A man from Fort William pushed a wheelbarrow to the summit and back before 1911.
A horse and cart have also been driven to the top.
In September 1980 the kilted Kenneth Campbell of Ardgay, Ross-shire carried a barrel to beer to the top to raise funds for cancer research. The barrel had legs down either side so it could be put down on the ground whenever he needed a breather.
The same Kenny also carried a piano to the summit and back. As an amusing update to this story volunteers clearing stones at the summit of Ben Nevis in May 2006 found the remains of the piano and were mystified as to how it could have got up there! But Kenny Campbell came forward to say that it was probably the one that he had carried up there - when he had returned to take it back down it had disappeared, and he assumed someone had just buried it.
He also said it was actually an organ, not a piano - and what did he play on it when he reached the top? 'Scotland the Brave' of course!
The attempts to be the 'first' to do something unusual at the summit of Ben Nevis continue - and nowadays it's usually a charity that benefits. In 2013 30 climbers carried the various parts necessary to build a Travelodge bedroom on the summit
A horse and cart have also been driven to the top.
In September 1980 the kilted Kenneth Campbell of Ardgay, Ross-shire carried a barrel to beer to the top to raise funds for cancer research. The barrel had legs down either side so it could be put down on the ground whenever he needed a breather.
The same Kenny also carried a piano to the summit and back. As an amusing update to this story volunteers clearing stones at the summit of Ben Nevis in May 2006 found the remains of the piano and were mystified as to how it could have got up there! But Kenny Campbell came forward to say that it was probably the one that he had carried up there - when he had returned to take it back down it had disappeared, and he assumed someone had just buried it.
He also said it was actually an organ, not a piano - and what did he play on it when he reached the top? 'Scotland the Brave' of course!
The attempts to be the 'first' to do something unusual at the summit of Ben Nevis continue - and nowadays it's usually a charity that benefits. In 2013 30 climbers carried the various parts necessary to build a Travelodge bedroom on the summit
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Ben Nevis Facts
Facts and Figures
Ben Nevis Weather
If you plan to walk up Ben Nevis, you will find it hard to pick a day with perfect weather. The mountain summit is only clear on one day out of 10 on average. The old observatory records show 261 full gales per year, and 4,350 mm of rainfall, compared with less than half that amount in Fort William, the town at the foot of the Ben. The wettest month of the year is December. Only in April, May and June is the monthly rainfall less than 25 cm.
The AVERAGE temperature at the summit is one degree below freezing. Deep snow lies all year in large pockets at the foot of the northern and north-east cliffs, and snow can fall in any month of the year and even in mid-May snow can cover the summit.
Ben Nevis from the Caledonian Canal
Check the weather before you set out!
Always make sure someone knows you are going to climb the mountain so they can raise the alarm if you do not return!
Keep to the path!
Always make sure someone knows you are going to climb the mountain so they can raise the alarm if you do not return!
Keep to the path!
Tourist Path, Pony Track or Mountain Track?
These are all names for the main path up the mountain, and the only path for Novice Walkers unless you are going on a guided walk.
The path was originally called the Pony Track, as it was built as a bridle path for ponies to take supplies to the summit buildings. It then became known as the Tourist Path and remained so for many years. In around 2004 the authorities felt that the moniker 'tourist' seemed to suggest it was an easy walk, and encouraged people ill-equipped or prepared for the mountain to try to reach the top. The name was therefore changed to the Ben Nevis Mountain Track.
Meteorologists on Ben Nevis
Wragge was a meteorologist who climbed Ben Nevis every day to collect weather information. Wragge would collect information from various points on the way up and down the mountain, and his wife would collect readings from their home at sea level. His journey took him four hours to reach the top, and he was away from home for around 11 hours per day. From the 1st June 1881 to the 14th October 1882, and for a similar period in 1882 Wragge climbed the mountain every day without fail. In 1883 sufficient funds were raised to built the path and the 13-foot square room with 10-foot thick walls which was to be the Observatory. To help raise the funds walkers using the path were charged 1 shilling (5p in modern money), and 3 shillings if they were on horseback. Permits could be bought from a shop in Fort William, or from a path maintenance man based at the halfway hut.
By 1884 an office, two bedrooms and a visitor's room was added to the observatory, together with a 30-foot tower (which would rise above the snow in the winter. The observatory was connected by telegraph, and later by phone to the Fort William Post Office. From 1884 to 1904, when funds ran out, the observatory was permanently manned, and weather conditions were rigorously recorded. The normal summer shift at the summit was two months. They had fresh food in the summer. In the summer tinned food for nine months was taken up by horses, and coke, for fuel, was carried the same way.
To amuse themselves the staff of the observatory made sledges, used snowshoes and skis, and made an outdoor ping pong table out of frozen snow. They carved wood and played the pipes, violin, flute, mandolin, and accordion. One of their more alarming pastimes was to hurl large boulders over the cliffs so they could hear them rumble and crash into the glen below.
