Nevis at Night
At 1345m Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Britain and towers above the popular tourist town of Fort William. It attracts thousands of people every year in their quest to conquer the Ben. Some fail, some succeed. Some do it for the pure love of walking and personal challenge. Others do it to raise money in aid of and awareness for their chosen charities.
I have summited Ben Nevis before, however this time was different. I was here with my brother to go up the Ben using the commonly known tourist path. An easier route than I have done before, yet a very long and constant slog and one not to be underestimated. We were taking part in a brand new event called Nevis at Night organised by Mike Pescod from Abacus Mountain Guides.
Light trails
The idea is to set off in the evening, reach the summit at night, in darkness, and make it down again by the wee early hrs of the morning. Meanwhile a photographer would capture some light trails from our head torches. The whole event was being put on to raise money for the Nevis Landscape Partnership Fund. This charity works very hard to look after and maintain the public paths and countryside in the Nevis Range.
We packed our rucksacks, got kitted up and off we went to the start point at the Ben Nevis Visitor centre. We met our other group members who all seemed very nice and knowledgable about the area. Our two mountain leaders gave us a prep talk and checked our clothing and equipment, specifically head torches. It had just turned 5pm and it was time to go.
Initial nerves
As we set off, my initial nerves that had built up whilst waiting around had gone. The sun was beating down on us. With the weight of the rucksack and boots and other walking gear, I began to sweat. Boy, did I sweat. We all did! We reached the first turning right which was the start of the uphill slog for the next 4 hours or so. I remember seeing everyone else walking down towards us and, as I looked back, I thought “we are the only group walking up this late in the day. The things I get myself into!” The next 2½ hrs were a very long, hot slog zig zagging up the
mountain until we reached the half way lochan. What a beautiful view we had from there, looking down to where we had started from and across the skyline. Each mountain had its own colour and dominance over the next in the fading dusk lit evening.
Refreshing water
We sat to take a breather, have a drink and some food. It was then that I noticed how the air temperature had dropped significantly. I was becoming cold whilst not moving. We were soon climbing again and my body temperature increased. As we passed a water fall, some of the group stopped to fill their water bottles an drank the refreshing, cold, clean water.
Plummeting temperature and increasing snow
The trees and grass started to disappear and the terrain became more grey, rocky and tougher. We had now almost lost the light as well, so out came the head torch and coat. With probably another hour and a half to go, we carried on taking it in turns to lead. Some were slower than others so it helped the group stay together. As we climbed higher, the temperature plummeted and, although the wind was kind to us, the mountain now started to show signs of its power. Our torches started showing us patches of snow, increasing up the path untill we were surrounded by snow. “Wow, this is amazing”, I thought.
Hardy Scotsman
The event organisers had lit up the larger cairns for us and these looked both spectacular and somewhat eerie at the same time. As we were nearing the top, stood in a hollow cairn was the hardiest Scotsman I’m sure I will ever meet. Unfortunately I didn’t catch his name but he was there all evening as part of the event.
He entertained us by playing the tin whistle and reading us poetry. He had nothing other than the clothes he was wearing, a pair of wooly mittens and a small backpack. I stood there freezing, putting on my hat and gloves and zipping up my coat to the max. All I could think was “This guy’s nuts! He must be absolutely frozen, but what a legend!
Final push
After feeling inspired and motivated, we applauded him and made our final push to the summit. We walked the final approach tightly together as a group. As we got to the plateau, passing the magnificently illuminated yet deadly gully of the North Face, we heard cheers and applause from Mike and his team. We took the final few steps and we’d made it to the summit of Ben Nevis. With feeling of elation and pride we stood on the trig point as snow began to fall around us! It felt magical and, as my brother said, slightly emotional.
Constant plod
It was too cold to hang around so, after pictures and a quick explore, we regrouped and started our descent. It was a lot quicker to get down although everyone struggled in some way with their knees or feet, or both, from the constant plod down the mountain. We all reached the bottom and finish line at various times. I arrived at 12.20 am, making my moving time up and down the Ben a respectable 5hrs 50mins.
Sleeping bags
Hot pulled pork cobs and miniature bottles of whisky from the local distillery to wash it down were provided by the organisers for each participant. Once my brother was down too and joined me we made a steady walk back to our tents where we climbed into our sleeping bags tired, sore a little achy but proud of what we and everyone else had just achieved.
Photography by Daniel Ross Timmis
About the author:
Mark Roberts is a YouTuber and blogger who focusses on his outdoor interests as a wild cooking enthusiast and wilderness adventurer. He is passionate about the outdoors and thrives by continually pushing himself with new adventures and outdoor pursuits. As a Beaver Scout Leader he is very keen in encouraging children to get outside by teaching them outdoor bushcraft, survival and mountaineering skills. Mark lives his life by the the quote ‘Explore, Dream, Discover’.
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