“Onwards and Upwards” – Day 7, A Ben Nevis Clamber
Now anyone who knows me will attest to the fact that I’m okay as a walker, can climb hills quite well, but I’m not a mountaineer. So after 6 days walking the West Highland Way I approached the climb up Ben Nevis with some trepidation. But I needn’t have worried cos there were dozens of people going up on 5th July 2013 who were far less prepared than me.
I parked in the car park of the visitors’ centre beside the River Nevis and just followed my nose. At the start it was a warm and bright summer day but I was later thankful that I’d included warm clothing in my rucksack and was wearing my trusty Brasher Hillmaster GTX boots that had taken me from Milngavie to Fort William.
I won’t pretend that the climb wasn’t hard in that it’s steep uphill all the way, of course, but there was nothing particularly difficult about it – though, crossing the snow field, I was so glad of my boots and walking pole – especially as I saw several people, very ill-equipped (one woman in thongs!) slipping and sliding about.
Unfortunately, nearer the top, the weather closed in and there were no views from the summit. But I joined the “merry throng” of celebrants and enjoyed a few minutes at the highest point in Britain for a short while before heading down.
Having then climbed Ben Nevis i was inspired to also clamber up Scafell Pike and Snowden in successive months after.
So the walk and climb were over but then Noelene and I were joined by our best friends from Bolton and, in excellent weather, we spend a week exploring within 50 miles of Forth William. A good time was had by one and all.