Ben Nevis

This article is about the mountain in Scotland. For other uses, see Ben Nevis (disambiguation).

Ben Nevis
Beinn Nibheis
Ben Nevis from Banavie. The summit is beyond and to the left of the apparent highest point.
Highest point
Elevation1,345 m (4,413 ft)[1]
Prominence1,345 m (4,413 ft)
Ranked 1st in British Isles
Parent peaknone – Highest peak on island of Great Britain
Isolation739 km (459 mi)
Listing
Coordinates56°47′49″N 5°00′13″W / 56.79685°N 5.003508°W / 56.79685; -5.003508
Geography
Ben Nevis is located in Scotland
Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis
Location within Scotland
LocationLochaber, Highland, Scotland
Parent rangeGrampian Mountains
OS gridNN166712
Topo mapOS Landranger 41, Explorer 392[2]
Climbing
First ascent19 August 1771, by James Robertson[3]
Easiest routePony track and mountain path

Ben Nevis (/ˈnɛvɪs/ NEV-iss; Scottish Gaelic: Beinn Nibheis, Scottish Gaelic pronunciation: [pe(ɲ) ˈɲivɪʃ]) is the highest mountain in Scotland, the United Kingdom, and the British Isles. The summit is 1,345 metres (4,413 ft)[1] above sea level and is the highest land in any direction for 739 kilometres (459 miles).[4][a] Ben Nevis stands at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Highland region of Lochaber, close to the town of Fort William.

The mountain is a popular destination, attracting an estimated 150,000 visitors a year,[5] around three-quarters of which use the Mountain Track from Glen Nevis.[6] The 700-metre (2,300 ft) cliffs of the north face are among the highest in Scotland, providing classic scrambles and rock climbs of all difficulties for climbers and mountaineers. They are also the principal locations in Scotland for ice climbing.

The summit, which is the collapsed dome of an ancient volcano,[7] features the ruins of an observatory which was continuously staffed between 1883 and 1904. The meteorological data collected during this period is still important for understanding Scottish mountain weather. C. T. R. Wilson was inspired to invent the cloud chamber after a period spent working at the observatory.

  1. ^ a b "Great Britain's tallest mountain is taller". Ordnance Survey. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  2. ^ Ordnance Survey 2002
  3. ^ Mitchell, Ian R. (2004). Scotland's Mountains Before the Mountaineers. Luath Press Limited. p. 33.
  4. ^ "Isolation for Ben Nevis - Peakbagger.com". www.peakbagger.com.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference bbcVisitors was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ The Nevis Working Party (2001). "Nevis Strategy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 November 2006. Retrieved 5 November 2006.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference bbc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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