Nevis!

[fifewalker]

Me and the Mrs had decided to venture further afield for what would be our 6th Munro together. Taking advantage of some holiday time, we booked into a hostel in Roybridge and went for the big one - Ben Nevis..

Speaking to the owner of the hostel on the Friday night didn't fill me with confidence as she informed us that the weather had been rubbish all week but I was hopeful that we would get a semi decent day for it. For once we were up and about early and reached the visitor centre car park for just after 8am, the day looking crisp and clear. However as usual our early start was not without a hitch as,just as I was putting the parking ticket on the dashboard, the good lady announced she had left her jacket back at the ranch. Despite her gamely offering to continue with just a fleece off we went back to the hostel, which set us back a good 40 mins or so.

Anyhoos, once we started up the mountain we were rewarded with some good views back down towards the glen. At this point we were pretty much on our own, although that was shortly to change! After about half an hour we stopped for a drink of water and a wee breather to find a massive convoy of people coming up behind, and from that point on we were in a kind of conveyor belt all the way up through the zigzags until we reahed the loch. It seemed to thin out at that point although it was still crazy busy. On the plus side the weather was clear and the sun was out and we were making some good time up the hill.

The last part was hard on the knees and by the time we were up at the series of cairns I was struggling a bit. It was getting misty by now and the temperature had really dropped. By the time we reached the top we couldn't see much, although we had a good time at the summit - celebrating with a Pot Noodle (well Aldi's own brand version), aaah hot food!

I wasnt looking forward to the descent due to my knees although by this point there were so many people heading down and we were moving so slowly it was actually OK..

All in all, a bit of a slog with some good views. I'd maybe go back some day to do the other route but I think I can safely say I'll not be doing the mountain path again. Planning to do Ben Vorlich before the end of the week (and before I go back to work next week).

[skuk007]

Really strange what people carry up The Ben, I bet half these things are as a result of a bet during late night drinking sessions.