Climbing Ben Nevis in Winter (Mental Health Awareness)

yes so tomorrow basically I'm flying and been nervous highest mountain the British Isles I've done it before but never like this so I'm going up in winter conditions just January at the moment just a beautiful high-pressure day today tomorrow it's not going to be a beautiful high fresh today my ultimate goal was to do the CMB Ridge but I think just tomorrow with the light and the weather we're just going to go up and down the mountain path that's what Zink I'm a bit nervous I'm pretty stoked about it how am i feeling I mean yes I just I just mentioned I'm feeling a bit excited definitely but I'm also quite nervous apprehensive you know I'm going into the situation to challenge myself this is not normal conditions for me I mean put me in the mountains in summer conditions and you know I'm totally at home I understand how they work I can read them the hazard risks managing myself managing a group cool sorted but then you put snow in this situation and you know some decent low pressure systems and I'm gonna be like huh this is this is a bit different but that's why I'm doing this so I guess I'm feeling apprehensive about where my mental health could potentially take me because I'm going into this as I said to challenge myself and to see how I react in different situations to push to push my mental house this isn't about a tool about my physical half this is completely about my mind I wanting to build resilience but I'm just feeling definitely a bit unsure about what that could potentially look like tomorrow I don't know how I'm going to react I don't really know what my mental health is going to look like on any given day and that's really one of the biggest struggles if my life is just managing one mental health it is full-on a full-time job but then as the flipside to that of course as I'm super-pumped really really excited because if I can get through this then this is going to go into the cupboard the stack the stash in my mind of experiences and memories that I can draw in in the future in difficult times saying like learnt no way man look what you did like look what you're capable of that lies within you that doesn't fluctuate that's just that's you like you did that and yeah so I guess a real mixture of emotions right now very little bit of denial as well because I've been wanting to do this just so long and now it's happening tomorrow but I guess we'll find out the true extent if I'm really feeling tomorrow on the mountain there we go well I mean I think I briefly touched on the goal already essentially it's to learn they're nervous is a place that's constantly teaching me different things about about mountain environments but also about myself and you know obviously this is going to be more testing potentially then other situations last time I was there I had a huge panic attack I managed to capture that's a little bit on film I don't feel like I'm going to make peace with the mountain I am going because I'm responding to a calling there's a there's a crying out inside of me to get back to that mountain and I don't know why essentially so I'm basically going to find out what the Y is and hopefully as I've mentioned you know build some some real mental resilience to remind myself what I'm capable of and hopefully reminds you guys as well what you're capable of like we all have this immense human potential within us if we can partner with courage and vulnerability and walk hand in hand with our mental health and it's pretty amazing what we can achieve but I'm saying that right now on a beautiful sunny day real life you're saying that some oil on top of been nervous in a blizzard I don't know we'll see so I'll check in with you then but it's something you know Sun setting now I'm just gonna go pack my bag get a good night's sleep wake up tomorrow and I should see what happens shall we stay in open whoa good morning good morning welcome to this drizzly day in Fort William I'm leaving the BMP and I'm headed for Morrison's just in town because that's where I'm meeting a chap called Richard so Richard runs rich mountain experiences and he's the guy who's gonna take me up been nervous we connected through the Facebook group UK hiking so a really good group and I'm so pumped to finally hit the mountain let's do this being who you go can't miss that sign can you so been nervous is up there somewhere obviously it's around the corner quite a bit got a drive on for about 20 minutes and that's where we're gonna start our adventure all the emotions of yesterday just be like sat with me all night I dreamt of been nervous Carly this is gonna happen so obviously in these kind of conditions we're not gonna be doing the CMD reg we're just gonna go up and down the main mountain path we're still pretty excited it's still so different to my normal day-to-day adventure let's see how we go grants yeah he gives you nice to meet you mate you okay that's beautiful right yeah cool you think it yeah I'm all right okay got your