AS BRITAIN'S highest mountain it is a challenge even for the able-bodied. The long, grinding path to the top of Ben Nevis has been a summit too far for many.
But this spring the 4,406ft summit will witness one of the most astonishing feats of endurance yet on its famous slopes. Ten disabled people are to attempt the first ascent of the often mist-shrouded Ben in wheelchairs to raise a six-figure sum for c
harity.
The 10 will each lead a team of five able-bodied helpers to help them race to the top on May 31. Team members will be expected to take turns in pushing and lifting the wheelchair-bound leader up the four-and-a-quarter-mile track, which normally takes unencumbered walkers up to five hours to ascend.
Climbing the main path up Ben Nevis, which claims the lives of at least one walker or climber every year, is well known as an arduous ascent, but it is not difficult terrain for the moderately fit. One of the main challenges for competitors, however, is to lift the chair over particularly rocky and narrow sections.
They will also have to cope with highly changeable weather conditions. The summit is only clear on one day out of 10 on average, leading to poor visibility near dangerous cliffs. Rainfall is high and snow can fall at almost any time of the year. The average temperature at the summit is one degree below freezing.
So far, four wheelchair-led teams have been formed, but the organisers are holding a recruitment meeting on Thursday in the Glasgow offices of the legal firm Burness, who are sponsoring the event.
Although the owners of the mountain, the John Muir Trust (JMT), said they "admired" the aims of the event, they warned event organisers to ensure they carried out a full risk assessment before the challenge took place.
The Ben Nevis Challenge is being organised by Ken Hames, a former SAS major who now presents TV's Beyond Boundaries programme, in which disabled people have taken on tough outdoor endurance trials around the world. He said: "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take part in the ultimate team challenge and we hope lots of people from the UK's leading companies will sign up."
No one was underestimating the challenge involved. "The track is heavily stepped and there will be places where the team has to lift the chair, requiring both strength and balance, as it is steep and narrow in places," he said.
Nigel Hawkins, chief executive of the JMT, said the trust supported "responsible access" to Ben Nevis, which attracts around 200,000 walkers and climbers every year.
"There is a risk to anyone in going up Ben Nevis," he said. "Even at the end of May the weather can be fierce up there, as it can be at any time of year.
"The organisers must carry out a full risk assessment and then review it on the day. If the weather conditions are bad then they shouldn't necessarily push on to the top. It can be very confusing up there when the mists descend."
Hames said a risk assessment had been carried out by a mountaineering expert. "We will suck it and see on the day. If the weather is too bad we will probably set some form of restriction as to how high they will go," he added.
One of the wheelchair team leaders is 22-year-old Julie McElroy from Jordanhill, in Glasgow, who was born with cerebral palsy, leading to walking difficulties.
Julie, who has taken part in a Beyond Boundaries programme to be broadcast later this year, said: "Ben Nevis is going to be tough but it's manageable. I will be in charge of leading the team up, and the idea is for them to help me get up there in the fastest time possible.
"It's the first time this has ever been attempted and we hope it will become a regular event. We want to inspire people of all ages, both with disabilities and able-bodied, that this is a challenge that can be done."
The challenge is aimed at raising at least £100,000 for two disability organisations, Capability Scotland and Scope.
Alan Dickson, chief executive of Capability Scotland, said: "This will present a formidable yet exciting challenge to all those who take part – both disabled and non-disabled.
"We hope it will also change society's perceptions about disabled people and powerfully demonstrate that disability has no boundaries."
A well trodden path but an uphill struggle for a wheelchair For people walking up the main path of the mountain there should be no difficulty at all. The higher you go, the rougher it gets underfoot and the more serious the navigation becomes, but you don't have to use your hands. Anywhere on the ascent, you could walk up with your hands in your pockets.
But there are sections you would have to lift a wheelchair over, so I seriously doubt that a wheelchair-user could get to the summit independently.
Starting off from the visitor centre in Glen Nevis, there are some steps, about a foot high, on some of the steeper lower sections, so wheelchairs will have to be lifted over them.
The path then goes under a smaller peak called Meall an t-Suidhe and then heads up towards a lochan.
They will then have to cross the Red Burn and then go up a series of zig-zags which are there because the terrain is so steep at this point. At around 4,000 feet it gets much less steep as you hit the plateau and the summit beyond. The hardest bits have been done.
• ROGER WILD, mountain safety adviser, Mountaineering Council of Scotland. On the web:
www.mcofs.org.uk The full article contains 979 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
