Firstly, it's more than a gentle stroll. You need to be reasonably fit before you consider making the ascent, and we wouldn't recommend a Ben Nevis walk for beginners.
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Most beginner to intermediate hikers would classify Ben Nevis as hard.
The first thing to know is that there are two routes up and down Ben Nevis – the Mountain Track (or Tourist Track) and the Carn Mor Dearg Arête which is typically tackled by more experienced climbers. The Mountain Track is doable as a beginner if you have generally good fitness and go prepared for the conditions.
How long does the walk take? An average time to the summit and back is 7 – 8 hours. Walkers fit enough to try to climb The Three Peaks in 24 hours need to take 5 hours or less. The winner of The Ben Race each September gets to the summit and back in around 90 minutes.
Don't forget, this is the highest point of the entire British Isles. You'll need good cardio fitness to keep walking uphill for 6+ hours, and strong legs, core, and upper body to carry your stuff.
The North Face of the mountain offers the greatest challenges of all. The Ledge route is a non-climbing route, but it still has some sections of grade 1 scrambles. You may encounter pockets of snow even in early summer, so it's best to have some knowledge of using ice axes and crampons.
Toilet issuesPlease be discreet with your need to go to the toilet. If at all possible try not leaving excreta on the mountain. There are public toilets at the Glen Nevis visitor centre.
The Gondola transports visitors from 100m to 650m up the mountain and takes approximately 15 minutes each way. The Doppelmayr Gondola system comprises of 80 six seat closed cabins running on a continuous 4.6km steel cable weighing 40 tonnes.
Walking poles are recommended but not essential. Many people find they really benefit from the support of walking poles on the way back down. It normally feels much harder going down that it does going up, and walking poles can help a lot.
The ordinary route up Ben Nevis, the 'Mountain Path' (also known as the 'Pony Track' and, misleadingly, the 'Tourist Path') is a technically easy path as these things go. Someone with a reasonable level of walking fitness should be able to ascend in 4-5 hours and descend in a further 2-3 hours.
Once called the 'Tourist Path', the main route up Ben Nevis may be extremely popular but it's no walk in the park. It involves 1,352m of climbing over 10.5 miles of steep, rough, rocky terrain, probably taking seven or eight hours. It's only for the fit and well-prepared.
Just remember that some days there are over 1000 people on the mountain and there are no toilet facilities. To be safe take bottled water, at least 2 litres per person on a sunny day.
For novices, we'd recommend the 'Mountain Path' (also known as the 'Pony Track' or 'Ben Path'). It's the simplest way to the top, and also the most popular. You'll usually start at Achintree on the east side (if you've parked at the Ben Nevis Visitor Centre or youth hostel, you'll start at west side).
Climbing Ben Nevis is free. There is, however, a charge to use the car park at the Glen Nevis Visitor Center, currently, £ 4 per car and £ 10 per minibus / motorhome / coach, per day.
Be safe on Ben Nevis !During the winter the mountain is cloaked in snow and ice and in these conditions only mountaineers equipped with ice axes and crampons should attempt the ascent. Winter conditions can occur from October to May.