'The Ben': onwards and upwards

It was a cool but bright, dry day as we parked in Glen Nevis and began to put our boots on and waited for the party to assemble. They were travelling in from various types of accommodation, Youth Hostel, campsite and Ben Nevis

B&B in and around Fort William and even further afield. It was that mad lot from Fulwood bent on conquering 'the Ben' for funds! There was a great divergence in age, ability and fitness but one goal. We had a small send off party of six including one dog and Hannah so exhausted by the first night in a tent that she had fallen asleep reading that great work of fiction 'The Hungry Caterpillar'.

Before we actually started the rain began to fall and kagouls were donned and then waterproof trousers and some of us felt we'd been this way before!

The first part of the climb was very steep on a reinforced path Ð not good for the knees on the descent. Everyone found their own speed and walking companions and we climbed and climbed. A friend described it to me as "a long slog" and so it was. Pedometers clocked a total of 12 miles and with 4,000 feet of ascent. It takes time! Luke's photographs of the expedition are online.
A separate account was published in NftP. We didn't see a lot, apart from on our way down when the mist cleared but perhaps that was a good thing, as we couldn't see how far there was to go! It rained on and off and I think most people were wet right through, although it was difficult to tell whether it was wet from inside out or outside in! As we approached the summit we had to cross a snowfield, carefully following others' footprints to avoid falling over the edge! The visibility was very poor. The photos taken on the top could have been anywhere! I assure all our sponsors that everyone reached the top and descended safely. Like ET we 'phoned home' to tell Peter that we had made it.

As we descended late on in the afternoon we encountered many starting on the trail, some we knew wouldn't make the top but others were people with a mission— very fit and well equipped. People beginning the 3 Peaks Challenge in 24 hours! The Fulwood group was not in that league but for some it was the end of their 3 Peaks Challenge. Well done. For others it was a chance to climb Britain's highest mountain.

Thanks Dave from all of us.

Delma Whitman