Winter Climbs Ben Nevis and Glencoe - Scotland - Britain

• Location
• Description
• Contents
• Introduction
• Sample Route
• Maps
• Further Reading

OS Landranger Series 1;50,000, Sheet 41

Harvey Superwalker maps for Ben Nevis and Glen Coe 1:25,000

Map and Compass and GPS
This guidebook will hopefully help climbers to find their route. It must be used in conjunction with a weather-proof map. All the areas in this guide are covered by the OS Landranger series, Sheet 41, Ben Nevis, Fort William and Glen Coe, 1:50,000. Also highly recommended are the waterproof Harvey Superwalker maps for Ben Nevis and Glen Coe. Personally I still put these in a map case, as I don’t think the waterproofing is up to Scottish west coast weather! These easy-to-read, detailed maps are to a scale of 1:25,000, and the Ben Nevis sheet has a superb inset of the Nevis plateau at a scale of 1:12,500. Harvey now sell a laminated 1:12,500 map of the Ben which has a grid superimposed on it for reading eight-figure references – it only costs about £4 (2002). The ability to use these maps with a compass is of prime importance to all winter mountaineers and climbers.

Recent developments with global positioning systems have ensured that the coverage and accuracy of these battery-driven devices is now usually very good throughout the area covered by this guide. They can provide a useful back-up to more traditional map and compass skills, and it is recommended they are used in this way rather than using the GPS alone. Walking on the bearing obtained from a traditional compass will nearly always be steadier than following that from its satellite-driven GPS cousin. It is recommended that the GPS co-ordinates given in this guide are tested on a clear day and also marked on a map. This is particularly important on Ben Nevis, which is a mountain that will be revisited many times by climbers. At the foot of any steep cliff, treat all GPS readings with a great deal of caution. The cliffs can prevent accurate/strong signals from the satellites.