There are varying reports and diaries online as to how hard the ascent of Ben Nevis is, ranging from seasoned (and often arrogant) hikers/ mountaineers to stories of fear and hardships, usually from the ill prepared. One thing IS for certain though - it being the tallest peak in the UK, and north on our little island, the weather conditions and terrain itself are a hard graft for the new hiker / adventure seeker.

With a summit annual average temperature below zero, that is cloud covered for 355 days a year, and hit by 261 gales in that period (many of which hit speeds of up to 40mph), a permafrost glacier and summit fresh dense-packed snow about 4ft deep, this is not for the faint hearted. the track is well walked, and touristy, so that the main dangers on the climb (and indeed the descent) are poor navigation, the falling from the northern face (especially "five finger gully", and "gardyloo gully") and ill preparation.

Did I mention, that often for the midsection, the track is in 2 inches of freezing cold water, and the cloud base of 600m often covers the peak, reducing visibility to about 10-50m. no wonder Old Ben claims over a dozen lives each year.  

one account I read recently claimed that ice crystals froze on his clothes! It is strange to think that as you go into low cloud, the water condenses around you, which will actually bring rain lower down the mountain!

With all that said the easiest track is only 5.47km each way (as the crow flies mind you), and the round trip can be made easily in a days hike. A good pace is about 3.5 hours up, and 3.5 down, but you can afford to go over this and still make it back safely.

The trail begins at 9masl (metres above sea level), and ends 1344masl (4410feet asl) at the top, though I suspect season will define how high you can climb due to safety on the summit.