It was my second climb up the highest mountain in UK , and we were lucky as the weather was great , nearly windless and mostly a lot of sunshine . Contrary to so called "tourist track", I could expect that the trail running by the Carn Mor Dearg Arete would be less crowded and with better views . It looked like the perfect day on the mountain path .So we set out in the morning from the North Face car park. The wide path led us nicely through the wooded area , until we reached the burn , Allt a'Mhuilinn .
Having crossed a fence(over the stile), we marched then up along the stream and left the path after some time , turning left onto the grassy slopes . The new path was boggy and disappearing at places. Over the valley to the right , the massif of Ben Nevis was close , but for now we were traversing the ridge of Cárn Beag Dearg toward the top of Cárn Dearg Meadhonach .
The higher the more rugged terrain , so walking become a bit difficult , especially that the path wasn't clear .
The rocky cliffs of the North Face were in full frame . Despite there was still summer (late August ) , there were patches of snow at places . Had been snow stuck there since the last winter - I couldn't answer that .
The first obstacle on the way bagged - on the top of Cárn Dearg Meadhonach- and the view looking back , down the ridge .
Ahead , the impressive cone of Cárn Mór Dearg.
The next stop , on the top of Cárn Mór Dearg. From here, we could clearly see the craggy walls in distance ,
where we were hoping to attack the summit . The clouds lingered over us , but fortunately it didn't rain .
But reality was harsh - we were mowing painstakingly through the labyrinth of boulders , often jumping or balancing over the edge . It was a real test for my legs . Well , that was the cost of choosing the route with interesting scenery .
We walked upwards again , but by the narrow path on the left side - many "co-walkers" continued over the very top of Arete . The Sun came out of the heavy clouds and we could enjoy the scenery - the mountains behind Glen Nevis looked splendid .
Finally , Arete was over , behind us . On the pass last stop before heading up onto a scree slope .
The track is clear at the beginning but soon disappears among crags, so advancing was slow. At some point I moved to my right side and I found tiny path along the edge of the cliff , close to the "North-East Buttress". Much easier as I didn't have to jump between boulders. Most hikers lost their path as well , so everybody was looking for most convenient way. The final climb is difficult through fields of stones and boulders scattered all over .
Finally , the plateau on the very top of Ben Nevis emerges , and the climb is over . Time to relax and take some photos . The summit with the ruins of the old meteo station is crowded - no wonder , on sunny Sunday like this one the mountain attracts crowds of hill walkers and even families with children.
Looking to the south-east from the top, an impressive view - the mountain across Glen Nevis really glistens in the afternoon sunlight (Sgurr a' Mhaim) . It gave me an impression of looking at chalk cliffs , like sea-cliffs in Dover .
But it's not chalk , must be the same sort of weathered rocks like here on Ben Nevis, shining when Sun comes out.
After taking our time on the summit , we didn't retraced our steps, as the walk is circular .We were descending by the standard track , towards the Lochan .
It puzzled as a lot, and after some unsuccessful search we decided to decent by no path . We could see the wood where we had started the walk in the morning , so the idea was to make a shortcut. As it would turn out later on , that was what we were supposed to do .
Finally, after fast and difficult run down the grassy slopes , we reached rapids
of Allt a' Mhuilinn river. Crossing the fast-flowing stream was the last obstacle and now there was a simple walk through the forest to the car park. We could nearly call it a day .