Ben Nevis from Loch Linnhe
Ruins of buildings on the summit of Ben Nevis
Ponies at the Ben Nevis Observatory
Temperance Hotel
A small wooden hotel annexe was also opened, the Temperance Hotel, run by two young ladies who provided food and a bed during the summer months. They charged 3 shillings for lunch, and 10 shillings for tea, bed and breakfast, staying in one of the four bedrooms. A fashionable way to ascend the mountain was by pony, and 21 shillings hired the pony and a guide.
In 1916 the hotel also closed, and the buildings gradually fell into disrepair, aided by fire, and climbers who in 1950 were seen stripping the lead from the roof and rolling it down the mountain.
The observatory (left) and Temperance Hotel in 1910
Ben Nevis conquered by Car
In 1911 a 20 horse-power Model T Ford was driven to the top of the mountain as a publicity stunt by the Ford agents in Edinburgh. Henry Alexander Jr, the son of the owner, was the driver. The car was not simply driven up the track - it involved ten days of preparatory work finding and checking a driveable way to just the half way mark, and to put in bridging planks. It took three further days to drive the car to this point and just two more days to cover the stones and snow to the observatory. The car would sink axle deep in the boggy ground and would have to be hauled out by rope. The 'Daily Telegraph' reported at the time that a false turn of the wheel would mean a fall which would have caused destruction to the car, and certain death to the driver!
Me Alexander was feted as a hero when the car returned to Fort William. After the brakes had been adjusted no other repairs were necessary, and the car was driven back to Edinburgh.
Mr Alexander seemed to enjoy his feat so much that he repeated it in 1928, this time in a Standard New Ford (Model A Ford). The last quarter of a mile was driven with four passengers.
Fort William is currently raising funds to have a bronze replica of the Model T Ford erected in the centre of the town.
Photograph of Henry Alexander and his Model T Ford at the Summit Observatory courtesy of the John Muir Trust, www.jmt.org
Inspired by Mr Alexander, in October 1928 George Simpson made his way to the summit in a 747 cc Baby Austin. The tiny car made its way with very few modifications and suffered little more than a bent mudguard.
George Simpson's Baby Austin
Ben Nevis conquered by Bed
In 1981 a group of Glasgow University medical students pushed a bed to the top - they were accompanied by the former newscaster Reginald Bosanquet (then 48) who collapsed 1000 feet up. He later recovered and was able to walk down.
Other weird ascents - wheelbarrows to pianos!
Ben Nevis - The Personal Challenge
Ascending Ben Nevis can be the pinnacle of a walker's dream, and for almost everyone who reaches the summit, it is a noteworthy achievement. Being able to beat the Ben and stand on the highest point of Great Britain is a personal best for most people, and especially for those for whom it's a greater challenge. I'm honoured that some have shared their stories with me:Robin - who made the top on crutches
Katherine - disabled herself, but that didn't stop her becoming the first pole dancer on the summit!
Maureen, Imran and others who step by step made it to the top.
Ben Nevis Race
Every year hundreds gather to make it to the top of Ben Nevis and back down again in record time - when you're walking think about doing the climb and back in under two hours. Read more informatin about the walk and it's history.
Building the room
The finished room
Other pages you might like:
Ben Nevis Tourist Path
A Night on Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis Walkers share their stories
Three Peaks Part 1 - Ben Nevis
Pole Dancing on Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis c1960
Weather on the Mountains
Ben Nevis Tourist Path
A Night on Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis Walkers share their stories
Three Peaks Part 1 - Ben Nevis
Pole Dancing on Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis c1960
Weather on the Mountains
The highest mountain in the British Isles, Ben Nevis is 1,344 metres high (4,408 feet). It is situated in the Highlands of Scotland, close to Fort William, a bustling tourist town on the north-west coast.
For the novice or nonserious walker, once this peak has been achieved you can sit back and hang up your walking boots knowing that you have beaten the ultimate walk (as far as height is concerned, anyway).
Ben Nevis, translated from the Gaelic means 'Mountain of Heaven'. The first recorded ascent was in 1771, and in 1883 the footpath and observatory were built all thanks to Clement Linley Wragge, nicknamed Inclement Wragge.
Ben Nevis, translated from the Gaelic means 'Mountain of Heaven'. The first recorded ascent was in 1771, and in 1883 the footpath and observatory were built all thanks to Clement Linley Wragge, nicknamed Inclement Wragge.
Every year around 100,000 visitors find their way to the summit. Following the path on a summer's day is a fairly safe way to the top, but going off the path or rock climbing can be very dangerous. In a five year period, there were 13 deaths on the mountain. Although most averagely fit people can reach the top safely, it is not a walk in the park, and common sense safety precautions should be followed.
You may be tempted to try a route other than the Mountain Track, but unless you are an experienced hill walker equipped with both a good map and good map reading skills I'd advise against it. Ben Nevis is a serious mountain.