The 2007 Adventure Race World Championship

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Ben Nevis to the Finish

Robyn Ferrar / 01.06.2007

We could not have asked for better weather for the final stage of ARWC. Fort William was bathed in brilliant sunshine from first-light; however, Team Nike will have only enjoyed it on their descent into Fort William. They did the more interesting (euphemism for ‘scary!’) bits in the dark.

The route started southwest of the summit, only joining the main tourist track for the last 150m of ascent. Starting from just 50m above sea-level, the climb from Achriabhach to the summit, at 1343m, seems endless, especially after 6 days of racing. The terrain is steep and hard-going, with many boulder fields to pick your way through… not ideal for painful feet.

One-Track Mind
Once at the summit, the rewards are spectacular, although perhaps not appreciated as much by those with a single, burning goal in mind – the finish line. However, it was not a simple case of back down and home, the teams had yet another ridge-walk to complete first.

Off the east side of the snow-covered summit is a steep 200m drop down to the Carn Mor Dearg Arrete. A mass of boulders, it is a slow and arduous descent, often requiring all points of contact – feet, hands/trekking poles and bums. The rocks made life even more uncomfortable by consistently presenting the most inconvenient angles and edges to tired, sore feet… often with a disconcerting wobble to boot.See All Event Posts