Experience it
The dark side of the country's highest
T his is something else. If you’ve only ever seen Ben Nevis from its rounded, hulking side, you are in for a treat – one that tightens breath and dampens palms. The north face of Ben Nevis is imposing. Dark turrets of rock spiral upwards and shadowy terraces crinkle its walls. At times it folds inwards in snow-chocked gullies or bulges outwards in buttresses gleaming with verglas. It’s a huge, often vertical mass of cold rock, snow and ice; a cathedral and a horror show at once. This is a real, true winter mountain and even if you never step a crampon on it – which we’d only recommend with honed winter skills, good fitness and a qualified guide – you should still see it. Though the widest view comes from Carn Mor Dearg opposite, one of the most affecting is seen from the glen below. There you are, a tiny fragile human craning your neck upwards at a monumental hill where all the elements seem to crash together in an eons-long symphony. The north face of Ben Nevis isn’t something to see, it’s something to make a pilgrimage to.