Finally, Ben Nevis and the CMD Arête by jamibann

Finally, Ben Nevis and the CMD Arête

We finally got the perfect conditions. We set off walking at 0630 yesterday morning and were on top of Carn Mor Dearg by 0930. Everything was perfect. Here, John is standing on CMD summit and behind him is the arête and the North Face of 'The Ben'.

We 'popped up' on the summit of Ben Nevis, after negotiating the arête and the steep boulder field, just before 11, to be greeted by significant numbers of people who'd come up 'the tourist path'. As we sat and had coffee, they just kept on coming! An interesting experience, and a tale of two halves. We met only about 8-10 people on CMD and the arête.

By 2pm the cloud was coming in to shroud the summit, but we were well down by then.

What a way to do it. Fabulous. So worth waiting for!
Favourite for the huge achievement as wll as the photo
September 9th, 2024  
Oh well done! How bizarre that so many others were up there......but then again......they may have been excited by the weather window too!
September 9th, 2024  
Yay, you finally made it in perfect weather conditions! Kudos to you and John for this amazing achievement! A stunning capture of this wonderful scenery and a happy John :-)
September 9th, 2024  
Love your shot, Issy! Such 'adventures' you have!
September 9th, 2024  
Woohoo well done. Just like you to take the hard route!
September 9th, 2024  
Wow! Well done to you both
September 9th, 2024  
Fabulous photo! I do have to bragg & tell you my walking boots have also climber Ben Nevis, the easier way though!
Our granddaughter Alex did the 3 peaks while at High school & her boots got very wet climbing Snowden’s so I lent her mine to do Ben Nevis! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Well done both & it’s a very beautiful mountain ( looking from below)
We once stayed in a b&b north of Fort William & could see it very close out of our bedroom window & it was awesome.
September 9th, 2024  
Amazing
September 9th, 2024  
Fantastic achievement :) fav
September 9th, 2024  
Fabulous photo and fabulous achievement.
September 9th, 2024  
Amazing accomplishment and photo!
September 9th, 2024  
Well done what an achievement.
September 9th, 2024  
Wonderful shot! Congratulations, so glad your efforts paid off. A beautiful view for sure!
September 9th, 2024  
What an achievement.
September 9th, 2024  
Wonderful pic!
September 9th, 2024  
Congrats on finally bagging it! Beautiful shot, with those layers of hill tops.
September 9th, 2024  
@happypat They say 'easier', but I'm not so sure. Easier in that it's shorter, easier if you don't have a head for heights or are afraid of the 'risk' on the arête, and easier in that you probably are less likely to get lost in poor visibility, but pretty hard in that it's relentless (with little to distract you) and you only get the view once at the top (as long as the cloud isn't down). I'd take the long way any day! Constant 365 views, and a variety of slopes, textures and rocks under the feet. The time just flies. I felt sorry for the 'tourists' on the path when we were descending! I'll post a photo another day - it almost looks like walking on the moon! But I love to think that your boots have been there!
September 9th, 2024  
Thrilling to just read… the biggest congratulations to you both… it’s so exciting to see & read this news
Fabulous photo too
September 9th, 2024  
sounds like a fabulous journey
September 9th, 2024  
Oh congratulations. That's a great achievement. That ridge looks really nice in the shot, but it takes a lot of practice to get over it. It's great that the weather worked out.
September 9th, 2024  
Wonderful
September 9th, 2024  
Awesome picture and great achievement!
September 9th, 2024  
Beautiful scenery and very nice shot
September 10th, 2024  
nice going
September 10th, 2024  
Beautiful capture of the layers in the landscape. Love the inclusion of your hiking companion.
September 10th, 2024  
Congratulations!
September 10th, 2024  
Congrats to y'all. Great shot.
September 10th, 2024  
Great shot! Congrats
September 10th, 2024  
Congratulations. Glorious capture
September 10th, 2024  
Well done & congrats. Love the layers of the mountains that you've captured!
September 10th, 2024  
How exciting you did the Ben on such a good weather day! Congratulations! Hip Hip Hurrah!
September 10th, 2024  
Wow great effort.. that view behind John is amazing..
September 10th, 2024  
wow, I've even heard of Ben Nevis
September 10th, 2024  
This is so impressive on multiple levels — beautiful image of course, but even more, seeing what you were climbing to get to that point (instead of taking the easier option which I image still isn’t ‘easy’). Nicely done!
September 10th, 2024  
Fantastic accomplishment, congratulations 👏 and it’s a super capture too
September 10th, 2024  
How exciting for you and the shot is spectacular!
September 11th, 2024  
How wonderful!!
September 15th, 2024  
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