Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles. It is situated in the west of Scotland, close to the town of Fort William. It is one of 284 Munros (mountains in Scotland that reach an elevation of 3,000 feet (914.4 m) or more).

Ben Nevis is somewhat infamous for its inclement weather. The summit boasts the following statistics:

• 355 days a year cloud-covered, on average.
• 261 full gales per year, on average.
• 4,350 mm of rainfall per year, compared to only 2,050 mm in Fort William, just a few miles away.

The draw of the highest peak in the British Isles attracts over 100,000 ascents a year. A significant number of these visitors have little experience of mountains, and many are caught out each year by the quickly changing weather. Between 1990 and 1995 alone there were 13 fatalities on the mountain. (Eight of these were due to falls while rock climbing.)

The origin of the name Ben Nevis is unclear. The word ben is certainly from beann, the

Ben Nevis is one of three British mountains climbed as part of the (National) Three Peaks Challenge.

Popular routes

There is a relatively simple route to the summit known as the 'Ben Path', but commonly referred to as the 'tourist route'. This begins at the Glen Nevis Visitor Centre about one mile (1.6 km) from Fort William town centre, and a short distance up the mountain is joined by a path from the youth hostel. Another popular route is from Steal further up Glen Nevis, it is shorter and steeper, and tends to be used by climbers with a modicum of experience. Navigating safely from the summit in poor visibility can be difficult.

The continuation round the cirque to Carn Mor Dearg via the CMD arête is also popular with strong walkers, (see photo 2) though the steep descent from Ben Nevis summit can require very great care in winter conditions.

The summit

Controversy continues to rage about the placing of navigation poles near the summit. The poles

A meteorological observatory on the summit was established by Clement Lindley Wragge in 1881 and permanently manned between October 1883 and October 1904. In September 1894, CTR Wilson was employed for a couple of weeks as temporary relief for one of the permanent staff. It was during this sojourn that his attention was caught by the Brocken Spectre. His subsequent experimental work aimed at understanding this optical phenomenon eventually led to his invention of the cloud chamber.

The view

Being the highest ground in Britain, the panorama from the summit is extremely extensive. The view includes such hills as the Skye Cuillin, Sgurr na Ciche, Liathach, Carn Eige, Morven, the Cairngorms, Lochnagar, Ben Lawers, Ben Lomond, the Isle of Arran, the Paps of Jura and Barra Head, with the views extending up to 120 miles in good conditions. See the 'External links' section for the full view.

Other facts

Ben Nevis consists of igneous rock dating from the Devonian period of geological history.

The north face attains a maximum height of 2,000 feet (600 m) and extends for 2 miles (3 km) and has many famous mountaineering routes, from Tower Ridge (grade II) to Centurion (grade VIII.8). This face holds snow until quite late in the year, and in a good year routes may remain in winter condition until mid-spring.

There is an annual Grade A fell race to the summit of Ben Nevis from Fort William and back again. The fastest recorded time for men is 1 hour and 25 minutes, and 1 hour 43 minutes for women.

A peak in New Zealand's Remarkables range of mountains is named after Ben Nevis.

Ben Nevis is also a brand name of a whisky distillery in the nearby town of Fort William.

Ben Nevis is also the name of the ship that carried a congregation of Wendish settlers to Texas in 1854 .

See also

• Geology of the United Kingdom
• John Muir Trust

References

1.   Suzanne Miller (2004), "Ben Nevis Geology", The Edinburgh Geologist, Autumn, No. 43. Online, accessed April 12, 2005.
2.   Eric Langmuir (1995), "Mountaincraft and Leadership (Third edition)", SportScotland, Edinburgh.
3.   BBC News (2002), "Appeal to tidy up Ben Nevis". Online, accessed April 12, 2005.
4.  The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (1997) "Ben Nevis — The Future" Newsletter No. 33, August. Online, accessed April 12, 2005.
5.   Ken Crocket (1986), "Ben Nevis - Britain's Highest Mountain", The Scottish Mountaineering Trust, ISBN 0 907521 16 9 Ben Nevis

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