Winning shot of Ben Nevis was an ice ‘pickture’
IN days gone by, I often contributed to outdoor magazines, such as Climber & Rambler, and I also slogged up and down mountains in search of wildlife, the two went together like peaches and cream.
I walked, took pictures and then wrote about the adventure. These days I’m not out on the hill as much as I should be, (that was three stone ago) but am obviously doing the same thing without the climbing, and I still keep an interested eye on some of the magazines, and have to say that the overall standard of photography has moved on a long way, and amazingly some of the winners in a recent competition in Trail Magazine were taken with mobile phones. The overall winner, an image of Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain, was taken by amateur photographer Paul Brett, who shortly after he had taken the picture, used an ice-axe to stop himself falling off the peak.
Paul remembers: “It was a perfect spring day with no wind. After cresting the summit of Carn Dearg Meadhonach we were rewarded with an amazing view. My friend was already heading up Carn Mor Dearg, which really helped give an amazing sense of scale to the scene. I had to use the pick of my ice axe to stop myself sliding down the mountain on the push to the summit of Ben Nevis, which was very scary at the time – but it was good to know I had the knowledge to do what was needed.”
Kicking off in May 2015, the initial competition entries were whittled down to a final shortlist of 22 by a panel of expert judges, including record-breaking mountaineer Alan Hinkes and renowned landscape photographer Colin Prior.
Trail editor Simon Ingram said: “Paul’s shot is a moment captured right in the rafters of Britain, and it clearly struck a loud chord. We had such a broad spectrum of entries – from technically stunning images to mobile phone snaps – and all kinds made the shortlist.”
The top 10 photographs in the competition, as voted by Trail readers and users of www. livefortheoutdoors.com, were taken in the following locations, and I’m pleased to say I’ve been to them all. ●● 1. Ben Nevis, Scottish Highlands, by Paul Brett ●● 2. Blencathra, Lake District, by Ian Allington ●● 3. Glyder Fawr, Snowdonia, by Justin van Marle ●● 4. Tryfan, Snowdonia, by Greg Whitton ●● 5. Snowdon, Snowdonia, by Dave Atkinson ●● 6. Corn Du, Brecon Beacons, by Grant Hyatt ●● 7. The Cuillin Ridge, Isle of Skye, by Adrian Trendell ●● 8. Wild camping on Dartmoor by Daniel Groves ●● 9. Glyder Fawr, Snowdonia, by Robin Shaw ●● 10. The Isle of Skye by Adrian Trendell
If any reader has a hankering for the mountain, Trail magazine and the British Mountaineering Council, have produced a series of nine short videos looking at the most iconic and popular challenges for walkers and scramblers in the hills and mountains of Great Britain.
Whether you’re a newcomer looking to take your first steps on Helvellyn’s Striding Edge, a confident mountain trekker wondering what Tryfan and Bristly Ridge have to offer, or a confident scrambler looking to take things to the next level on the mighty Aonach Eagach, these videos are for you.