Certainly lots of people summit Ben Nevis each year with out a guide.
So why hire Wild Mountain Guides?
If you need a guide for Ben Nevis depends a lot on the weather on the day and your experience.
The lower path is very clear and easy to follow, but the summit plateau is featureless and even with a light dusting of snow it can be hard to follow despite the cairns marking the way.
A guide gives you the confidence, tells you about the local history and nature as well as taking photos of your ascent.
In winter the need for skilful use of crampons and ice axes and often poor weather means the guides knowledge and coaching skills adds a huge amount of safety and value to the day.
For walking up the main path to the summit look at this check list of skills to help you make the decision:
- Can you read a map and navigate with no visibility?
- Can you apply the mountain weather forecast to what is actually happening on the mountain and make an affective decision to carry on or turn back.
- In the event of an accident do you have the skill to give your exact location, with in 100m, to the rescue services?
- Do you have mountain first aid skills and the equipment to solve problems such as emergency shelters and head torches.
- Do you want to know more about the history, culture and nature of Ben Nevis?
The scrambles and climbing routes to the summit are complex and long. Even experienced climbers hire guides to make sure they have great day out, getting on the right route for the weather and their experience level and knowing they can tap into the guides decades of experience to develop their skills.
Ultimately, the decision to get a guide is a balance of a number of factors:
- Your experience
- The time of year and weather
- The route you want to do
- Your confidence