Meall chuaich

■ Distance: 9½ miles/15.1km ■ Time: 6-7hours ■ ...

Jim Perrin raises our anticipation for the coming season, recalling the gleaming, glittering challenges of winter climbing in the Cairngorms

Some mountains live up to their names better than others. BEN MORE is one that certainly does, but first we need some disambiguation: exactly which Ben More are we talking about?

It might look like it’s been lifted from the darkest dreams of J R R Tolkien or George R R Martin, but even if you don’t have alliterative middle names, this strange world at the northernmost tip of SKYE is a place to inspire fantasy.

Twenty-five years ago, large chunks of Eryri’s Aran range were out of bounds. That all changed in 2000. To celebrate a quarter-century of the legislation that changed the game, Trail set out to walk the entire ridge… unobstructed.

We’re going to climb Ben Nevis. Want to come?” said our son. We are not climbers, and we travel with our 10-year-old dog, Molly. But we said, “Yes, OK, see you there!” and promptly booked Glen Nevis c