The remaining cairns and repaired path
The John Muir Trust – owners of Ben Nevis since 2000 – has cleared these cairns to preserve the wild and remote feeling at the top of Britain’s highest mountain. The cairns were also being used as rubbish bins and their proliferation could give people a false sense of security which is not an adequate replacement for map reading skills necessary in poor weather conditions.
“These randomly laid cairns could easily deceive walkers into thinking they were following a path.” commented Sandy Maxwell. “On Ben Nevis, like all mountains in Scotland, the weather can change rapidly so it is essential to be prepared to navigate yourself.”
The cairns, most of them only a few feet high, have been randomly built up over the years by walkers. They are often started by a collection of stones to cover up litter left on the summit. As they are built up over time by passing walkers, more and more rubbish is stuffed into their nocks and crannies. John Muir Trust work parties dismantling these cairns also picked up hundreds of bags of litter from Ben Nevis. Their excavations even uncovered a piano and wheelchair.
Cairns and memorials on Scotland’s hills are a source of intense controversy amongst walkers and conservationists. The debate rages between those who think that they add to the experience of a good walk and others who are convinced that any man-made structure is an unnecessary intrusion into a remote landscape. The John Muir Trust has removed these cairns in line with its wild land policy to ‘remove redundant non-archaeological structures.’
The decision to leave around twenty cairns on Ben Nevis was a pragmatic one. With over 200, 000 people walking to the summit every year it is widely recognised that some sort of waymarker is necessary to help prevent people from loosing their way. “These cairns should not be used as a primary feature for navigation,” warned Sandy Maxwell. “There is no substitute for a map and compass, and if you are not confident with your navigation skills, do not attempt to walk to the summit of Ben Nevis in poor weather. The cairns are spaced too widely apart to be followed in poor visibility.”
There are also historic reasons for keeping these cairns on Ben Nevis. They were built as part of the pony track that wound up to a Victorian Observatory, constructed on the summit in 1883. The observatory, funded by private donors, provided constant meteorological date for twenty years before being abandoned in 1904. Near the ruins of the observatory is the world famous peace cairn. Dedicated to universal world peace the Fort William-Dudley Memorial and Peace Cairn was built on top of Britain’s highest mountain on VJ Day in 1945.
“Ben Nevis is no ordinary mountain and we are committed to protecting its unique history together with its rugged landscape, concluded Sandy Maxwell. Now that the main work of clearing unwanted cairns is over, I urge visitors to Britain highest mountain to leave its summit as you find it.”
If you are interested in volunteering the Friends of Nevis partnership is organising a litter blitz on Saturday 15 November. This family event in lower/mid Glen Nevis has been planned to tackle late summer and autumn rubbish – including the aftermath of bonfire celebrations – and to get the glen smartened up before the onset of winter!