Ben Nevis - Geography

Geography

Ben Nevis forms a massif with its neighbour to the north-east, Càrn Mòr Dearg, to which it is linked by the Càrn Mòr Dearg Arête. Both mountains are among the nine in Scotland over 4,000 feet (1,200 m); Aonach Beag and Aonach Mòr also being located on the Nevis massif, with Ben Macdui, Braeriach, Cairn Toul, Sgor an Lochain Uaine and Cairn Gorm being located in the Cairngorms.

The western and southern flanks of Ben Nevis rise 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) in about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the floor of Glen Nevis – the longest and steepest hill slope in Britain – with the result that the mountain presents an aspect of massive bulk on this side. To the north, by contrast, cliffs drop some 600 metres (2,000 ft) to Coire Leis. This corrie contains the Charles Inglis Clark Memorial Hut (known as the CIC Hut), a private mountain hut located at 680 metres (2,230 ft) above sea level, owned by the Scottish Mountaineering Club and used as a base for the many climbing routes on the mountain's north face.

In addition to the main 1,344 m (4,409 ft) summit, Ben Nevis has two subsidiary "tops" listed in Munro's Tables, both of which are called Càrn Dearg ("red hill"). The higher of these, at 1,221 metres (4,006 ft), is situated to the north-west, and is often mistaken for Ben Nevis itself in views from the Fort William area. The other Càrn Dearg (1,020 m) juts out into Glen Nevis on the mountain's south-western side. A lower hill, Meall an t-Suidhe (711 metres (2,333 ft)), is located further west, forming a saddle with Ben Nevis which contains a small loch, Lochan an t-Suidhe. The popular tourist path from Glen Nevis skirts the side of this hill before ascending Ben Nevis's broad western flank.