Summit Ben Nevis and Learn Winter Mountain Skills

Great weekend indeed! Really nice meeting everyone and a huge thanks to the guides for all the help and support and fun. Learnt a lot and enjoyed a lot. The guides always gave alternate plans if the weather was not the best for actual activities and we ended up doing something new and more exciting.

The guides were friendly and really knowledgeable. Despite the lack of snow lower down, they gave the group various alternative plans for the Saturday and we managed to squeeze in some winter skills once we reached the snow cover on Ben Nevis. Would highly recommend.

Unfortunately due to gorgeous sunshine and lack of snow/ice the winter skills were very limited but to their immense credit the guides still delivered a great weekend which included an ascent of Ben Nevis via the CMD Arête route and an impromptu rock climbing day. Well run with great guides 👍

An absolutely brilliant weekend spent on Ben Nevis and the surrounding hills! Unfortunately the snow conditions this season have been particularly poor so the decision was made early on by Michael and Kyle, our guides, in conjunction with our group that we would make the best of the conditions and go for a more adventurous ascent of Ben Nevis via the famous CMD arête route due to the lack of snow. This proved to be an outstanding choice and definitely didn’t feel like a “consolation prize” as the physical challenge more than made up for the less than wintery conditions! The Sunday was a slightly less physical affair as everyone was pretty tired from the previous days efforts so we opted to split the group in two, with those who wanted to spend the day at a local crag in Glen Nevis to try their hand at climbing, abseiling and rope work, while the other group had a day of scrambling further up the Glen near An Steall waterfall. Again, this proved to be an awesome experience and I definitely didn’t feel hard done by to miss out on the winter conditions. In summary, the guides Michael, Kyle and John were superstars and really made the best of the weather to make sure that everyone got some adventure from the weekend and learned some new skills. Would 100% recommend! 👍🏼

Well organised, lovely bunch of people with knowledgeable and friendly guides.

I go hiking/walking often but the winter aspect of this trip made it challenging for me. The guides supported me through and I learned new skills.

Definitely a challenge but I’m glad I joined this group trip to complete the hike!

This was my first winter adventure and it was an amazing experience! The guides were great and I couldn't recommend this trip enough!

Overall, this was a good experience and I would recommend it to anyone.

Such an amazing experience! Would recommend to anyone. Great, knowledgeable guides and really fun.

Incredible mountain, scenery. . . and what a group. A NYE and trip to remember. Brilliant guides, worked fantastically around the weather. We had an amazing time. NYE event is reason for 3 stars, sorry, but that part was not as advertised.

The hiking and mountain skills were well organised with excellent guides who were able to accommodate different arrangements as per the requests / interest of the group and with challenging weather conditions. It was a nice group and the hotel was good. The meeting point was easy to find and everything regarding rental gear was pre-arranged for us. I also appreciated that the host made dinner arrangements for us as a group which was thoughtful. The only reason for giving 4 stars and not 5 is due to the ceilidh not happening as expected. If this was a trip outside of new year, I would have given it 5 stars.

To go or not to go…that was indeed the question. Throw a prediction of an impeding doom involving Scottish weather, mix it with frazzled brain when trying to find walking poles for a very small Pole and add to that a predominantly female group - you could have easily had me hovering over the cancellation button. Thankfully once Scotland plants a seed in your heart, you just know that you have to pack your bags and go. And so I did. And I am so glad I did. Perhaps the sun shines on the righteous ones, perhaps you just have to be lucky and storm warnings do not apply to you, perhaps mountain ghosts happened to have a day off - we came to climb a mountain and a mountain we have climbed. Big thanks to everyone who looked after us: Ella, Mark and Kyle. We knew we were in safe hands whether hiking up Ben Nevis, rolling in heather or walking alongside a wild river - we couldn’t have wished for a better and more knowledgeable company. What made this adventure so special? Magic of the place and special kind of people. Many things have been said about the beauty of Scottish landscape and I feel that I have nothing to add. Seems like the only words I had in my vocabulary were: oh and ah. People - YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE:) This was my second adventure with MBA. This was also my second date with Scotland and I can safely say there will be many more. The best way to end a year and the best way to start it - hungry for adventure, ready to leave the comfort zone and throw yourself into the arms of complete strangers. As for one missing star…You know the one about a Pole, Irishman and Englishman walking into a Scottish bar looking for ceilidh? Then I will say no more. I found out that good Scottish ale can wash away any disappointment.

The guides Mark and Kyle were brilliant and very knowledgeable. The trip was tailored to the group, as Scottish weather can play havoc with plans. The group was friendly and supportive and the trip all in all was just spot on.

