Hitachi Hike: Ben Nevis Mind Charity Event

Hitachi Solutions charity hike

On the 24 August 2024, 12 brave Hitachians and two plus ones climbed the highest mountain in the UK. Ben Nevis stands at an impressive 1,345m, the team tackled this 10-mile hike to the summit! So far £2,000 has been raised for our partner charity, Mind. Here is a little story of how this went…

If you thought the UK summer would have provided us with good weather for this challenge, you would be sorely mistaken. 08:00am we met at the visitor centre, most of us dressed for the rain and cold that we knew was to come. There was nervousness, enthusiasm and excitement amongst the group, it was great to see colleagues come together with this shared passion.

The Ascent

The weather kept us on our toes with numerous downpours, chilling wind, freezing temperatures and dense mist. The first half of the climb was narrow, crossing bridges and even a waterfall, but we had incredible views. In the second half, the wind, cold and mist, and a steep incline hit us. Everyone was determined and focused despite the conditions, but as we got closer to the summit, it was difficult to see where the path was and if we were even going in the right direction.

The Summit

The only way to tell if you had reached the summit was to check your altitude or ask someone else. The mist had engulfed all views, so it was surprisingly difficult to tell. Once we realised, we had summited, everyone quickly took pictures and soaked up their achievement. You couldn’t stay at the summit long, as the temperatures were in the minus.

The Descent

For around the first hour of the descent your mind was purely focused on getting warm, and your legs were thankful for a rest from going uphill, this was a great distraction from the downhill gradient. The descent often required more focus than the climb as the ground was slippery, the terrain was a real challenge, and we were tired after 5 hours of hiking.

The team had different techniques for this, some very cautious, others had more of a speed approach, both achieved the goal of getting down though. It was much easier to appreciate the views as we made our way down. As we got closer to our starting point the weather gave us it’s grand finale and hailed, heavily but this didn’t stop us from making it to the pub!

Well done to everyone who took part, it is an amazing accomplishment.