BEN NEVIS: A COMPLETE GUIDE on how to hike to the summit (in a blizzard)!
Ever wanted to hike to the summit of Ben Nevis? Is it achievable for even a casual hiker? All the answers are in this full guide on hiking Ben Nevis, the UK's highest peak, at winter.
The journey begins at Glasgow Queen Street railway station before travelling to Fort William and then hiking to the summit of the mountain including directions, tips, incredible scenery and blizzards.
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Having recently relocated to Scotland, Ben Nevis was on the top of my list for my The Sports Explorer journey's and it didn't disappoint.
I started my journey from Glasgow Queen Street, at this is the only main terminus direct trains depart from. There are 3 trains a day.
The summit sits at a height of 4,411 feet and is not only the highest point in the United Kingdom, but also until you reach Norway.
Thankfully, it is a fairly straightforward climb, with it's well laid out mountain path guiding hikers to the summit. You will start at the Glen Nevis Visitor Centre, where there is a gift shop and snacks and drinks to be bought. The Visitor Centre is a short taxi ride from Fort William.
Once you are on the mountain trail, you'll head uphill in a southbound direction climbing out of the Glen. The path on this stretch is the steepest you will encounter. After around 2 hours, you will reach Lochen Meall, known as 'halfway lake', it is here the path offers it's only moment of flat walking so enjoy it!
For the next phase, you will hike away from Lochen Meall and continue upwards before entering a switchback section. Whilst this is not the steepest section, it is tough going, especially in winter conditions.
Finally, you will make a left turn and follow the path (and cairns) all the way to the summit - don't stray form the path as the summit is surrounded by deep gorges that would be deadly if you were to fall.
As you pass the old Observatory and the emergency shelter, you will see the summit a few feet away.
If you are to hike Ben Nevis in the winter, make sure you take plenty of supplies, and wear the correct clothing. The proper layers, water, a hot drink and food are all required. And whilst you may not need hiking polls going up the mountain, they are a great help coming down.
Thank you for watching this latest video. The Sports Explorer channel is all about telling the story of our world through sport & adventure, so I hope you have fun on the mountain when you do the hike.
Пікірлер: 60
If you love exploring our world through the power of hiking, Ben Nevis should absolutely be on your bucket list. Thank you for watching the video, if you have any questions, let me know below!
Nice vid. It's worth pointing out that the half way loch is quite someway short of half way. Also. Have a map and compass, plus the skills to use them. You CANNOT rely on the plateau cairns being visible and as you said there are enormous drops just a few feet off the path. If you can't see the cairn, you're stuck without solid navigation skills.
@sportstraveltom
5 сағат бұрын
Thanks for your comments on the hike, all very good points.
Fantastic video. Really enjoyed it. Thank you
@sportstraveltom
Жыл бұрын
Thanks Tom! Glad you liked it - it's a brilliant mountain to climb.
Thanks very much for a comfortable, " vicarious" hike up Ben Nevis. I love videos of people enjoying the Scottish Highlands.😊 😊😊
@sportstraveltom
9 ай бұрын
Thanks David! It was a great trip... and my second Ben Nevis video is coming soon.
@davidferrier5355
9 ай бұрын
I will look forward to seeing you next adventure 😮
Very well done video. Just got back from Ireland a few months ago and hiked Carrauntoohil while I was there. Weather was absolutely hellish - saw nobody on the entire hike except for the mountain rescue team that was coming down and saying it’s too dangerous to continue and that I’d be on my own (looking back… probably shouldn’t have played with life/death like that). But Ben Nevis is definitely next up on the list when I venture across the pond again. This video was great and I’m looking forward to seeing Scotland 🏴
@sportstraveltom
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for the comment! Glad you enjoyed the video and lovely reading about your hiking adventures! Let me know when you do Ben Nevis!
Climbed Ben Nevis when i was 13 in cloud and snowing .Beautiful experience which i never forgot . Am now 60
@sportstraveltom
11 ай бұрын
Amazing! Thanks for sharing. Have you climbed it since?
@kelvincarr6172
11 ай бұрын
@@sportstraveltom only time i climbed it . The only time we ever went on holiday was subsidised school trips.
@sportstraveltom
11 ай бұрын
@@kelvincarr6172 that’s a great school trip. It’s a great achievement - especially at 13!
Well documented!!
@sportstraveltom
Жыл бұрын
Thank you. Glad you found it useful!
The summit of the Ben is quite a dangerous place in poor visibility and a life and death micro navigation challenge in winter whiteout conditions. Fun fact, most folk who get lost and end up falling from the summit, tend to do so on the southern side of the hill by falling into five finger gully, the confluence of which is quite extended just to the south of the navigable path across the summit plateaux. Meaning that an un-arrested slip on hard snow (normal winter & spring condition) anywhere in the five fingers catchment pulls the unwary traveler into the gully, which is 2000' long and can be extremely difficult to recover bodies from, usually having to wait until summer.
