I’m writing this with my chair of The Nevis Partnership hat on, and we need your help!

Every year over a hundred thousand people climb to the summit of Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest summit, and for many of them that achievement represents their own personal Everest.

Ben Nevis and its surroundings mean a great deal to a large number of people from all over the world. Protecting and safeguarding the area, while making it accessible and pleasurable to visit, is a real challenge and for the past few years The Nevis Partnership has taken on that challenge.

Now, the Partnership has launched the Friends of Nevis, to encourage individuals, families and organisations to help support and manage Ben Nevis and the surrounding Nevis area.

This magnificent environment includes mountains, wild land, the glen and the River Nevis and a range of visitor facilities such as a visitor centre and numerous low and higher level walks. Friends of Nevis can help through subscribing, donating or contributing time and resources on a range of practical projects such as path maintenance, wildlife monitoring, fundraising etc.

The main concept underpinning Friends of Nevis is to give as many individuals or organisations as possible the chance to demonstrate their support for this fantastic corner of the UK. While donations and subscriptions will always be welcome no-one no-one should feel excluded because of a tying requirement to give money; so a large part of Friends of Nevis will be concerned with recruiting and organising volunteers to help with the many strands of the Nevis Partnership’s work in the Nevis area.

Projects include path maintenance and repair on and around The Ben, and a wide range of environmental and visitor management initiatives in the wider Nevis area, as well as initiatives to work with residents and the local community to facilitate enjoyment and appreciation of the region. By joining Friends of Nevis, whether as a subscriber, volunteer, donor or a combination of all three, you can be assured that your time and money will be put to good use on the various projects and not expended on unnecessary paper work or gimmicks. Similarly, any proceeds from Friends of Nevis merchandise will be put directly into supporting the Nevis Area.

Can you help us protect and safeguard the wonderful qualities of Ben and Glen Nevis for the next generations? For more information contact: Friends of Nevis, The Nevis Partnership, 101 High Street, Fort William, PH33 6DG

www.friendsofnevis.co.uk

It was Ronald Turnbull who suggested to me some months ago that it’s a good thing to combine Munros with Corbetts and I have to agree with him.

We have so many “twin” Munros in Scotland - think of Ben More and Stobinian, Ben More Assynt and Conival, Ben Vorlich and Stuc a’Chroin to name just three but there are many, many more. A cursory glance at any of the Munro guidebooks will show many more of these Munro “twins”.

I like the idea of climbing Corbetts along with Munros and it gives a completely new perspective on climbing these hills. Let me give you an example. In the past I would never have thought of climbing Stuc a’ Chroin, in the Southern Highlands, without tagging on its neighbour, Ben Vorlich, and vice versa, but at the weekend I climbed the Munro along with its southern neighbour, the Corbett of Ben Each. The lovely knobbly ridge between the two hills gave me a completely different perspective on both the Corbett and the Munro, two hills I’ve climbed many a time. I’m now looking for more. Any recommendations?

The image is of Stuc a’Chroin from Ben Each.

I’m looking out at pouring rain and clouds being whipped across the sky by ferocious winds. I’m just preparing the little weather forecast item I’ve been doing for BBC Scotland’s Adventure Show radio programme and this weekend’s weather looks hellish, going on bloody hellish! Gale force winds on the tops, heavy rain and low cloud. Mmm, might be the weekend for doing those chores my wife has been hinting at for some weeks.

Shouldn’t complain too much I guess, the weather over the past couple of weeks has been wonderful - cold and frosty with clear blue skies here in the Highlands. I took the opportunity of going down to the Lakes last weekend to hike with some old friends, Jimmy, Aiden and Peter from Sunderland and Rowly from Ambleside, guys I met when I led a trek to Everest Base Camp a few years ago. I always enjoy heading out with these guys, we laugh as much as we walk, they’re fit and play hard and are just great characters to be with in the hills. For someone like me, who spends a lot of time walking alone, it’s always a delight to find company like that.

Anyway, we wandered - or should say raced, round the Fairfield Horseshoe in magnificent weather. It was bitterly cold on the summits but clear enough to get some good shots of neighbouring Hellvelyn. (see above) A lot of people were out enjoying the conditions and it was, as usual, great to see people enjoying the hills in all their glory.

So, I guess I’ll have to relive those fine hours this weekend as I plod through the mists, or battle the winds. For what it’s worth, incidentally, the best of the hill weather in Scotland looks like being the Lammermuirs this weekend. If you can tune in to Radio Scotland check out the programme tomorrow morning - The Adventure Show, 7-8am. It’s the last of our little stint of four weeks and Ewan and Mark will be back next week.

I feel a little guilty admitting this, but what the heck!
I was on Carn Mor Dearg and Ben Nevis today on one of the most magnificent days I’ve ever had on these hills. But we cheated. We went to both summits by helicopter…
It’s not something I do habitually but we were making a film for the Nevis Partnership, of which I’m chairman, and over the past few weeks we’ve managed to shoot nothing but cloud and rain. With high pressure forecast for today we went for it and used the helicopter for the aerial shots of the Ben. My sincerest apologies to anyone who was on the hill and had their peace disturbed - we did try and keep the disturbance to a minimum.
I was surprised by the amount of snow that was still on the hill and the gullies were busy with climbers. The views south, down Loch Linnhe, to Mull and the distant Paps of Jura were magnificent, but I think the best view of all was over the Carn Mor Dearg Arete to the Mamores, some of the loveliest hills in the country. The glens were hazy with mist but the tops were clear and the sun shone hot from a cobalt blue sky.
The NP film will be previewed at the Fort William Film Mountain Festival on Feb 19 and I reckon the clips we shot today will make it look quite spectacular. Apologies again to anyone whose peace was disturbed.