Ben Nevis

First major training challenge up and down Ben Nevis,

the rocks and scree paths are very similar to those on the trek in Nepal to EBC

Perfect weather as you can see from the pictures

up and down in 4hrs 20 mins including time for a snack and to take some pictures of the amazing view.

needed my poles for the summit as the snow had turned to ice and was very slippy.

Ben Nevis (Scottish Gaelic: Beinn Nibheis, pronounced [peˈɲivəʃ]) is the highest mountain in the United Kingdom and the whole of the British Isles. It is located at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands, close to the town of Fort William.
As is common for many Scottish mountains, it is known both to locals and visitors as simply the Ben.^[1][2] It attracts an estimated 100,000 ascents a year,^[3] around three-quarters of which^[4] are made using the well-constructed Pony Track from Glen Nevis on the south side of the mountain. For climbers and mountaineers the main attraction lies in the 700-metre (2,300 ft) high cliffs of the north face; among the highest cliffs in the United Kingdom, they harbour some classic scrambles and rock climbs of all difficulties, and are one of the principal locations in the UK for ice climbing.
The summit, at 1,344 metres (4,409 ft) above sea level, features the ruins of an observatory, which was permanently staffed between 1883 and 1904. The meteorological data collected during this period are still important for understanding Scottish mountain weather. C. T. R. Wilson was inspired to invent the cloud chamber after a period spent working at the observatory.

picture of my help for heroes vest drying in the sun, it was about 2 degrees at the summit, but was up to 17 degrees at the base and on the lower slopes, so i sweated alot and it needed airing!

Ben Nevis's altitude, maritime location and topography frequently lead to poor weather conditions, which can pose a danger to ill-equipped walkers. According to the observations carried out at the summit observatory from 1883–1904, fog was present on the summit for almost 80% of the time between November and January, and 55% of the time in May and June.^[13] The average winter temperature was around −5 °C (23.0 °F),^[13] and the mean monthly temperature for the year was −0.5 °C (31 °F).^[14] In an average year the summit sees 261 gales,^[14] and receives 4,350 millimetres (171 in) of rainfall, compared to only 2,050 millimetres (81 in) in nearby Fort William,^[15] 840 millimetres (33 in) in Inverness and 580 millimetres (23 in) London. Rainfall on Ben Nevis is about twice as high in the winter as it is in the spring and summer. Snow can be found on the mountain almost all year round, particularly in the gullies of the north face – with the higher reaches of Observatory Gully holding snow until September most years and sometimes until the new snows of the following season.

On the way back to inverness i stopped off to pay my respects at the commando memorial,

you can see Ben Nevis in the background

The monument stands as a memorial to the British Commandos who trained all around the Lochaber region which the monument overlooks, while they were based at the Achnacarry Commando Training Centre established in 1942.^[9][10][13] As such it is used as site for memorial services, including the 60th anniversary of D-Day, and Remembrance Day ceremonies.^[8][14]
A Garden of Remembrance, which was subsequently added to the site, is used by many surviving Word War II Commandos as the designated final resting place for their ashes.^[9][11] It has also been used as a place where many families have scattered ashes and erected tributes to loved ones who belonged to contemporary Commando units and who have died in more recent conflicts such as the Falklands War or in Afghanistan and Iraq.

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