Walking Ben Nevis: Everything You Need To Know

Your Guide to Walking Up Ben Nevis

If you’re thinking of joining West Coast Mountain Guides for a Ben Nevis guided walk, you’ve probably got questions. As we always want to do all we can to help people enjoy walking in the Highlands, we’ve put together this guide to help you get the best out of your ascent with our Ben Nevis walking tips.

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Can you walk up Ben Nevis?

This is a fundamental question. What do we mean by ‘walking up Ben Nevis’?

Firstly, it’s more than a gentle stroll. You need to be reasonably fit before you consider making the ascent, and we wouldn’t recommend a Ben Nevis walk for beginners. However, there is a path up Ben Nevis, and you won’t need to do any scrambling.

Employing the services of the mountain leaders at West Coast Mountain Guides will make the chances of a successful walk up Ben Nevis much greater.

Which Ben Nevis route does West Coast Mountain Guides take?

Our summer guided walks up Ben Nevis takes the Mountain Track (also known as the Tourist path).

As mentioned above this doesn’t require any scrambling and the path is easily visible in good weather.

If you are considering a more challenging route up Ben Nevis, you may be interested in our guided ascent of Tower Ridge.

Ben Nevis – Frequently Asked Questions

How large are the groups of walkers you take up Ben Nevis?

For safety reasons we never have more than 8 walkers for every one guide on our summer walks up Ben Nevis.

Where do Ben Nevis walks start?

The Mountain Track starts in Glen Nevis, just outside Fort William.

How long does it take to walk up Ben Nevis?

We generally allow between 6 and 8 hours to walk up Ben Nevis.

How far is the Ben Nevis walk?

The total distance to the summit of Ben Nevis, and back, is 16 km.

How high is Ben Nevis?

Ben Nevis is 1345 metres high.

When is the best time to walk up Ben Nevis?

Our Ben Nevis guided walks take place between April and the end of October. Outside of these months the conditions on Ben Nevis are more challenging, with a greater chance of snow at the summit and high winds. If you are an experienced climber who would like to test yourself in more difficult conditions, take a look at our climbing Ben Nevis in winter option.

What is the weather like on Ben Nevis?

Between April and October, when our walks take place, the weather in Ben Nevis is much less harsh than at other times. However, there is sometimes some snow at the summit during this time – which can make the path tricky to follow. It’s also important to remember that the weather at the summit is frequently quite different to the weather in Fort William and at the base. Don’t worry though, when you ascend Ben Nevis with West Coast Mountain Guides we won’t attempt to reach the summit if we feel it is dangerous.

Customer Reviews

Winter Cimb of Ben Nevis Great experience with a great guide (Will). I appreciated his skill, patience, kindness, knowledge, flexibility, and passion for the hills. Would highly recommend this guide and company for Ben Nevis.
Jay B. 26 Feb 2023

First rate experience. Simon and Henry worked around difficult conditions to give us the experience of a lifetime. Amazing knowledge and professionalism combined with great teaching skills. Highly recommended.
Ian S. 25 Feb 2023

Great winter climbing course with Sally We had an amazing day with Sally from West Coast on the winter climbing course. From initial contact to finals plans the night before we felt like we were in good hands. She provided the gear and took three of us up the hill and had great patter. Once we reached the snow we were led through the training with the ice axes and crampons before tackling the climb full... read more read less
Roddy M. 25 Feb 2023
It was an awesome two days with Simon. We did Curved Ridge on Tuesday and Right Twin on Wednesday. I first did Curved Ridge in Feb 2006 on an Alan Kimber weekend. On that trip it was more wintry but not by so much. Many time I have thought about repeating it as a rock climb so in that respect it was perfect even though it should have been under... read more read less
Jon E. 25 Feb 2023

Great Mountain Guides - Recommended Fantastic experience with West Coast, from the initial booking and correspondence through to the guiding from Simon. Everything was brilliant. Highly recommended.
Lewis T. 23 Feb 2023

Alex is genuinely the best instructor I've had the pleasure of learning from. I wasn't sure what to expect from the 5 days, but would have been happy coming away from it feeling I'd learnt something and having ticked off a few routes. I ended up having the most enjoyable and educational experience I've had since getting back into climbing. I feel Alex perfectly balanced getting us up the routes... read more read less
Samuel P. 15 Feb 2023
5 day intro winter climbing Alex is genuinely the best instructor I've had the pleasure of learning from. I wasn't sure what to expect from the 5 days, but would have been happy coming away from it feeling I'd learnt something and having ticked off a few routes. I ended up having the most enjoyable and educational experience I've had since getting back into climbing. I feel Alex perfectly balanced getting us up the routes... read more read less
Sam P. 14 Feb 2023

Introductory winter climbing course I completed the 5 day intro to winter climbing course with west coast mountain guides Our guide Alex Kay did a great job, he tailored each day to suit the groups aims and we learnt a lot in the short space of time whilst still keeping it really enjoyable. I'd highly recommend this to anyone who's thinking about it, just get it booked in, you won't regret it!
Colum H. 10 Feb 2023

Winterising climbing skills Our guide David Whiteley was fantastic, fantastic teacher and made a great effort to find good routes in less than ideal ground conditions.
Terra I. 24 Jan 2023
Winter summit of Ben Nevis Awesome day with guide Craig who was knowledgeable, friendly and good fun. In great conditions we made it to the summit with some expert nav from our guide!
Richard T. 22 Jan 2023

Awesome intro to winter climbing over three days with David and Dave. Learnt the basic safety and technical skills and managed to do some challenging climbs as early as the second day
Maxime G. 22 Jan 2023

Awesome intro to winter climbing Awesome intro to winter climbing over three days with David and Dave. Learnt the basic safety and technical skills and managed to do some challenging climbs as early as the second day
Maxime G. 22 Jan 2023

What should I bring with me on a walk up Ben Nevis?

Bear in mind you’ll be on the mountain for up to 8 hours so you should bring enough food and water to cover this time. We would suggest 2 litres of water, more if the weather is very hot, and a selection of simple high energy foods and snacks such as dried fruit, nuts, energy bars pies etc. Remember you’re going to have to carry everything, but there is no shop or cafe at the top of Ben Nevis so you don’t want to run out of provisions.

In terms of other kits and equipment, we’ve put together this kit list for all our summer climbs and walks. If you’ve decided to tackle the winter climb you’ll need slightly different equipment including crampons and possibly an ice axe.