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ROUTE 7

Ben Nevis by the Mountain Track

Start/Finish	Achintee (NN 125 730)
Distance	14.5km/9 miles (up and down)
Total ascent	1300m/4400ft
Time	7hr
Terrain	Path well built below, then stony
Max altitude	Ben Nevis 1344m

Even for experienced hillwalkers, the ascent of the Mountain Track, from barely above sea level to Scotland’s highest point, is tough and tiring. As hillwalks go, it’s not wonderful; relentlessly uphill for 1200m on a stone-built path, and with no view at all of the mountain’s exciting northern side. The summit is in cloud more often than not. Still, Ben Nevis has to be done, and this is the convenient way to do it. Less experienced walkers should bear in mind that on the summit the weather will usually be two clothing-layers colder than at the start, and that for sore legs the rather steep downhill is almost as arduous as up.

A more serious problem can be the leaving of the summit. The path is unclear on the stony plateau, and doglegs between crag drops. Mostly, the way down is obvious because of the other walkers coming up; but the slowest person up, who may also be injured and exhausted, has no such guide. It’s worth picking up one of the detailed summit maps handed out in Fort William’s shops and information outlets or online at www.mcofs.org.uk (‘Ben Nevis navigation’). Compass bearings and GPS references are also in a box below. There is an emergency shelter on the summit; if the Mountain Rescue is alerted to your non-return, this is the first place they’ll look. Mobile phone coverage on the upper Mountain Track is good.

ALTERNATIVE START POINTS

This walk can also be started from the Nevis Visitor Centre (NN 123 730) or the informal roadside parking near Glen Nevis youth hostel (NN 128 718). The youth hostel route is shortest, but gives a steep stone-surfaced descent right at the end when you really don’t want it.

See Ben Nevis summit summary map. Start from the road end at Achintee. At the car park end, ignore a small stile but take a gate onto a track, to a signpost just ahead. Now the wide, well-built path slants up the side of Meall an t-Suidhe, with a couple of zigzags and crossing two little aluminium footbridges, into the hollow of the lower Red Burn. At the top of this it makes a zigzag to the left to arrive on the halfway plateau above Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe (the Halfway Lochan). Turn off here for Route 11, Meall an t-Suidhe.

The wide path slants uphill northeast above the lochan. After 400 metres a path ahead starts to run gently downhill: here turn back sharp right up the main path. (Or keep ahead for a nicer walk altogether, the Half Nevis, Route 10).

Pony Path, Ben Nevis, above Red Burn

After this sharp right turn, the path slants back across the hill to cross the Red Burn below a waterfall, and rises in wide zigzags. The rebuilt path is clear to follow, except when snow covered. As the slope starts to ease at 1100m, unseen drops into Five Finger Gully are on the right; occasional glances backwards will help memorise the path line for the descent. At 1200m the slope eases further, and the path runs just south of east to a steepening, MacLean’s Steep. At this point you become aware of the tops of the great northern crag nearby on the left.

The path, marked by cairns but still not very clear, continues in the same direction to pass the head first of Tower Gully (with a small pinnacle on its left wall) and then of Gardyloo Gully. It bears left beyond, to the summit with its observatory ruins, shelter, large cairn and trig point. You may now refer to this hill as ‘The Ben’.

In normal conditions, the descent is easily made by passing the stream of people coming up. In mist (or if you happen to be the tired and damaged last person up) it requires care. In a winter (or spring, or autumn) white-out, this can be a life-threatening place. In falling snow it may be impossible to see cliff edges until you’re already standing on the unstable and overhanging snow cornice. The summit shelter was provided for such situations.

Ben Nevis summit

From the summit cairn head past the memorial cairn to the top of Gardyloo Gully that falls to the right, and turn half-right (see bearings in box ‘Getting off Ben Nevis’) on a wide path which is cairned, and clear enough in snowless daylight. After 400 metres is the top of MacLean’s Steep. In mist, take the direct downhill path (north of west) rather than the gentler zigzag leading out left, as the latter path flirts with top of Five Finger Gully.

In another 500 metres you reach the cairn at the top of the zigzags (see GPS ref in box below). The well-built but stony path descends in broad sweeps, the last one heading rightwards to cross the Red Burn. In another 600 metres you reach the path junction above the Halfway Lochan. For the North Face car park, continue ahead now on Route 8; or a crossing of Meall an t-Suidhe on Route 11.

Turn sharp left, on the well-reconstructed smooth path. It leads over the plateau edge to a zigzag, then down right, around the flank of Meall an t-Suidhe. Just after another small zigzag is the junction with the path down left for the footbridge to the youth hostel, or keep ahead for the gentler descent to Achintee car park. Just before that one, a signpost points down left for the car park at the Nevis Centre.

GETTING OFF BEN NEVIS

Using GPS and compass:

1 NN 1668 7128 Nevis summitSouthwest 150 metres to

2 NN 1658 7117 Turning point opposite Gardyloo Gully283° (just north of west) 400 metres to

3 NN 1625 7125 Top of MacLean’s SteepSame bearing 283° (just north of west) 500 metres to

4 NN 1572 7137 Top of zigzags (you have now avoided Five Finger Gully)Down path, or else:283° (just north of west), directly downhill, toNN 1467 7165 Mountain Track at foot of zigzags

Path, north, 200 metres to

NN 1474 7186 Path crosses Red Burn

Using compass alone, the bearings are:

From the summit to clear the head of Gardyloo Gully: pass to right of the observatory ruins, bearing 232° (roughly southwest) for 150 metres (roughly 100 double steps).

Thus having passed to left of the head of Gardyloo Gully: take a careful bearing 283° (slightly north of west) for 400 metres to the top of MacLean’s Steep, and the same bearing for another 500 metres to the top of the zigzags. If the zigzags are invisible (for example under fresh snow) the same bearing, which should be directly downhill, will eventually lead down steep soggy grass into the lower hollow of the Red Burn.

Bearings are magnetic 2016: subtract 1° for every six years after 2016.