Ben Nevis. Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles.
Standing at 1,345 metres above sea level, it is at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands, close to the town of Fort William. The mountain is a popular destination, attracting an estimated 100,000 ascents a year, around three-quarters of which use the Pony Track from Glen Nevis.The 700-metre cliffs of the north face are among the highest in Scotland, providing classic scrambles and rock climbs of all difficulties for climbers and mountaineers.
They are also the principal locations in Scotland for ice climbing. The summit, which is the collapsed dome of an ancient volcano, features the ruins of an observatory which was continuously staffed between 1883 and 1904.
The meteorological data collected during this period are still important for understanding Scottish mountain weather. C. T. R. Wilson was inspired to invent the cloud chamber after a period spent working at the observatory.
Ben Nevis is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic name Beinn Nibheis. Beinn is the most common Gaelic word for mountain, Nibheis is variously understood, though the word is commonly translated as malicious or venomous. An alternative interpretation is that Beinn Nibheis derives from beinn nèamh-bhathais, from nèamh heavens, clouds and bathais top of a man's head. One translation would therefore