 1 (14 October): Though I only got up quite late, everyone was still fast asleep in my room. I had breakfast all by myself, packed my bag in the hallway and got nderway. I took the little path that goes across the spur to Glen Nevis. It was very misty and with the rising sun, the colours in the valley were beautiful. My pack was heavy and I was sweating underneath all the layers of clothes. I was smart enough to forget my tracksuit pants so I hoped I would pull through with my long johns and rain pants. I soon came down into the glen and walked next to the road up to the Visitor Centre. The path then crossed a bridge spanning the Glen Nevis and then continued next to it for about 500m before running straight up to the mountain past sheep grazing. Then the path started climbing slowly and at a very gentle gradient up the slope. I enjoyed the walking despite the heavy sweating – the colours all around me were indescribably pretty. After climbing a little more than 100 vertical metres, I had my first break for the day. The path zig-zagged a little and a few people also going for the top came past me. Every one of them were carrying daypacks only and although some of them thought I was nuts, most of them thought it was pretty brave and cool to sleep out alone in the mountains. The gradient increased slightly to the saddle just below the halfway mark. Loch Lachan was lying tranquilly in the morning sunshine and it was a spectacularly beautiful day. At a large cairn I sat down to have a leisurely lunch. My left foot had started acting up again but at least I was pretty much where I planned to sleep so I took my shoes off and basked in the morning sunshine. Many people came past and I chatted with quite a few of them. After lunch I scouted for a camping spot. I was surprised that although the terrain looks very similar to the Drakensberg, everything was soaking wet, even the slopes, and the only place I would be able to pitch a tent was in the middle of the path. I decided to wait until most people were off the mountain before I pitched the tent. I didn’t have much to do for the rest of the afternoon, so I took a walk on a narrower path that led off the Aonag Mor ridge on the other side of Ben Nevis. I was extremely lucky that it hadn’t rained yet and I was able to take many pictures. Later, I waited until most people were back from the summit before I started to pitch my tent. The path was very rocky and I vowed to place as many of the clothes I could spare beneath me. I had dinner of wild rice and plockworst before I got my bed ready. I read by flashlight to fight the boredom of lying in a tent at 7pm already. By 10pm it started raining lightly. This carried on all through the night.

Day 2 (15 October): I woke up to a completely cloudy sky and heavy weather. At least it didn’t rain. I heard someone come past my tent at around 07:30. He said good morning and I replied from within the tent. Knowing that someone was there already before me, spurred me into action. I quickly packed some water, fruit juice, a few chocolate bars, GPS, camera and my beanie, and off I went. The foot was much better not having to carry the heavy pack. The gradient was easy enough but the path was very rocky. Still, I climbed surprisingly fast and gained 200m in between rests. Past 900m it started raining and it became very misty. Not having my tracksuit pants, my legs were cold and I could feel the chill creeping to my upper body as well. Above 1200m the slope eased off and I realized I was on the summit plateau. I could not see beyond 20m but the path was clear with plenty of huge cairns to show the way. I continued on and soon the rain turned into sleet and eventually snow. As I got closer to the summit, it got very windy and I was getting seriously cold. At the summit I met the guy (an Ozzie) that walked past my tent. We took pictures of one another and then started walking back down. It was easy going down but the rocks were still wet and slippery in places. We descended past people coming up and we finally reached my tent. The Ozzie guy was there with his mom and they continued down while I quickly packed up my tent. My left foot was starting to become sore again and I didn’t look forward to the slog down. It was a mission to get the tent packed up. It was soaked and the wind made it very difficult to keep control. But I managed somehow and headed down just after 10am. I walked past a lot of people on the way down. My foot became so sore that I had to take a few breaks before continuing. Finally though, I was back at the visitor centre and I could increase my pace slightly on the tarred road back to Fort William. In Fort William it wasn’t long before I could get to the Backpackers for a nice long break.