Ben Nevis - A Season Opener

Winter on the Ben

A first visit to Fort William by James and Esther offered the chance of a winter ascent of the Ben.  The preceding few days had seen a significant thaw of the winter snow pack so the snow line was quite high with the snow not really deep enough for our planned winter skills activities.

Below the Snow Line!

The weather was forecast to deteriorate later in the day so we made an early start from Achintee Farm under leaden skies.  It was still dry though and the surrounding Munros were still clear on top.

Meall an t-Suidhe From the Red Burn

There was no snow on the lower part of the mountain so we made good time traversing around Meall an t-Suidhe, past its eponymous lochan and up to the crossing of the Red Burn.

The Red Burn

Then came the 8 zig-zags which took us into the cloud, ice and snow which were to be our constant companions for the next couple of hours!  Predictably, the cloud thickened and the wind speed increased significantly approaching the summit plateau.  Picking out the navigation pillars became quite a challenge in the near white-out conditions.

Starting Up the Zig-Zags

Eventually though, the summit loomed into view (what there was of the latter) and we fought our way to the trig point as walkers and climbers emerged out of the white wilderness to converge on top of the mountain.  It was not a place to linger today and James and Esther needed no prompting to start heading back after the obligatory summit photo shoot.

Made It!

By now the snow had set in and the cloudbase had lowered so we were well down the zig-zags before the glen started to emerge far below us.  The snow turned to rain half-way down and this continued for the rest of the day (and weekend)!  We were back at the car in 6½ hrs, a commendable time in these conditions.  We hadn’t enjoyed much in the way of far-away views, but we had encountered full-on Scottish winter mountains conditions.  And, at the end of the day, that was the aim of the day.

That'll Be Winter Then!

The following day, relentless heavy rain (blizzards higher up) and high winds put paid to our plans for the Lost Valley in Glen Coe and even the drive home across Rannoch Moor proved challenging.  Winter - you just got to love it!  

  

Check out my plans for the coming season at:  http://www.hillways.co.uk/