Editing Ben Nevis (section)

==== Navigation ====
[[File:Ben Nevis cornice.jpg|thumb|right|View south-west from the summit in early April. When the cliff edges are [[cornice (climbing)|corniced]], accurate navigation is critical.]]
Some incidents arise over difficulties in [[navigation|navigating]] to or from the summit,<ref name="MCofS Newsletter"/> especially in poor visibility. The problem stems from the fact that the summit plateau is roughly [[kidney]]-shaped and surrounded by cliffs on three sides; the danger is particularly accentuated when the main path is obscured by snow. Two precise [[compass]] [[bearing (navigation)|bearings]] taken in succession are necessary to navigate from the summit cairn to the west flank, from where a descent can be made on the Pony Track in relative safety.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mcofs.org.uk/ben-nevis-navigation.asp |title=Navigation on Ben Nevis  |publisher=[[Mountaineering Scotland]] |website=www.mcofs.org.uk |access-date=30 October 2016}}</ref>

In the late 1990s, Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team erected two posts on the summit plateau to assist walkers attempting the descent in [[fog]]gy conditions. These posts were subsequently cut down by climbers, sparking controversy in mountaineering circles on the ethics of such additions.<ref name="MCofS Newsletter">{{cite journal |author=The Mountaineering Council of Scotland |year=1997 |title=Ben Nevis—The Future |journal=Newsletter |volume=33 |url=http://www.mountaineering-scotland.org.uk/nl/33b.html}}</ref><ref name="Cairns debate">{{cite web |url= http://www.mountaineering-scotland.org.uk/bendebate/index.html|title= Summit Safety and Ben Nevis Cairns: The MCofS seeks a resolution |access-date= 26 October 2006 |author= The Mountaineering Council of Scotland |format=also see sub-pages| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060927152330/http://www.mountaineering-scotland.org.uk/bendebate/index.html| archive-date= 27 September 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref> Critics argued that cairns and posts are an unnecessary man-made intrusion into the natural landscape, which create a false sense of security and could lessen mountaineers' sense of responsibility for their own safety.<ref name="Cairns debate"/>

In 2009, the Nevis Partnership moved and erected a number of {{convert|6|ft|m|adj=on}}-tall [[cairn]]s on the summit plateau to aid navigation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2009/10/ben_nevis_navigation_-_cairns_moved-49797|title=Ben Nevis Navigation - Cairns Moved|author=Nevis Partnership|publisher=UK Climbing|date=14 October 2009}}</ref> Subsequently, the John Muir Trust cleared a number of smaller informal cairns in 2016 which had been erected by visitors, which were seen as dangerous as they could confuse walkers using them for navigation.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shute |first1=Joe |title=The deadly secret of Ben Nevis's man-made cairns |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/countryside/12182557/The-deadly-secret-of-Ben-Neviss-man-made-cairns.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/countryside/12182557/The-deadly-secret-of-Ben-Neviss-man-made-cairns.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |date=6 March 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref>