Trekking Dates
Ben Nevis
23/02/07
28/05/07
23/06/07
26/04/09
This is the walk of all walks. It is not just a walk but a test of resilience and determination. It is not for the faint hearted. It is not for the weak kneed. It will push you to the limit and back again. Here is that walk in picture format with comments between.
It all started on the 25th April 2009 with a 4am start on our 395 mile journey to the highest point in the United Kingdom. The first few pictures are of the great scenery we saw on our 81/2 hour journey to Fort William. Where we were to stay in the Glen Nevis youth hostel at the base of Ben Nevis.
We got to Fort William quite quickly and found the youth hostel easily. Quite well sign posted, better than in England. Maybe that's because they are so popular in Scotland with all the great places to walk.
We got set up in our room and then went for a walk round and get some food. We couldn't believe how warm it was still and how clear it seemed. What a great day it would be if the weather stayed like this.
We decided to keep in touch with some friends and family via Facebook as I had the facility to take a photo and then send it straight to the website. One of the first photo's that I took was from the YHA window looking up at Ben Nevis.
I got lots of comments from jealous friends but also lots of comments wishing me and Lincoln luck for the following day.
This picture was taken after McDonalds at 8pm looking up into the snow capped hills.
The 26th April came quickly and this is what we woke up to.
We decided that this was still not going to stop us. It had started like this the previous day we were told, but the weather forecast was for heavy rain and high winds.
We set off at 8.30am up
the path from Glen Nevis to where it meets with the path coming up from
the BenNevis visitor centre. The one from Glen Nevis is shorter but a
lot steeper. Lincoln had to stop quite a few times to catch his breath,
then he decided it was time for a run!
I just left him to it I
knew I would be catching him up as he would no doubt be out of breath
very soon. He thinks he is fit due to all his sports he does but what he
didn't realise was that they were all played
on the flat. This was a very big difference. I f you look at the photo
there is a sign just ahead of him, this is where I caught up with him as
he was trying to catch his breath. He learnt from that and decided to
walk the rest of the way.
Lincoln had decided to take a photo of the scenery from behind us.
As you can see it is
really pretty clear with good views over Glen Nevis and where we had
just walked up from. The following picture is less than a minute later.
He had taken the photo turned around to put his phone away and I told
him to
have a look at the view again, he was absolutely gobsmacked at what had
happened in that short space of time.
We continued our walk up and then Lincoln wanted a pose shot as he called it. He thought the view below us was great so he made me take a photo of him and then he took one of me.
The walk continued and it was now evident that the mist and clouds on the summit were not going to disappear. We still wanted to reach the summit though as Lincoln wanted to say he had been to the highest point in the UK. At various sections we had to cross little bridges over waterfalls but there was one point that we actually had to walk through a waterfall. This really amazed Lincoln so he wanted a photo taken of him in it. He really is a poser!
He also did a pose that made us both laugh. One of his brothers friends has a special pose that he always does when he is being photographed so we just had to take a photo of him doing a Josh (only I think Lincoln outdid him as he completed the pose 1200ft up).
We were not far now
from the zig zags that were to make the steep climb a bit easier (yeah,
right, cause it would!) The climb started to get harder now, no man made
paths as there was down near the bottom. Although the path over the
years
could be classed as man made the unsteady rocks under foot tell a
different story. The weather was
really starting to hit us now and at one point Lincoln was complaining that
his face was hurting because of the wind and rain hitting us. You can
see in this photo that it was starting to show on his face, the pain he
must have been going through.
This was now where it
got even harder as we came across our first patch of snow, no problem we
thought it will just be small patches that have not melted yet, I did
tell Lincoln that there would
be
no snow angels this time though. We went round a couple more bends and
then it hit us, We were not going to see any more rocks to walk on just
snow!
This was where it really started to show on Lincoln. He was struggling, not because he was knackered, but every step you took you sank. At one point Lincoln put his foot down and went down up to his knees. At first this was funny then we realised it was going to get even worse going up. The weather was not helping with thick fog, wind and rain!
The following few pictures show how bad it was starting to get
I was starting to feel it as well but I couldn't tell Lincoln that I had to be strong for him.
I had not been too concerned before but the weather really changed and I seriously considered turning round and going back down. The photo below shows Lincoln bending down near to a cairn, I was about 5 ft away from him!
We had by this time just reached the steep climb to the summit plateau. We had to finish it we couldn't come all this way and not complete it. Could we? I was not so sure. Lincoln was suffering and wanted to go down, he wanted to tell everyone he had done it, not because he didn't think he could do it but because he was so cold! Even with all the extra clothes and waterproofs on he was shivering and soaked, we both were (only I didn't show it). We then looked up and Lincoln said "there's someone coming!" We hadn't had anyone pass us since we hit the snow, we thought we had gone the wrong way. But now we knew we were right. We asked them how far it was to the summit and they told us it was only about 10mins away. They also told us we had to keep to the right hand side as there was a large overhang on the left that dropped 2000ft and went in about 10metres. We had seen a photo of this down on the notice board at the beginning of the walk ,but didn't think anything of it as it had been taken some 10days earlier and thought it would be gone by now. We were wrong, we actually saw the edge through the fog. This next photo is the one we saw down at the bottom, and believe me it was scary!
We were now on the flat and I knew we were close. Then I saw it, the old observatory with the refuge hut on top of it (the roof of this is now classed as the highest point as it stands a few feet above the trig point). We had made it! Through all the snow, wind, rain and fog, we had made it to the top of the UK. I was so proud of Lincoln. I got someone to take some photo's of us both and I took some of Lincoln.
It was now time to get him down from here. He was shaking and was complaining he couldn't feel his fingers. I managed to get his waterproofs on him (he had refused to put them on earlier, but now was unable to do it on his own). He asked me whether my hands were cold, as I had to take my gloves off to help him. They were freezing but I hadn't got time to think about myself I had to put all my energy into getting Lincoln sorted and getting him off this mountain. The wind was now blasting ice at us and I honestly believe that the temperature with the wind chill was probably about -3C. I probably should have not taken him this far in this terrible weather. I had to get him down now I could see blue in his lips. I did not want to have to use the mountain rescue team. His mum would never forgive me!
We had just turned round to make our descent when a family turned up with a tiny little dog, some people have no brains at all. That dog must have been freezing. We passed people coming up in trainers, just a waterproof jacket with no back pack! At least we had come up with spare clothing and all the safety items that we may have needed if things had gone wrong. Lincoln actually apologised to me when we had got half way down for doubting me when I said we were taking so much stuff.
As soon as we had got out of the snow he started to cheer up a bit and he wanted a photo taken (my poser was back!).
Lincoln was back now. Although he was still cold he had cheered up a lot. It was now my turn to struggle. They say that the hardest part of climbing a mountain is the descent, they are not wrong! I was having to take it really slow, my calves and knees were killing me and getting worse. I had to take every step slowly. The family that had just got to the top as well as many others were now passing us. I needed the bottom and I needed it soon. Then we saw it out of the clouds. But it was still so far away. Lincoln said "it's ok Gary I can see the youth hostel from here". I had to turn round to him and say "Yes Lincoln but it took us 2 hrs to get to this point"!
Finally we managed to get to the bottom and the bridge across to the youth hostel. What a welcome sight that was. A shower and hot drink was all that I wanted.
As I sit here writing this journey 2 days later I am still unable to walk very well and I am very glad that I am not at work this week!
THE END!