WINTRY DAY ON BEN NEVIS

The Three sisters enjoying the Ben Nevis snows

Bit wintry on the summit

We did it!

Smiling through the snow

Atmospheric cloud and wet on the way up

Glen Nevis before

....and after

Plenty of scraps for the Snow Buntings

Seen it all before

New Bridge over the Nevis, shorter distance  to the summit now

Approaching the top

It wasn't too long ago when we were basking in sunshine on the summits with  cloudless skies and fabulous views. Unfortunately today on Ben Nevis we had low cloud, poor visibility, constant rain and above 1100m it was snowing. Still, I had three very enthusiastic ladies, all sisters, who relished the conditions and found the trek up to the summit a wonderful experiece. Down in Glen Nevis it was relitively mild, a very different story higher up where the temperatures were around freezing point. It is always a long day whichever route yo take to the UK's higest mountain. The Mountain Path was a challenge enough in these coditions but a good set of waterproofs and warm clothes make the walk up a much safer and pleasurable one. There were many folk up there today who were taking the 'minimilist' and 'lightweight' approach, 'Pack a Mac', no rucksacks, trainers, etc seemed to be the norm, or maybe it's just been a while since I've guided on the Mountain Path side and I have forgotten 'how it is'? Charlotte and her sisters did a brilliant job and were still smiling all the way down to the Ben Nevis Inn. If you're starting from the Glen Nevis visitor Centre it is now a shorter distance to th summit as the brand new bridge over the River Nevis chops off a couple of hundred metres n distance :) . Today I was working for Walkabout Scotland.