Ben Nevis by the CMD Arête

[Gemmaveronica]

I was pushed to the limit on this one given I'd had a stomach bug only a few days before and the weather was dreadfully dreich, so much so that by the end my waterproof gear was soaked through. At the beginning there was a battle going on within the mind, will power vs. slight questioning of capability. Will power thankfully won so on I plundered into the misty heights with the rest of the group.

The first section was a sure test of endurance with a seemingly endless up and up but it eventually eased off as we headed for the first munro, Carn Mor Dearg. With that in the bag we had a good bit of fun during the slippery scramble along the arête. The rain had simmered down for most of this section providing some relief but we were pummelled at the end with a burst of a hail, call it an early massage!

Next, we clambered our way up the boulder field to claim the victory of Ben Nevis and enjoyed the well earned feeling of self satisfaction. By stark contrast to the warmer weather we'd been enjoying, it was very cold at the top with some ice crystals forming on my sodden Seal Skinz gloves. After enjoying the moment and taking the obligatory photo, we layered up, had a spot of lunch and were quickly on our way.

Leaving the crowds behind us, we endured relentless torrents of rain on the fairly pleasant-on-the-knees descent. To add a bit of drama and excitement at the end of the walk we had to cross a rather frisky river so we formed a circular human chain and unfazed by the additional moisture, we carefully waded through.

All in, despite the lack of views it turn out to be a rewarding walk and much fun was had during the more adventurous bits scaling the ridge and crossing the river. As the group would say, it was a 'Quality Mountain Day'.