Dan H: the world traveling saxophone holder: LEARNING TO LOVE SCOTLAND

Ben Nevis via the Carn Mor Dearg Arete

Ben Nevis really is a brilliantly designed mountain. It should win an award for inspired and well thought out architecture! I don't know who you would give it to, Christians would say God of course but I doubt an architectural award for 'outstanding achievement in the field of mountain design' would really appeal to him all that much. Or maybe it would, but I'm drifting a little off topic.

From a distance, from the summit of Stob Dearg or the Aonach Eagach ridge in Glencoe, Ben Nevis doesn't really stand out all that much (see top left photo). It certainly has a distinctive shape, the peak doesn't rise to a point like the others around it, instead it has a unique whale backed profile that creates an extremely flat, almost tabletop roof to it. But it doesn't seem obvious that it's the tallest mountain in the area, let alone the country. In fact if I wasn't already previously informed with a description of the mountain from my Lonely Planet 'Walking in Scotland' guide then I wouldn't even know that it was Ben Nevis.

Once you get close however, things are different, Ben Nevis is huge. Enormous. Really quite colossal in fact. It's strange, I've been in the presence of mountains that utterly dwarf Ben Nevis in height yet when standing next to the base of the UK's tallest peak it really doesn't seem any smaller than those other, loftier mountains. One of the reasons might well be to the sheer bulk of the mountain. I could liken it to those times when you see one of those bodybuilders either at the gym or the beach, they aren't necessarily any taller than you but they look like they could crush your skull between their bicep without breaking a sweat. They somehow manage seem ten times bigger than you. Most mountains start with a wide base and gradually taper off towards the top where the peak ends in a point. But not Big Ben! It starts wide and ends wide. Shaped more like a gargantuan over sized brick than a pyramid, it rises wide up to its full height and sacrifices nothing in the way of girth.

In addition to this it should also be noted that Ben Nevis rises almost entirely the full height above its base. Many mountains don't do this, their total height above sea level doesn't actually represent the height above the surrounding terrain but with Ben Nevis you get exactly what it says on the box: 4,400 feet/1,340 metres of mountain over your head. Glen Nevis, where the walk starts, is barely above sea level in terms of height so when you stand at the start of the walk you really have to crane your neck right up to see the sky.

Best of all, Ben Nevis is steep sided, really steep sided. While it may not be a sheer cliff face, it still rises much more suddenly than most other mountains in the area, creating a face that you would most certainly NOT want to lose your footing near the edge of!

But despite all these wondrous features, they aren't what make Ben Nevis truly great, no what I was referring to when I mentioned the intelligent design of the peak was the wonderful versatility of the place, Ben Nevis is a mountain for every type of climber! There are many routes up this spectacular peak and they suit people of all abilities (except the catastrophically unfit who shouldn't really consider an ascent without a helicopter).

First there is the tourist track, as it has become known. It's path that anyone of reasonable fitness and no mountain experience could tackle. It's a gradual, gently climbing path over relatively smooth terrain, as smooth as a mountain can be anyway, that slowly but surely winds its way up the south and southwest side of the mountain. It still isn't a walk in the park but there are no steep sections, rock climbs or perilous ridge walks.

But for me that simply wasn't enough fun! I chose to approach the peak from the North, via the Carn Mor Dearg Arete route, a thrilling, pulse pounding and vertigo inducing scramble that involves far more effort and rewards with far better views than those doing the tourist track could ever dream of. This route starts the same as the rest but then splits from the crowds about half way up, heading round to the treacherous cliffs of the northeast face. The truly suicidal can attempt a rock climb up the cliffs themselves, which involves an ascent of a nearly vertical towering cliff face that stands, at some places, 800 metres over the base! It certainly does set the seal on Ben Nevis' reputation as a mountain for all abilities. But I wasn't quite crazy enough to tackle the cliff face.

The Carn Mor Dearg Arete route overlooks the lethal northeast cliff face but it actually climbs the mountain via a number of subsidiary peaks that are connected to Ben Nevis via an exciting and steep edged ridge, ie. the Carn Mor Dearg Arete. Ascending via this route requires far more effort than the tourist track, mainly due to the fact that the route climbs and falls qutie significantly during the whole walk and also due to the extremely rough and steep terrain, which makes walking quite tricky and tiring.

By the end of the day I was about as exhausted as I had even been before. The fact that I'd just finished the West Highland Way, and walked more than 22 miles the previous day didn't really help and this current route was murderously steep. By the time I reached the summit of the penultimate peak: Carn Mor Dearg, the place where the main ridge (the Arete) starts, I had already climbed far more total height than the whole of Ben Nevis and I still had more than a thousand feet to go up the steepest section yet! Taking more and more frequent breaks I crawled and dragged myself up the final stretch, despairing almost every time I looked up and noticed how much further I had to go! Eventually I reached the summit, I had never been so glad to reach the top of a mountain in my life! It was just epic up there, the views were mind blowing and the entire area was carpeted with thick, fresh snow which was something of a relief to my overheated, partially sunburned body! I Took plenty of time to rest and take photos and of course to also explain to the tourists that the reason I was so exhausted was because I had climbed up via the hard route (and that I'd just finished the Way by the way!). After all I can't have them thinking that I'm a wimp now who can't even handle the tourist track eh?

After talking my time to descent via the tourist track, I began to appreciate the merits of this route also. Since it descends the other side of the mountain I was treated so a plethora of stunning, panoramic views that I hadn't seen before, though admittedly none were as spectacular as the divine views from the ridge scramble. By the time I reached the hostel I nearly collapsed at the door. But the day wasn't quite over yet. I still had to finish the West Highland Way and also have my big celebratory feed and a couple of pints. I continued on down the road to Fort William to find the somewhat anticlimactic sign that marked the end of the Way and carried on into town where I found that most spiritual and holy of places for me, an Indian restaurant! After enjoying a delectable curry I that night reported to one of the local pubs for a couple of pints of delicious local ales before dragging myself back to the hostel and enjoyed about as good a night of sleep as I'd ever done before.