Ben Nevis Route Information

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Ben Nevis

Quick Facts

This is the summed total of all the climbing within a route and is a good indicator of the strenuousness of a route.

Total Ascent

1370 m

An estimate of the time taken based on a derivation of Naismiths rules. Our calculation is based on the horizontal and ascent components of a climb, we do not make a reduction for descent.

Registered users can customise these walking times by specifying their own walking and ascending speeds. They can also add a fixed time period for stoppages.

Route Time

5.5 hrs

The horizontal distance of the route.

Route Distance

14.83 km

The UK is covered by 204 Ordnance Survey Landranger 1:50,000 scale maps. Maps numbered 1 to 86 cover Scotland but for the highest mountains (Munros) only 23 maps are required. The name given roughly describes the area covered by the map.

You can click on the map name to purchase the map for £6.29 including postage which is one of the cheapest prices we have found.

OS Landranger Maps Required

41	Ben Nevis, Fort William & Glen Coe

Only £6.29 (£13.49 Laminated) from

A brief summary of this route.

Our summary will always contain one of easy, moderate or hard to indicate the severity of the route.

Notes

This is the "Tourist Route" which thousands climb each year, it is fairly strenuous. It can, however, be a serious ascent as the "path" disappears on the higher boulder slopes and navigational errors can and do lead to disaster.

Here we provide the nearest town to the start of the route where you will find basic services.

We then give directions from that location to the route start. Your approach route may differ.

Travel Information

Head to: Fort William

From Fort William (A82), at the Nevis Bridge roundabout, follow signs to Glen Nevis. Park by the Glen Nevis Youth Hostel.

Route Waypoint Map

The total ascent is 1,370 metres. Allow 5.5 hours to complete this 14.83 km route.

In winter months please check the local snow conditions at sais.gov.uk.

The hillphones service can inform you of stalking activities in the area.

Usually the shortest way to climb the mountain, making best use of tracks and paths to gain altitude. Route navigation requires map reading skills and an ability to navigate with a compass.

The information given here will enable you to annotate your map and plan your route. We do not give anecdotal descriptions on where to find the paths, worn by the feet of previous mountaineers.

Where the access routes are few or the ridge is narrow, paths are generally obvious. On open ground, following paths without using your compass may get you lost in poor visibility.

Route Information

Waypoint Detail

	Start from parking near bridge
		NN12307305	Distance	Altitude 18 m

1	Cross river and ascend to join path ascending SE
		NN12607284	Distance 0.48 km	Altitude 45 m

2	Continue SE to junction with path from Youth Hostel (An alternative approach route)
		NN13337201	Distance 1.10 km	Altitude 175 m

3	Continue SSE on path
		NN14067179	Distance 0.76 km	Altitude 356 m

4	Ascend SE turning NE on path to junction above Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe
		NN14727241	Distance 1.20 km	Altitude 640 m

5	Continue S to start of zig-zag section
		NN14707154	Distance 0.86 km	Altitude 771 m

6	Ascend ESE on zig-zag path on boulder strewn slopes. Please be aware that dangerous cliffs lie to the N and S of the path.
		NN15717139	Distance 1.93 km	Altitude 1215 m

7	Where path straightens ascend just S of E towards ruin (Do not navigate direct to summit!)
		NN16667119	Distance 0.97 km	Altitude 1340 m

8	From ruins head NNE to summit of Ben Nevis
		NN16697127	Distance 0.08 km	Altitude 1344 m

9	Reverse route to return
		NN12307305	Distance 7.45 km	Altitude 18 m

A selection of weather forecasts local to this route.

Weather

West Highlands
by MWIS (PDF format)

West Highlands
by Met Office

Ben Nevis
by Metcheck

Images of Ben Nevis

Ben Nevis seen across Loch Linnhe from the WSW, with the houses of Auchintore. The zigzags of the Tourist Route are clearly visible from this angle. 7th November 2010.

Image by David S Brown

Ben Nevis seen from the Narrows of Loch Eil, with the houses of Achaphubuil. 7th November 2010.

Image by David S Brown

Eastern Traverse of the Great Tower on Tower Ridge. March 09

Image by Allan Donald

Ben Nevis and Carn Mor Dearg from Aonach Beag.

Image by Roger Vander Steen

Route Area Map

Legend

Munro

Corbett

Graham

English/Welsh Top

Accommodation

A selection of local accommodation options who advertise with Munromagic.com.

Where to Stay

We currently have no
sponsored accommodation listings for this area.

Rating & Reviews

Rating & Reviews

Rated:

from 9 votes

Click Stars to Vote
Your Rating

Written by Kevin Woods on 01 Dec 2007:

Was an enjoyable day out, and I have to say it's better than most people seem to say. That may have been because our early start eliminated the crowds. Still, a pleasantly surprising route for the amount of bad rep it gets.

Written by Alan Morris on 06 Sep 2005:

The tourist route in generally a disgrace. Covered in litter. An obvious sign that Ben Nevis is "climbed" by non hikers/walkers and they have no idea of what the experience is all about. The usual skills of general munro bagging such as true navigation, path finding, and scrambling unfortunately do not apply on the tourist route. Instead these traditional skills must be replaced by others such as "overtaking" and coping with sickeningly friendly greetings from cheerful tourists on the path. After the horrendous path, it is no surprise to summit and find it packed with people in trainers.

Written by James Robertson on 23 Jul 2005:

I was actually presently surprised by this route. It wasn't as soul-destroying as I've heard although there was occasionally some litter that people had clearly left. To avoid the crowds, I would highly recommend a very early start. My dad and I began our climb at 3am and only saw one other party (doing the Three Peaks Challange) on the way up. A great day, even though the weather was a little grim!

Written by David Nichols on 10 Jun 2005:

Just a long boring slog but a very big sense of achievement

Written by Noel Geoghegan on 03 May 2005:

As a first timer I found this route soul-less, often tedious and without any real joys.It's more a mass production line to get people up and down ASAP without any real feel or respect for the mountain it deserves. Everyone esp Joe Public should take a compass as without it in poor visibility it would be easy to become disoriented from the plateau to the summit. I was amazed or rather dismayed at the ill prepared 'masses' going up in shorts trainers etc often with very small children through the low cloud snow. With a lot more experience I will try the advanced route via Carn Mor Dearg.

Disclaimer. The details provided above are an aid to planning an expedition, but all distances, altitudes and bearings must be considered approximate. You must navigate with the appropriate map, a compass, your navigation skills and common sense, MunroMagic.com accept no responsibility for your interpretation of our route information.

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