What a weekend. Lucked out with the weather, clear skies for mountain skills day though very windy later on. No views at the top on Ben Nevis but an incredible day! Great group dynamic. A shame we couldn't do CMD route but have to go with the majority - still a fantastic weekend and would recommend to anyone! Iain out guide was the best :)

I have now completed my goal to climb all of GB's highest peaks. Ben Nevis was my last one and I couldnt have asked for a better organisation and team, to do it with. I had a great time on this challenging adventure. The accommodation was great. The team of guides were so helpful, kind and knowledgeable. I felt safe and well looked after. I really recommened Much Better Adventures. I made great friends, felt challenged and out of my comfort zone but was encouraged and supported the whole way. Thank you MBA

Great trip as per usual with MBA. Guides Aidan and Iain were fantastic, the hired equipment was of high quality and the rest of the people on the trip were all fantastic. Already looking to book the next one.

A great hike, very enjoyable in the snow and the technical skills were certainly interesting and well taught. Much tougher to come back down than going up!

Thank you for a great weekend. Iain and Aidan were great guides. Lots of fun was had. They were informative, engaging and fun. I have never done anything like this before and I felt I was im safe hands with these two. Glen Nevis was a good warm up on Saturday. Ben Nevis! You were tough. The weather at the summit, like I have never experienced before. Challenging to say the least. A good group of people and we all got eacher to the summit.

Incredible experience! I’ve done some summer/autumn hiking in the past year but really wanted to learn some winter skills before venturing out on my own. I’m not the fastest, I’m a slow and steady hiker who just plods on and the group dynamics were great. Everyone was really patient and Aiden was a really great, friendly and knowledgeable guide. Would highly recommended this adventure to everyone. We summited Nevis in 4 hr 30 with a further 4hr for descent (I think - my watch died!). Stops along the way for photos/refilling water etc. Crampons on from about midway I think! We massively lucked out on weather and had the best visibility!

Our guides Aidan and Mark were exceptional during the 2 day course, the first day was focused on a base for the Ben Nevis ascent on day 2. This was a highly rewarding and fulfilling 2 days in Scotland and I am very glad I booked on.

First trip with much better adventures and will confess was fantastic. Be advised it is tough and def need a decent level of fitness. Learnt a lot over the weekend and Phil was a great guide. Weather was def challenging which made the hike even more satisfying

Fantastic course to build winter mountaineering skills and to learn some of the more technical elements of how to use ice axes and crampons effectively.

Our guide John was superb and passionate in teaching us the correct techniques. We also had a great memory when one of group members (Rachel) brought some left over pizza and shared it between us all on the summit of Ben Nevis which went down a treat!

I had such a great time on this course! Perfect for those looking to step up from summer hiking into the winter world.

Connor is super helpful with all the admin, with a well oiled itinerary. John was an unbelievably helpful guide. His knowledge is outstanding, and I've been able to pick up so many useful skills.

Follow the kit list though, and remember to bring multiple pairs of gloves

Unfortunately the weather did not allow the full course to go ahead, while John was great going up Ben nevis in appalling conditions and kept everyone going. It felt like there was not a real back up plan with the weather not being suitable for the skills. This made us leave early as what was suggested wasn't what we had booked for.

A truly great weekend!

Really fun and worthwhile trip. John was an excellent guide and teacher. Never thought I’d let myself fall backwards down a mountain! Felt very well supported in the extreme weather conditions on day one. Great starting point if you’re planning more winter climbs. Incredible scenery.

This was a fantastic experience with excellent guides and accommodation, even the weather was well organised :-D

4 instead of 5 stars for some admin issues and I would have expected transport to start points of each day's adventure, but we were asked to drive ourselves.

Guides were great. Hotel was spot on. Experience was delivered as promised. Group dynamic was superb. Great job.

Absolutely worth doing!

Great weekend in beautiful Highlands. Guides were excellent and luckily group dynamics too.

Sliding head first down a patch of snow in the pouring rain was definitely a highlight (who would have thought) of the trip, when learning to use ice axes. The views from the summit of Ben Nevis were stunning. Unfortunately, weather, instructor ratios and group limitations meant we weren't able to tackle anything particularly challenging, so we just hiked up the path to Ben Nevis. It would have been better if we could have split off into smaller groups better matched for goals and abilities. Ian, the guide, was lovely, very knowledgable about the area and did his best to cater to everyone's needs etc. I felt safe throughout and overall had a great time being outside.

Highly recommend