lunch so sorry yeah very nice mate it's young cool we drove out to the been nervous in where we plan to start our climb for the day it was drizzly and dark but spirits were high as we packed our bags and headed off into the hills 8:20 yep nice here we go is incredible forty minutes past bellville beyond the summit so we're making our way steadily up the main mountain path feeling good it's a really quite mild but I've just been learning that February here's a good snowy times ahead up here but uh so where do you reckon corner six you think the snow may be lying today okay cool yesterday it was crampons from corner one oh yeah there may be no car from four or five okay so when four bits no but part compacts no that's what you want good crampons stuff let's see how this goes my heart was in my mouth as we climbed ever higher not with fear but excitement and disbelief I felt truly blessed to be walking on a mountain that I so dearly loved and knew that even the soggy conditions could do nothing to dampen my spirits so making good steady progress 39 minutes between going forward apparently so policy now but it feels like extra special because when we write and that's the carpark we're only ones there it's a potential today we've got the band all to ourselves that does not happen in the summer months so just loving it every step even though the clouds quite low just so nice to be out in the Scottish they're seeing the waterfalls how now heart rates coming up again people sweat on it's all good stuff this is what life's about these rocks look really interesting I don't you just pointed something out yeah pebbles in ash pebbles and look at that you actually see and so I rode it away yeah it's on your skin Weber in basically is just from like the volcanic explosions this stuff was on there okay no before yeah blown up in the air rolling down on all the ashes compacted oh my goodness there's not too many places you can see this from the UK car loads of people just went past it so why is this the most dangerous part of the past if you sleep off here you're going down quite a long way yeah and quite as Steven you're unlikely to be conscious by the time you stop it's a shame and there's a lot of trees to rattle off as well there are a few so you just have to watch this all right this is the way up how is it four to seven minutes okay how's that time in 13 minutes faster than that average cool oh you can use that for filming then maybe maybe when was this a bridge installed okay oh yeah there's a foundation for it you came over here oh wow and temporary bridge they put in yeah leave about three decades ago yeah so obviously you can't see it today but over there that's where the west island way comes down drops down into Fort William has done dead they were Hill for up there as well I mean just see the Redbird which I just learned is the drinking water for King local even very cool up into the cloud it's starting to get a bit western aus we're putting waterproofs on just so that we can stay dry as opposed to get wet so basically today trousers are on let's get a coat on right orange you might lose me yeah I've never seen the waterfalls coming down here so full of water it's really quite impressive the sound of its thundering past just filling our ears more so than the wind at the moment feel so alive so now you can see that there's our first patch of snow nice got to get to it first yes so we're hoping for my senses were firing a lightning speed and I absorbed every shape and color and sound and deep inside me a fire burned brightly as I pursued a goal that I knew how to purpose far greater than I could ever understand that Boulder over there yeah Boulder to Boulder oh no oh my god ways that Vincey okay okay nice save or here this is where the men stand all right oh yeah not really isn't it oh wow so look out back tampons and there's poop and yeah gosh severe pollution and a banana skin that sucks people like the bomb on the songs something oh my gosh everybody fought like yeah the powerful have this hit no thang and a puff is the best place to go right in the middle yeah but when you was at school you had balls yeah gravel and sand oh I'm gonna relapse No strut your stuff sugary yeah is that sugar gets melted yeah yeah in the middle there you noticed oh it's gonna yeah you're gonna go streambed you go there you're gonna get wet yeah I pass on that Wow look here this there's the bird and see the snow that sort of building up gosh this is I've come here for because beautiful right hats going away so as you can see we're well and truly in the cloud now so let's keep it dry keep it protected prolong its life the main one people think about is avalanches yeah right the biggest issue today wet snow dangerous limit mob okay it's a rock coming down lots of wet snow no quite heavy quite dense the danger from their local roads you go through slid down and down seriously injured yeah you've got to keep your eyes peeled in both directions okay don't you from below is the biggest problem