@sportstraveltom
6 ай бұрын
Great knowledge and thanks for sharing your insights. It is certainly a place to be careful and stay dafe. Keep to the path!
Great video, brought back fond memories. I would like to add to your commentary that the conditions you experienced was not true winter conditions. Though i don't dispute they were wintery in nature. True winter conditions on the high peaks should only be attempted by those with great experience. Thank you for your wonderful video. And happy (soon to be) 41st birthday!
@sportstraveltom
10 ай бұрын
Well said! Don’t think my cameras would survive full winter conditions! Thank you watching & loving your comment. I’m doing a second Ben Nevis in a few weeks so stay tuned 🙂
@sportstraveltom
10 ай бұрын
Also thanks for the birthday wishes! 🤣
Love your energy mate! We also share the same birthday 🎉🤝
@sportstraveltom
Жыл бұрын
Thanks mate! Thank you for watching. And good to know you’re in the Oct 7th club!
(Belated)Happy birthday 🎉. I am watching with my son who is learning about mountains at school. He found the video very interesting
@sportstraveltom
7 ай бұрын
Thank you! And I’m pleased to hear it! Best wishes to you & your son’s mountain adventures. My latest Ben Nevis video you might enjoy too… 🙂
Amazing Video, I'm doing ben Nevis this week so found this very helpful!
@sportstraveltom
Жыл бұрын
Thank you John! Enjoy your hike up there this week. The weather looks good for it! Let me know how you get on.
@JohnHikes86
Жыл бұрын
Stayed on the camp site and set off at 5am hit the summit in 2 and half hours don't know if that was good but the weather was brilliant and had the summit to myself! Route back down is when the rush of hikers were climbing. Glad I set off early.
@sportstraveltom
Жыл бұрын
@@JohnHikes86 2 & 1/2 hours!!? Blimey - mind you, I was filming so that slows me down? Glad you had a good run & had the sun it to yourself, it’s an incredible place. Congrats on completing it 🎉🥂👍
@JohnHikes86
Жыл бұрын
Thankyou. Please keep up the awesome videos! As this helped me alot.
@sportstraveltom
Жыл бұрын
@@JohnHikes86 thank you! And will. Growing the channel as best I can so I hugely appreciate your support!
did it a few weeks ago, about 4ft of snow on the top, great hike
@sportstraveltom
Жыл бұрын
Agreed! One of great day hikes around. Bet the snow was good!
@johnmcananey
Жыл бұрын
@@sportstraveltom it was great but tough as it was fairly steep in places
@sportstraveltom
Жыл бұрын
@@johnmcananey It certainly has its challenges. It's a slog all the way up, but well worth it.
@johnmcananey
Жыл бұрын
@@sportstraveltom oh it's amazing
I'm still waiting to see the "blizzard" that you mention!
Let me know what you thought of the video guys... was it helpful in your quest to reach the summit of Ben Nevis or inspired you to do it soon?
Didn't you think to yourself, "I must stop these bits of metal banging together?"
@sportstraveltom
5 сағат бұрын
Haha - my hands were too cold to do anything about it. It was one of my camera lenses knowcking into my water bottle.
Bro, I ve stayed here its really nice, you can walk from train station to that hotel saved you 2hours and missery :( - great video though
@sportstraveltom
Жыл бұрын
Hah - thanks! You can walk it, but I was trying to keep everything dry ahead of the hike! Thanks for watching and glad you enjoyed!
Hi, in what month did you climb ben nevis?
@sportstraveltom
Жыл бұрын
HI Cherno, I climbed the mountain in October - just last week in fact.
I'm doing this in July but via the cmd arete
@sportstraveltom
Жыл бұрын
Enjoy! Hope the video guide is useful.
@boozytortoise
Жыл бұрын
@@sportstraveltom yeah it's great to see as we will be coming down the tourist route :)
@sportstraveltom
Жыл бұрын
@@boozytortoise Enjoy the pint at the bottom at the Nevis Inn!
@boozytortoise
Жыл бұрын
@@sportstraveltom or a few whisky:)
@sportstraveltom
Жыл бұрын
@@boozytortoise haha indeed!!
Did you really wait 2 hours at the station for a taxi to take you 4 minutes down the road (20 walking) 😜
@sportstraveltom
4 ай бұрын
Haha, I did. I was wearing my hiking gear so really didn't want it all soaked for the next day's hike. On recent visits I have walked it you'll be pleased to know.
@1pauljs
4 ай бұрын
@@sportstraveltom makes sense. All kidding aside it is a great video. By far the best for anyone looking to make that climb. ✌️
October 1982 gang
@sportstraveltom
8 ай бұрын
The best gang 🤣
Be aware of white outs
@sportstraveltom
10 ай бұрын
Indeed!
No information on clothing to wear, or equipment to take with you, and no information on checking the weather forecast beforehand - is this really a 'complete guide'?
5:37 1343m. I'm SICK of archaic imperial measurements, metric only please!
@smiffy4249
Ай бұрын
Be sick its feet in the UK