Scotland Day 2

Today was the day we were to conquer Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the United Kingdom. After the previous day's walk, Bramina's foot was feeling sore, and so we decided we'd take it slow, but in my hear I hoped that we'd make it to the top. The last time I'd been up was the summer of 2013, and the summit had been shrouded in mist and cloud. This time, however, the Glen Nevis Visitors' Centre Staff assured us that apart from a cloud near the bottom of the mountain, the top was blue skies and bright sunshine (and quite a bit of snow).

I packed a monster sandwich, which for a while seemed like it wouldn't fit into my lunch box but with some gentle coaxing (euphemism for me using my hands and jumping to squeeze it all in ruthlessly) I managed. 

The climb began in a cloud, and you couldn't really see more than 5 metres before you at some points. There was a lot of work being done on the mountain path, so B and I had to navigate round large sacks of rock and cement, and punctuated our heavy breathing (mountain climbing is hard work!) with 'Hellos' and 'How's it goings' to the friendly work men.

The enveloping cloud meant that soon we were sweaty and damp with condensation, and so I stripped down to my thermals, although B managed to miraculously stay in four (FOUR) layers.

We'd been walking in the cloud for about an hour, when I decided to take a picture of where we were. I looked down to turn my camera on, and when I looked up.

The world had moved from one plane to another.

It was like when you emerge from the velvety dark of the cinema into sunlight outside.

The cloud had entirely disappeared, in it's place was blue sky and sunshine and a smoke trail in the air and snow capped peaks and the looming presence of Ben Nevis.

It reminded me of the verse 1 Corinthians 13:12

"We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!"

We kept going, although by the third hour it was getting increasingly harder because of the amount of snow surrounding us. I put each foot in the indent left by those who'd climbed before me. There were dog tracks in the snow too.

B was finding it increasingly difficult, because her foot was getting more and more painful, and so we stopped to have lunch, leaving the Irish couple that had climbed part of the way with us to go on without us.

We sat on a little island of rocks and had our sandwiches.

We were just 45 minutes away from the top, surrounded by snow and an ocean of clouds.

On the way back down, we stopped for a second sandwich by a loch, and lay back to sunbathe. We debated the nature of the aquarium industry, coming to no resolution. I am glad for friendships where we can debate and disagree and still be our own people with resolute views, and yet remain in harmony in our hearts. That was the blue-est water I'd seen for a long time, and the blue-est sky above me.

I sang the rest of the way down.