on this fact yeah there's a couple areas where it's gonna be quite banked out and it may not be any paths okay that's where the like okay heythat's so this is corner 1 and you said what day is it today Tuesday Sunday was here from here yeah I like the way someone there has put their plastic we go into the cloud you know try and follow in his footsteps it wasn't long before the snow started to become deeper and I could feel myself having to concentrate hard ensuring I had sound footings in the slushy white stuff looking back looks good headed out approaching the next corner I could feel anxiety rising within my chest but I breathed deeply to keep it from overcoming my focus instead I held hands with courage and hope remain confidence in my skills I'm pressed on feeling strong don't go down ok yeah Wow what was amazing except people who use it as a toilet oh let's not try that isn't she this looks like corner number five good job five of eight feeling good so nice that it's not you know super windy right now I expect it will be it's hot there just see the ice it's or sculpting around the rocks it's uh I don't I don't really know how to describe it it's incredible it's beautiful but it's a it's very stark I'm really enjoying this so you see how blue it is in there yeah saturated full of water okay so if you're walking on a big snow slope yeah it might be a better launch prone yeah you poke it it's all blue yeah you are in the wrong place okay there's not about me this is crampon corner yeah and often this is like one of the first places that I shuttle thank you freeze up so people come down off the hill yeah when they're in their shorts and stuff liber8 oh I'll just go for a bit of a side so they slide down there and then they get halfway down and realize that they can't stop Hey yeah I've seen we have quite a few people bounce off them down there I'm scary so that I'll stir unites obviously known I'm coming in I keep dreaming about red nervous and now it feels like I'm actually in the dream except it's a so much better to be here in real life all the sentences the sounds of the snow the things I'm learning it's amazing keep saying it but it's true here it is first can nice in winter you follow the cans yeah do not follow because it will take you over a cornice holidays yep we were now following a bearing to keep us following the line of cans and away from the surrounding gullies there were 17 cans in total which would take us safely to the summit still easy to pass next one probably just as black yeah probably yes I look at the snow there and the I see this is the Rhine ice yeah this'll bills into the wind guys flat it on yeah so well this is an indication of when it's been snowing the stuff the winds been blowing this way yeah it's listed all the loose snow from this site yeah and deposited it so while this was building the avalanche conditions were changing oh let's get up this wall of snow off he goes yeah it really was the most magical place to be walking through what it lacked in depth and color it made up for in majestically crafted ice formations obviously these have been forged by savage and ruthless winds but in the relative stillness of the current conditions the ice seemed to caress the rocks and held the appearance of a gently trickling stream I didn't know where to look as each and every formation simply took my breath away I've never seen anything like that before just look at this ice so thick and all three kids it's a rather point now always take another bearing it's against the summer oh just feels so rewarding to be here what it is for so long now it's actually happening right let's get this bearing let's get to the top we pushed on into the whiteness ahead went to our left we spotted a newly formed cornice in a couple of weeks it would likely cover the whole gully and certainly not be a place you'd want to be walking all right you can see the top yeah you just need to talk coming out so located in ice and snow this is the most surreal thing I think I've ever experienced Wow is that still coming yeah what else did I say this morning would be on the summit snow Oh 12 17 12 7 feet yeah no it is Oh may come on there's a 401 so it pays off Oh lose face so this is in it feels like Blackland this is far more surreal than I ever expected it to be just absolutely overwhelmed you know the last time I was here I overcame a massive panic attack getting up to the top I'd done the CMB Ridge and uh I just feel like there never is just keeps calling me back and back to its slopes and I keep learning so much this year is 20/20 I really want to be a year filled with challenges and sort of changing the lens that I'm looking through getting more perspective about my human potential and obviously yes the summit is halfway we've got to get back down but being able to push up here getting through the fears and insecurities and it's not just about today it's about the entire journey in order to get to today it just feels so humbling burn nervous highest mountain the British Isles always has so much to teach me and I know I'll be back this is not my final summit of this mountain today this is going to be one of my life highlights without a doubt so humbled and privileged to be here and of course I can do it without Richard what a legend of a guy right proof in the air not gonna lie I'm a bit soggy and then we head back down reverse bearing game on here's the other trick point just again splattered in ice look at that it's just mesmerizing it's so artistic that's some pretty harsh weather to create that in truth I totally lacks the vocabulary to fully express the emotion pumping through my veins I wanted to fall on my knees and all of the beauty but the cold meant we couldn't linger for too long instead I just breathed it in and took a photo memory in my head so that I could refer back to it whenever I found myself struggling and in need of encouragement [Laughter] beginning our descent my summit number four Wow hi I like your trousers good color yeah yeah I think Iceman cool is going around said I heading back down the mountain was super quick as we followed a reverse bearing and whizzed past the cans that just half an hour earlier we had passed on our upward trend to the summit so we left behind the path all together and cut out the zigzags by walking directly between the switchbacks just like that was back on the path so my trail name when I wanted on business paths is mountain goat but today is Richard who's the rat and go you can really see the confidence and how he's moving around it's full of this experience I'm not gonna like I feel unsteady but it's a about sort of trusting your body in you know I have done work in snow so I know why Richard says getting to know the snow reading their conditions just feel like I've learned so much in the few hours we've been there is the red fun it's just so impressive every time takes my breath away [Applause] when was refers to sent then my yeah first ascent of been nervous okay great I came up here yeah yeah I saw the arete or whatever bumble around that want to come with Jared yeah I'll scoop it down the side that you went up yeah on the path round here yeah and that took me back in time lunch yeah as we lost height we of course left the snow behind and soon we were bombing down the main mountain path as the rain grew steadily heavier clearly my sunglasses hadn't been enough to coax out the Sun earlier in the day oh I just love the quiet it's just so peaceful here my ears are kind of ringing a little bit from the wind but and it enthusiam you know the adrenaline and excitement for a bit but I feel like very whole and complete it's very satisfying feeling to have achieved something who've been dreaming off for so long to put fears and anxieties to side and sort of understood that the fear is there but no let us sit in the driving seat it feels good it's quite an empowering feeling actually doing the last stretch back down to the car I reflected on what my adventure on the bank had really signified I knew I still had processing to do but I now realized more than ever the importance of partnering with my mental illness realizing that in doing so I had found my brave and accessed a state of wholeness and humility that in time would lead to healing so I see that pop there but been never seen anyplace should be renamed state it's here the no 1 yeah so there we go been never seen just in front of us to come down final corner and last little bit back to the man we made it to the top of a nervous just feels so amazing so rewarding I couldn't say about thanks so much I gave it a shot but that was really good cuz it pulled me out of my hair now do you like right let's do this I had to thinking you know as you saw like I was like how do I do a bearing again and then getting that refreshed and that's gonna imprint in my brain I know that for sure so maybe easier yeah that's it I'm so so much I feel today it's gonna stick with me for a long time so there we go give it a shot if it's on your bucket list why not come along with rich doing so back to the car we'll go get some dry clothes on it's definitely warmer down here so thanks so much for watching guys we appreciate your time today I hope you're enjoying your adventures wherever you may be and until next time stay well [Music] Hey look who's this guy pick you got any God thank you very much this is a man say you out there [Music]

Channel: Abbie Barnes | Spend More Time In The WILD

Views: 89,248

Keywords: Abbie barnes, Thru Hiking, Backpacking, Song Thrush Productions, Adventure, Hiking, Day Hikes, Gear review, Mental health, wellbeing, physical health, Nature, Trekking, National Park, Mountain, spend more time in the wild, long distance, national trail, scotland, snowdonia, dogs, camping, wild camping, expedition, stay wild, ben nevis, snow, winter, fort william, loch ness, west highland way, great glen way, climbing ben nevis in winter

Id: zTm3mc3iNxA

Length: 28min 38sec (1718 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 10 2020