Achi news desk-
Iain Cameron, who monitors patches of snow on UK hills, shared a video on social media showing the shelter full of discarded rubbish.
He wrote: “I despair. The Ben Nevis summit shelter is, as the name suggests, a shelter for people who may need it in an emergency.
“Instead it has been used as a dumping ground for selfish people who can’t be bothered to take their home home.”
I despair. The Ben Nevis summit shelter, as the name suggests, is a shelter for people who may need it in an emergency. Instead it has been used as a dumping ground for selfish people who can’t be bothered to take their homes home.
— Iain Cameron (@theiaincameron) May 4, 2024
Broadcaster Muriel Gray, who fronted The Munro Show in the 1980s for walking Scotland’s tallest mountains, described the video as “disgraceful”.
Dee Ward, chairman of Scottish Land Estates, said: “This is terrible. That’s why we locked out, open to all, bothy.
“We still allow access but now people have to call us, give us their name and number, then we give them the code. It’s still free, we provide firewood etc but it’s a shame we can’t operate an open system like Norway.”
Another said: “Same thing on top of Snowdon. Absolute toilet. Come to think of it Everest base camp too. Quite desperate.”
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The Lochaber Mountain Rescue Service previously warned that the refuge had become a ‘no-go’ area for the team.
Mike Smith, treasurer, said it was an “absolute no” to take an injured person to the shelter for treatment given the state of the place.
He said: “From time to time, if we bring someone up the mountain as we’re close to the summit, we’ll take them in to repack them before falling.
“We would have them in a survival bag or maybe need to stop bleeding or administer drugs. It’s good to have a sheltered place to do these things.”
Ian Sykes, the ex-mountaineer who launched Nevisport and co-founded the Nevis Range ski resort, said litter was part of the reason he backed a plan to designate Lochaber as Scotland’s next national park.
He said: “Ben Nevis is a great mountain and it’s covered in rubbish.
“If we had a national park with many people working for the park and improving things and redoing the paths I think it would develop the area wonderfully.”
