0:25:16 > 0:25:18This is Chapman's Wood
0:25:18 > 0:25:22and I've just left the north face car park at Torlundy
0:25:22 > 0:25:24on the north side of Ben Nevis.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26The hill I'm going to climb today
0:25:26 > 0:25:28is one of the highest mountains in Scotland
0:25:28 > 0:25:31but I'm not going to climb it for its own sake,
0:25:31 > 0:25:33I'm going to climb it and use it as a grandstand
0:25:33 > 0:25:36to gaze across at the wild side of our highest mountain.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42The hill I'm going to climb is Carn Mor Dearg
0:25:42 > 0:25:47and we'll look across at the highest mountain in Britain, Ben Nevis.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56That's Ben Nevis ahead of us, just up through the trees,
0:25:56 > 0:25:57looking a bit moody.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08For the past three or four years,
0:26:08 > 0:26:10I've been chairman of the Nevis Partnership.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13That's an amalgamation of the organisations
0:26:13 > 0:26:15with an interest in Ben Nevis and Glen Nevis.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18That includes landowners, conservation organisations,
0:26:18 > 0:26:22mountaineering organisations and local community groups.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25One of the responsibilities we have is to maintain
0:26:25 > 0:26:29and look after the footpaths on the mountain and in the glen.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32That includes this path that runs up from the north face car park,
0:26:32 > 0:26:36up alongside Allt a' Mhuilinn , right up to the north face.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38Some of you might remember, years ago,
0:26:38 > 0:26:41this path was an absolute misery, it was a quagmire.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45You had to struggle through mud and peat and it really was miserable.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48I'm delighted to say the Nevis partnership has just started work
0:26:48 > 0:26:51on the last phase of the maintenance of this path.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54The difference is now unbelievable.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58It's a fantastic path all the way up from the north face car park,
0:26:58 > 0:27:00all the way up the side of Allt a' Mhuilinn,
0:27:00 > 0:27:01up to the north face.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17Despite what I said about this fantastic footpath,
0:27:17 > 0:27:21I'm going to leave it now and head up onto Carn Mor Dearg,
0:27:21 > 0:27:24not up to the north face.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26My fingers and toes are crossed
0:27:26 > 0:27:30that this cloud will raise just a little bit
0:27:30 > 0:27:33so we can get the fantastic views of Ben Nevis that I mentioned earlier.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Britain.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06It is a mountain with two sides to its character.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09Hill-walkers going up this tourist track on the other side
0:28:09 > 0:28:14will be familiar with one side of its character, its benign side.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17Once you come round to this side and you look at this northeast face,
0:28:17 > 0:28:20you get a totally different impression of the mountain.
0:28:20 > 0:28:26It is this northeast face, this row of gullies and buttresses and ridges
0:28:26 > 0:28:30that make this one of the finest mountaineering mountains
0:28:30 > 0:28:31in the world.
0:28:44 > 0:28:48This whole area of Lochaber is known as the adventure capital of Britain
0:28:48 > 0:28:50and that's not surprising.
0:28:50 > 0:28:54Over behind me is Aonach Mor, one of the best ski areas in the country
0:28:54 > 0:28:58and venue of the World Mountain Bike Championships.
0:28:58 > 0:28:59Just across there,
0:28:59 > 0:29:01the great winter playground
0:29:01 > 0:29:03of the north face of Ben Nevis.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06They've got it all going for them here at Lochaber.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28Earlier this morning, I had this lovely idea
0:29:28 > 0:29:32of sitting by the summit of Carn Mor Dearg in the sun
0:29:32 > 0:29:36and telling you about this wonderful northeast face of Ben Nevis.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39But in these conditions, in this wind,
0:29:39 > 0:29:42I'm afraid that's not going to happen.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46A number of years ago, the Scottish mountaineer Hamish Brown
0:29:46 > 0:29:48wrote a poem about Ben Nevis.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50He called it The Harlot
0:29:50 > 0:29:55and he described the mountain as a creature of loveless loveliness.
0:29:55 > 0:29:57I know exactly what he means.
0:29:57 > 0:30:01On some days, this mountain can be enticingly beautiful.
0:30:01 > 0:30:07On days like today, it can be cold and mean and very, very distant
0:30:07 > 0:30:09and a wee bit nasty, to be honest.
0:30:24 > 0:30:25Woo!
0:30:27 > 0:30:33We're at the summit of Carn Mor Dearg, 1,220 metres.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36And it is something else, it really is quite awesome up here.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39But very cold and pretty windy.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43On a good summer's day, I'd go from here, down over the Carn Mor Dearg,
0:30:43 > 0:30:46onto the summit of Ben Nevis, down the tourist route
0:30:46 > 0:30:49and back down the path that I came.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52But not today. Oh, it's far too cold.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54I think it'll take me all my time to get down.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57It's very icy, the wind is not abating at all
0:30:57 > 0:30:59and I'm going to keep moving.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01So I'll see you next time.
0:31:03 > 0:31:04Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd