The Emergency Shelter Ben Nevis

Many years ago my doctor, with his brother in law and young son, from Chorley, Lancs died on Ben Nevis. Like your painting...take it you are a climber?

Malcolm you have described the bleakness of Ben Nevis in paint, of conditions like this very well. Not for the faint hearted! Wonderful atmosphere.

This picture is painted after a trip back in 1996 (or 94) and was undertaken in April. The summit was amaizing as the light and atmosphere made it appear that we were on another planet. I used to climb a lot in winter but the best mountain lighting and atmosphere has got to be Scotland. Two of us were experienced climbers the other two were my friend’s wife and a chap he brought along from work (I didn’t know he was coming but he was a pleasant bloke and fit enough for the climbing we were to do). The lady of the party succumbed to mild hypothermia at the summit and rushed off down before we could stop her (the two in the distance are my friend chasing after his wife) - he caught up with her before any damage was done. The other chap, apart from suffering from mild exhaustion, on the way down fell into the Red Burn -which was in spate- and if it was not for the fact that we had one of us positioned lower down and dragged him out as he sped past he would have been swept over the falls (a bit like Sherlock Holmes). All due to being tired and slipping in the water. Mountains in winter are not a place to mess around and treat lightly. M