 Can I climb Ben Nevis in spring without a guide? Yes, but there are some skills and knowledge you need to do it safely. Even then, it can be really tough, and turning around before reaching the summit might be the best thing to do. Here is some guidance on what you need to know and the skills you need to climb Ben Nevis in winter without a guide.  What you don’t know you don’t know. The mountain usually sees its first snowfall in September and it can be in winter condition all the way through to May. So don't be fooled by a warm, sunny April day down in Fort William, the top of the mountains could still be experiencing serious winter weather! Further south in England, it's very easy to forget that there is any snow anywhere at all. But the summit of Ben Nevis holds on to its winter conditions for much longer than most mountains in the UK because it is a long way north, it is very high and it can collect 2.5m depth of snow on the summit over the course of the winter. The summit is usually about 9℃ colder than the temperature at sea level. So, if it is 5℃ at sea level it will be about -4℃ on the summit. Add to this the extra chill of the wind blowing at 30mph to 40mph, and it will feel like -14℃. There is nearly always a wind blowing on the summit and it can be anything from 10mph to 130mph. 30mph to 40mph is common, making walking very hard work enough and enough to make you very cold; 50mph to 60mph happens quite a lot and is enough to blow you over or off the path; 70mph to 80mph will knock you flat. Snow conditions underfoot vary hugely with what the weather is doing at the time. The bottom half of the track is often clear of snow, with the snow line usually sitting between about 600m and 900m. From this point you should expect to be on snow all the way to the summit and back down. After a fresh dump of snow it will be very soft, but if the snow has been through some freeze-thaw cycles (meaning the temperature rises allowing the snow to go soggy, then the temperature drops again, freezing the soft soggy snow into snow-ice) it will be very hard and icy, so the walking will likely be easier but crampons and an ice axe will be essential.  Essential Skills. You’re going to get wet. Probably you’ll get some rain or snow fall, and even if you don’t you’ll get wet through sweat. You need to know what to wear and what to carry with you, but just as importantly, you need to know how to use your gear to stay warm and comfortable. If you get wet you will get cold, and if you are cold you will not eat or drink properly, you will not want to think about navigation and you will not make good decisions. Staying warm and comfortable is an essential, under-rated winter skill. Once on the snow you need to be comfortable using your boots to kick steps if it is just small areas of hard snow, or confident walking in crampons on relatively steep ground. Make sure your crampons are correctly fitted to your boots before you set off - the side of a mountain in 40+ mph winds and swirling snow is not the place to be adjusting them. Crampons have a habit of catching on everything - rocks, trousers, your other crampon, you name it - so make sure you practice walking in them on easier ground first. You should also have your ice axe and know what to do with it. It can be used to provide support while you walk and also to stop a trip or slip from having dire consequences. It is common to walk off into the Red Burn in descent, either intentionally or by accident, where you might find very long stretches of steep snow. If the snow is hard and icy you will need an expert level of skills with crampons and an ice axe to descend by the Red Burn. It's best to stay on the Mountain Path and follow its zigzags.  Navigation A clear summit on Ben Nevis is a rare thing so expect to be in cloud and that means your navigation needs to be on point, especially when there is snow on the ground. In summer there is a path to follow but in winter this gets completely buried in snow, and there can be little to no visible difference between the ground and sky. You need to know how to take a bearing from your map, and then be able to follow it accurately on varying terrain. Once on the huge and featureless summit plateau there are cairns to aid navigation but it is common to not be able to see from one cairn to the next, and in heavy snow winters some of them get completely buried. Here's more detailed advice about Navigation on Ben Nevis. You will still need to follow a bearing on your compass and know exactly when to make the left turn toward the summit. When you reach the summit remember that you're only half way there and you will then need to do everything in reverse, so stay switched on all the way down. In a white out, the only thing that will keep you from falling through the cornice is following your compass bearing accurately. Sometimes, turning back before you get into a very serious situation is the best thing to do. Come back on another day when the weather is better. 
