Dominic Bliss spends a day with Lochaber Mountain Rescue, whose volunteers are always on call to carry out life-saving work on and around Britain’s highest peak
It looks like he’s broken his femur. A mountain biker has suffered a serious crash on one of Ben Nevis’ downhill trails and the mountain rescue team aren’t taking any chances. They immediately call for a helicopter to medivac him directly to hospital in Glasgow. Before long, he’s flying south in a stretcher.
It’s a sunny Saturday in mid-September and the uplands around Britain’s highest mountain are awash with hikers, bikers, runners and climbers. Keeping an eye out for all of them are the volunteers from Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team. Keen to show the public what an invaluable service they provide, they’ve invited me to shadow them for the day. And what an experience it proves to be.
Early in the morning – fully kitted out with waterproofs, helmets, harnesses and ropes – we head out in a 4x4 from the team base, on the outskirts of Fort William, up to a car park on the north side of Ben Nevis. The peak of this famous mountain looms high above us, at 1,345 metres above sea level. We won’t be taking the easy mountain path (or the ‘tourist route’, as it’s known) to the top, though. Instead, we plan to scramble up the north face: a route known as the Tower Ridge.
Hard yards It starts with a fast hike up a steep, rocky path to the Charles Inglis Clark (CIC) hut, along the course of the Allt a’ Mhuilinn river. From here, the terrain rapidly becomes trickier, as we clamber over huge boulders and clatter up loose scree into Observatory Gulley. But the most testing section of all is Tower Ridge, a steep scramble that eventually leads to the summit, with many sections graded ‘Difficult’. Features along the way include the Great Chimney, the Little Tower, the Great Tower and – most dramatic of all – the narrow crest leading to the Tower Gap. It’s at this point, with long sheer drops on both sides, that I feel most exposed.
My guide, and the man I’m roped up to, is Iain Murray, leader of Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team. He heads up a group of 50 or so volunteers – all unpaid locals and most with full-time day jobs – who sacrifice much of their free time rescuing hapless outdoor enthusiasts in the mountains and countryside around Fort William. Together, they cover a vast area of the western Scottish Highlands, known as the Outdoor Capital of the UK. It covers the Knoydart peninsula and Fort Augustus in the north; down to Loch Linnhe and the Sound of Mull in the south; and to Creag Meagaidh in the east; as well as th
