Climbing Ben Nevis

Ben Nevis is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands and at 1344 metres high it is the highest in the UK. My friend Sarah and I thought it would be a good idea to go and climb it. The two of us were picked up in Leeds by a mate of ours from Topdeck John and we drove to Glasgow to collect Blackey, another Topdeck mate.
We then continued our drive towards Glen Nevis in the pouring rain. Luckily when we got to camp late in the night the rain stopped long enough for us to set up our tents. Then the rain continued throughout the night.
We woke up early Saturday morning and began our climb. We followed the main tourist path the whole way to the top. For the first hour or so of our walk it did not rain then we entered the level of the clouds from which point everything was moist and i began to get wet. The track was well maintained and as we walked up the visibility decreased and the conditions grew worse and worse. As we reached an area close to the summit it became very exposed and the wind became very strong, the rain was now coming in at all angles.
We reached the summit about three and a half hours after setting off and the visibility was disappointingly very minimal and their was still a large piece of snow just near the top. On a clear day it is said you can see views up to 190 kilometres. When we reached the top we couldn't see more than 20 metres.
My hands were numb by the time we reached the top and my whole body was shaking. So I wasn't hanging around for long. After having a quick look at the disused observatory and war memorial I began the decent. At the top was the coldest I can ever remember being.
Considering the conditions the track was very busy, people were walking their dogs and another group of men had refrigerators tied to their back as part of a charity fundraiser.
As we descended conditions grew worse, the rain became heavier and the wind increased until we again reached below the level of the clouds where it was raining little but not as cold.
Our descent took roughly two and a half hours and once we reached the base we stopped at the pub to warm up and celebrate our achievement. We ended up staying for a couple or hours to thaw out and then headed back to camp. We didn't stay long at camp realising we were better off to head back to the pub where it was much warmer. We ended up staying at the pub for another few hours before going back to camp to sleep.
Our Sunday we made our way back to Leeds dropping Blackey off in Glasgow on the way through. John drove the whole way and back, after dropping Sarah and I in Leeds he continued home to Devon almost at the bottom of England. He had driving almost the length of the UK and back in the one weekend.