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In good visibility, navigating up and back down Ben Nevis in winter can seem quite straightforward. It is a busy mountain and there is often a well trodden path to the summit, as well as cairns above 1150m about every 50m along the way. When you can see as far as Skye to the west and Cairngorm to the east, it is not surprising that you should be able to find your way easily. Even then, the path above 900m or so is usually covered in snow between December and May and can be nearly impossible to find and follow. If there is no boot trail through the snow, it can be quite confusing, even in good visibility. And the summit is only clear about 20% of the time in winter. In the cloud, when there is no definition between the snow on the ground and the snow and cloud in the air all around you it is a very serious place, and navigation skills need to be very accurate. The skills you need are to be able to follow a compass bearing accurately, and to measure the distance you walk along the ground by counting your paces. With these skills, you can then follow your progress on the map and plan the next section of walking, as long as you are very used to using maps and identifying features on the ground that are marked on the map. Of course, most features will be covered by the snow, just to make it even harder!  The high summit plateau of Ben Nevis is surrounded on nearly all sides by steep and difficult ground. Many accidents have occurred in descent. Often this part of the day will call for more concentration and judgement than any other time, especially in considering human factors that will influence decision making. Even if you make it to the top, getting down again can be the hardest thing. The best and quickest descent is by the Mountain Track. Careful use of map, compass, pacing, possibly GPS and the sketch plan of the cliffs given below will help to get you down, but local knowledge is invaluable. When visibility is good, make a close study of the general topography of the mountain; if possible visit the summit plateau with a view to memorising its details and recording important compass/GPS bearings. The ruined observatory, topped by a survival shelter, is an unmistakable landmark on the summit itself, even when the neighbouring triangulation point and numerous cairns are covered by snow.
Follow a grid bearing of 231° (grid) for 150m from the summit shelter. This will avoid the steep drop of Gardyloo Gully close on your right. You should find three cairns close together, as long as they are not buried in snow. Then follow a bearing of 282° (grid) to the 1200m contour and as far down as you need. In 2024 grid north is very close to magnetic north so you can set your compass to these bearings. In future years magnetic north will move and you will need to adjust these grid bearings accordingly. On the second bearing you should reach a short steeper section after 300m and continuously steeper ground after 900m of downhill travel. A line of well built cairns now marks this route at fifty metre intervals to the top of the zig zags on the Mountain Track, however the cairns can not be used alone in poor visibility without following a compass bearing. Continue on down a steep but easy slope for another 1km on the same bearing until you find the Mountain Track and you can follow this. It crosses the Red Burn at 670m so don't descend below this altitude on this bearing.  Can I just follow the cairns? The cairns that have been built above 1150m are there to help you. They will let you know that you are going in the right direction, but you will need to use your compass to keep you walking straight in the right direction. You can not rely on being able to walk in a straight line without a compass. It is common to have visibility of about 10m, so you will not be able to see the next cairn 50m away. The cairns get covered in rime and snow that make them blend in to the snow on the ground, so they can be very hard to see. In winters with a lot of snow, the cairns can become buried. The picture above has 5 cairns, all over 1m tall, all buried in the snow. How do you follow a compass bearing? The summit of Ben Nevis in poor visibility is not the place to learn! This is a skill to practice and perfect somewhere with no hazards around you. Go on a course or ask a friend with these skills to help you. After setting the right bearing (see diagram above) hold your compass in front of you with the Direction of Travel arrow pointing in whichever direction you happen to be facing. Keep holding the compass in front of you and turn around until the north end of the magnetic needle lines up with the north arrow in the compass housing (the north end of the magnetic needle on your compass will probably be coloured red and some compass needles also have "N" on the needle). It is your body that turns - not the compass baseplate. The Direction of Travel arrow now "does what it says on the tin" - tells you which way to go. While you walk along, you need to hold the compass centrally in front of your body with the baseplate horizontal and positioned so that you can see the alignment of the magnetic needle whilst at the same time looking along the Direction of Travel arrow. Make sure your phone is not close (within 40cm) to your compass, and that there is nothing made of steel near by (such as ice axes or walking poles). These will make your compass needle point in the wrong direction.  How do you measure the distance? From the summit you need to walk 150m on a bearing of 231° (grid). You can measure this distance by pacing, counting the number of paces you take. Having practiced a lot in a friendly place, I know that I take 60 paces (that is 120 individual steps) to cover 100m along the ground. If the snow is deep and soft I will take a few more paces, and if I am tired or carrying a heavy pack I will take more again. However, for me, 60 paces is a pretty good measurement of 100m. To measure 150m I will walk along following my compass bearing, counting until I get to 60 paces (100m). Then I will start counting again from zero the 30 paces to measure the 50m. You need to know how many paces you take to cover 100m. It will probably be a different number to mine. You should do this somewhere with no hazards, well in advance of needing to do it for real. Measure the distance with a 50m climbing rope, or on a running track, or find a straight path on a map with distinct and easily recognisable features that are exactly 100m apart and practice there. Best still, do all three of these to get your pacing very accurate, then practice it in the snow wearing your winter boots and carrying your rucksack.  