Valour, prudence & Hope

I was delighted to see a walking guide for one of my local Munros, Ben Hope in CW Spring. It’s a mountain that offers amazing views, challenges and satisfaction. Unfortunately Ben Hope has also seen two fantastic climbers Andy Nesbit and Steve Perry perish on her, back in 2019, and back in March a climber had to be rescued after becoming disoriented near the summit.

I had the most wonderful of climbs, beautiful sun, gentle breeze and a relatively straight forward ascent and descent, leaving with the biggest grin knowing it was my 180th Munro. A few weeks later, checking all forecasts and finding it was good to go again, this time with a friend to climb his second Munro and my husband to climb his first, we headed off. Well, the closer we got to the start, the worse the weather became – winds increasing, rain coming in hard. We waited in the car to see if this unforecasted weather would pass, but it didn’t. There were 30/35 mph at the base, so there was a good chance of 70 mph winds at the summit. Having friends in Mountain Rescue and my own knowledge of the mountains and what risks the weather causes, I suggested to my husband and friend that Cocoa Mountain in Durness for a treat would be far more appropriate. I have never seen two men so readily agree to a chocolate shop and cafe!

If you do come to

Sutherland and wish to climb Ben Hope, always check your forecasts, also use your judgement if it is doable and remember the mountains are not going anywhere.

Don’t risk it if it doesn't feel right!

Louisa Burnett,

Dornoch