Ben Nevis

Red Burn

On something of a whim, Abigail and I had decided to drive to the Highlands for three days in the October break. The weather forecast wasn't brilliant, but I was determined that if we'd driven all that way I would have a crack at running Britain's highest mountain.

So, early on a dark and misty October morning, I left our hotel and took the short drive to Fort William. I parked at the Glen Nevis visitors centre. The car park was empty, except for one chap who I overtook just as I crossed the River Nevis.

As the day started to break, I started to climb. At first the gradient was relatively tame, however, the path soon became steep and the steps deeper. I had originally planned to run a circular route over the Carn Mor Dearg arete, however, visibility was very poor and so I opted to run a simple out and back along the main tourist path. The CMD would have to wait until another day.

The steepening path, and the worsening weather, made the ascent heavy going. Shortly after passing Red Burn, I deviated off the tourist path and picked my way up the steep mountainside. At this stage the gradient was seriously tough and I was struggling to gather any traction. Fortunately, I then rejoined the tourist path close to the crossing over Coire na h-Urchaire. From here I then embarked on the relentless zigzagging path to the summit. I counted eight zigzags on my map and counted them down in my head with every 90 degree turn.

As I gained altitude I soon noticed how cold it had become. I was running in my tights and a my cold weather gear and yet I was soaked through. I knew that my visit to the summit would be a quick one. Finally, as I completed the final zigzag, I began following the cairns as the gradient eased. To my left, in a brief break in the cloud, one of the many gullies on the north face presented itself. I always get a little unnerved when landscape suddenly appears from the clag.

A gully on the north face

Finally, after what seemed like an age, I could see the summit cairn and shelter in the distance. I touched the summit cairn and had a quick mooch around the remains of the observatory. I was quite surprised to see there was no snow at the top (as had been predicted). I sat down in the remains of the observatory and changed my sodden gloves for a fresh pair. I was freezing cold and needed to get moving as quickly as possible.

I couldn't afford to hang around in the cold and so I built up a bit of speed on the descent along the zigzagging tourist path. Once I'd dropped by around 200m or so I started to warm up. A further 200m of descent and I was making decent time. By this stage I started passing walkers on their way up. A number of them seemed surprised that I was already on my way down. I passed the chap I'd seen near the car park and told him he didn't have too far to go... he looked frozen!

The descent was relatively trouble free. I chose to follow the tourist path rather than take the earlier shortcut down the steep, grassy mountainside as I had done so on the way up. As the valley became increasingly visible I passed more and more walkers who were embarking in the long slog up the Ben.

Finally, I crossed over the River Nevis and returned to the car. I stopped my watch; 2 hrs 36. I was surprised at how quickly I'd got up and down. I was a little disappointed as the visibility was so poor, but still pleased that, for a brief moment at least, I was higher than anyone else in the UK!

The summit shelter in the clag