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Mrs XC-Steve and myself were planning on driving up to Scotland this Easter for some walks and just general touristy type stuff, one such task would be to climb Ben Nevis (previously have climbed snowdon and scafell pike), but its only recently dawned on me that it'll probably be covered in snow. Have had a quick google but wondered if anyone has first hand experience is it still passable with a map and common sense or would we be fools to do such a task?
If there is snow and ice on top you really should have crampons and axes. The main risk is descending from the summit in poor visibility, as the straight line route to the main track takes you across five finger gulley which has claimed many experienced climbers over the years.
I carry this crib sheet laminated, although it's long since committed to memory.
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The Red Burn path is paved and very straightforward unless covered in verglass, in which case you'll want crampons. Most accidents happen on the summit with people falling down gulleys. You can go from visibility of several miles to being in a white out in the cloud very quickly, so you need to know how to walk on a bearing. Don't just follow the crowds.
A very old scanned photo of mine showing the summit shelter (as was), Cairn and lovely cliffs all around:
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8524/8453602751_af87ac78da.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/8453602751/ ]BEN NEVIS SUMMIT[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/brf/ ]brf[/url], on Flickr
Sound advice above - I've been in May and the summit has been under several feet of snow
The route off the top to the Tourist Path is super-critical even on a clear (but quiet) day the temptation is to follow all the footprints going off in the wrong direction.
The Ben is a lot bigger and more exposed than Snowdon/Scafell - still do-able as a walk but it's long way up the Tourist Path. Spectacular via CMD arete BTW
Cool thanks for the time guys, think we'll wait till the summer or half term then.