After walking 150m you should see three cairns close together, as long as they are not covered by snow. This is the point that you turn right in descent, change to the second bearing of 282° (grid) and walk off in this direction. These three cairns are positioned to point you in the right direction. The central one is the turning point; the first and central cairns line up with where you have come from; the central one and the third one line up with where you need to go next. Have a look at the image below. The central cairn and the third cairn clearly line up with the cairns on the bearing of 282° (grid) which will lead you across the plateau to the 1200m mark and down onto the zig zags of the Mountain Track. It is nice to know this, and quite obvious when the weather is clear. In poor visibility, this is another little thing to tell you that you are going in the right direction. However, you will still need to use your compass to keep you going in the right direction between the cairns and if you can't see the cairns.  I have been walking and climbing on Ben Nevis and on all the mountains in this area for 28 years, and some of my scariest moments have been while navigating off the summits. When you are walking in a whiteout, you can not see what is in front of you at all. You are in a complete white room with no contrast between the ground and the sky. You can walk off a cornice and be falling before you know that it is there. When the only thing that will stop you walking off the cornice is your skill and practice in following a compass bearing and pacing the distance you are walking, you need to have total faith in your abilities. So, when you get it right, it is a very rewarding experience. If you would like us to help, you can join one of our guided walks up Ben Nevis this winter and we will show you what you need to know. Take winter navigation seriously. Most accidents in winter start off with a navigation error, and end in a trip, stumble or fall. Get some training and do lots of practice in a safe environment. Remember that you can turn around before you get into a situation that is beyond your skill set.   While we have been enjoying great ice climbing in Norway and high on Ben Nevis, the sunny, spring-like weather this week has got us thinking about plans for the summer. We are super excited to be able to announce our collaboration with Morag and Steve who run Provident Sailing. Their boat is a 1924 Brixham Trawler, part of the national historic fleet and one of the most treasured vessels operating in UK waters today. Our aim is to share the experience of being on this amazing boat and enjoy some wild, remote hillwalking. To infuse our guests with our love of sailing and to show you some amazing and beautiful places. At 70 ft on deck, 90 ft overall and weighing in at nearly 90 tons Provident provides a tremendously safe and stable platform. These boats were developed and sailed before the advent of paper charts. Today we have the latest electronic navigation on board but the gaff rig would be completely familiar to a 19th century sailor.
On the 3rd July 2023, Provident will be sailing from Mallaig on a hillwalking adventure amongst the remote peninsulas and islands of the west coast of Scotland. We will guide the team of up to eight people up the hills by day and sail into the evening making sure we get the most out of the land and the sea. Whatever the weather we can promise you a great adventure! We know there is enjoyment in walking for a day with a sleeping bag and food on your back, to spend the night cramped in a flapping tent, always in a rush to beat the midges, before you even start to climb your hill. But on this trip you can sail into remote west coast lochs through magnificent mountains and wild landscape, sleep in luxury cabins with central heating and enjoy the superb cooking of Morag on board Provident, anchored a safe distance away from the shore and the midges! The tender will deliver us to the shore at the foot of the climb up to some of our remotest and most rugged Munros and hills. Heading north and west of Fort William, the tiny roads at last run out; beyond is the famously rugged wilderness region of Knoydart. Even further away and across the sea are the wonderful islands of Rum and Skye with some of the most spectacular lochs and mountains in the UK.  This is an ideal trip if you..
The weather, winds and tides will dictate exactly what we do and where we go, as well as where you would like to go. But possible mountains include..
Meall Buidhe is an incredibly rough and rocky mountain, one of the three magnificent Munros on the Knoydart peninsula. Whichever route is chosen, the ascent requires considerable effort. Regarded by many hillwalkers as amongst the finest mountains in Scotland, Ladhar Bheinn enjoys a superb position surrounded by the sea on three sides. It has dramatic ridges, huge crags falling into Coire Dhorrcail and amazing sea and mountain views from the summit. Beinn Sgritheall gives a steep and punishing ascent; the effort is well worthwhile however as this is one of the finest viewpoints in the Highlands, with a fantastic outlook over dramatic Loch Hourn to Knoydart and the Cuillin of Skye. Rum is magnificently wild and rugged, dominated by the towering mountains of the Rum Cuillin - a miniature version of the Cuillin of Skye. The ridge traverse of the Rum Cuillin is one of the classic Scottish hill days, with plenty of scrambling though the peaks are less technical than the Cuillin of Skye. Diminutive Sgùrr Na Strì on Skye may only reach 494 metres in height, but it's proof that - when it comes to mountains - size doesn't matter. Many walkers reckon that the view from the summit - over Loch Coruisk, the Cuillin and the sea - is the finest in all Britain.  Approach the mountains from the sea, return to the comfort of Provident. We’d love to have you aboard! Price £1310 (sharing a twin cabin) includes six nights on board full board plus guiding on the mountains with Sally, our chief mountain leader, highly experienced and qualified International Mountain Leader. Please get in touch with Provident Sailing and book directly through them. They will take care of the booking process and make sure you are ready for your trip, and we will see you on board! 3rd to 9th July 2023 6 nights, Mallaig to Mallaig £1,310 per person (based on two people sharing) Confirm your place with a £327.50 deposit  |
