Editing Ben Nevis (section)

== History ==
[[File:Archive photograph of Ben Nevis observatory (detail).jpg|thumb|An undated photograph of the Ben Nevis observatory (1883–1904) and 'hotel' (hostel). The hotel began as a spare-room-for-hire within the observatory and remained open until 1916.]]
The first recorded ascent of Ben Nevis was made on 17 August 1771<ref>{{Cite book|author1=Henderson, D.M. |author2= Dickson, J.H. |year=1994| title= A Naturalist in the Highlands: James Robertson, His Life and Travels in Scotland 1767-1771 |publication-place=Edinburgh |publisher=Scottish Academic Press|page=183 |isbn=978-0-7073-0734-3}}</ref> by James Robertson, an [[Edinburgh]] [[botany|botanist]], who was in the region to collect botanical specimens. Another early ascent was in 1774 by John Williams, who provided the first account of the mountain's geological structure.<ref name="Miller">{{cite journal |author=Suzanne Miller |year=2004 |title=Ben Nevis Geology |journal=The Edinburgh Geologist |volume=43 |pages=3–9}}</ref> [[John Keats]] climbed the mountain in 1818, comparing the ascent to "mounting ten [[St Paul's Cathedral|St. Pauls]] without the convenience of a staircase".<ref name="Hodgkiss 1994 117">{{harvnb|Hodgkiss|1994|p=117}}</ref> The following year [[William MacGillivray]], who was later to become a distinguished naturalist, reached the summit only to find "fragments of earthen and glass ware, chicken bones, corks, and bits of paper".<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hunter|first1=Andrew|title=Bones on Ben Nevis – a walk back into history|journal=Leopard Magazine|date=September 2014|pages=30–34|issn=2053-9851}}</ref> It was not until 1847 that Ben Nevis was confirmed by the [[Ordnance Survey]] as the highest mountain in Britain and Ireland, ahead of its rival [[Ben Macdui]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Abraham|first=George Dixon|title=The Complete Mountaineer|location=United Kingdom|publisher=Methuen & Company|year=1907|page=232}}</ref>

A meteorological observatory on the summit was first proposed by the [[Scottish Meteorological Society]] (SMS) in the late-1870s, at a time when similar observatories were being built around the world to study the weather at high altitude.<ref name="Roy"/> In the summer of 1881, [[Clement Lindley Wragge]] climbed the mountain daily to make observations (earning him the nickname "Inclement Rag"), leading to the opening on 17 October 1883 of a permanent observatory run by the SMS.<ref name=crocket1986>{{cite book|last=Crocket|first=Ken|title=Ben Nevis : Britain's highest mountain|year=1986|publisher=Scottish Mountaineering Trust|location=Glasgow|isbn=978-0907521167|pages=41–44}}</ref> The building was staffed full-time until 1904, when it was closed due to inadequate funding. The twenty years worth of readings still provide the most comprehensive set of data on mountain weather in Great Britain.<ref name="Roy"/>

In September 1894, [[C. T. R. Wilson]] was employed at the observatory for a couple of weeks as temporary relief for one of the permanent staff. During this period, he witnessed a [[Brocken spectre]] and [[glory (optical phenomenon)|glory]], caused by the sun casting a shadow on a cloud below the observer. He subsequently tried to reproduce these phenomena in the laboratory, resulting in his invention of the [[cloud chamber]], used to detect [[ionising radiation]].<ref name=Wilson>{{cite web| url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1927/wilson-bio.html |title=C. T. R. Wilson Biography from Nobel Lectures, Physics 1922–1941, Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam |year=1965|author=Nobel Foundation|access-date=27 November 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ5xYJU4k1g&list=PLD8B65A38DC22D432&index=5&feature=plpp_video| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110407015547/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ5xYJU4k1g&feature=related| archive-date=2011-04-07 | url-status=dead|title=YouTube|access-date=18 March 2016}}</ref>
[[File:Ben Nevis summit.jpg|thumb|left|The summit survival shelter (centre) atop the ruined observatory. The squat summit cairn (right) has a [[trig point]].]]

The ruins of the observatory can still be seen on the summit.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://artsandculture.google.com/story/ben-nevis-observatory-recording-the-weather-at-the-highest-point-in-britain-met-office-national-meteorological-archive/IQWBpil4YHAugQ?hl=en|title=Ben Nevis Observatory - recording the weather at the highest point in Britain|work=Google Arts & Culture|access-date=2 November 2024}}</ref> An emergency shelter has been built on top of the observatory tower for the benefit of those caught out by bad weather.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ben-nevis.com/information/summit/summit.php|title=Ben Nevis Summit|website=ben-nevis.com}}</ref>

The first [[trail|path]] to the summit was built at the same time as the observatory and was designed to allow [[pony|ponies]] to carry up supplies, with a maximum gradient of one in five.<ref name="Roy"/> The opening of the path and the observatory made the ascent of the mountain increasingly popular, all the more so after the arrival of the [[West Highland Railway]] in Fort William in 1894.<ref name="MacLennan"/> Around this time the first of several proposals was made for a [[rack railway]] to the summit, none of which came to fruition.<ref name="Hodgkiss 1994 117"/>

In 1911, an enterprising [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] dealer named Henry Alexander ascended the mountain in a [[Model T]] as a publicity stunt. The ascent was captured on film and can be seen in the archives of the [[British Film Institute]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Motoring over Ben Nevis |url=https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-motoring-over-ben-nevis-1911-online |publisher=The British Film Institute |access-date=7 October 2022}}</ref> A statue of Alexander and the car was unveiled in Fort William in 2018.<ref>{{cite news |last=MacLennan |first=Chris |date=21 May 2018 |title=Bronze Ford Model T unveiled in Fort William |url=https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/highlands-islands/1479172/bronze-ford-model-t-unveiled-in-fort-william/ |work=The Press and Journal |location=Aberdeen |access-date=7 October 2022}}</ref>

In 2000, the Ben Nevis Estate, comprising all of the south side of the mountain including the summit, was bought by the Scottish conservation charity the [[John Muir Trust]].<ref name="bbc2019">{{cite news |title=Who owns Scotland? The changing face of Scotland's landowners |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-47963208 |access-date=27 October 2024 |work=BBC News |date=21 May 2019}}</ref><ref name=jmt>{{cite web |title=Ben Nevis |url=https://www.johnmuirtrust.org/about-us/where-we-work/ben-nevis |website=www.johnmuirtrust.org |access-date=27 October 2024 |language=en}}</ref>

On 17 May 2006, a piano that had been buried under one of the cairns on the peak was uncovered by the [[John Muir Trust]], which owns much of the mountain.<ref>{{cite news |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/may/17/arts.artsnews1 |title=Piano found on Britain's highest mountain | location=London | date=17 May 2006| access-date= 30 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/4994552.stm |title=New twist in Nevis music mystery |access-date=22 June 2006 | date=18 May 2006}}</ref> The piano is believed to have been carried up for charity by removal men from [[Dundee]] over 20&nbsp;years earlier.<ref>{{cite news |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/4998440.stm |title=Trust names Ben Nevis 'piano men' |access-date=15 August 2006 | date=19 May 2006}}</ref>
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