Ben Nevis the summit only to find "fragments of earthen and glass ware, chicken bones, corks, and bits of paper". 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 Macdhui. The summit observatory was built in the summer of 1883, and would remain in operation for 21 years. The first path to the summit was built at the same time as the observatory and was designed to allow ponies to carry up supplies, with a maximum gradient of one in five. The opening of
Nevis Mountain Dew Nevis Mountain Dew Nevis Mountain Dew is a 1978 play by American playwright steve carter . Set in the 1950s, it is the second of Carter's Caribbean trilogy. "Nevis Mountain Dew" explores the subject of euthanasia involving the patriarch of an affluent family who is confined to an iron lung. Set in the Queens borough of New York City in 1954, a Caribbean-American family gathers to celebrate the 50th birthday of Jared Philibert, who is confined to an iron lung due to paralysis. Ayton, Jared's best friend, arrives at the party with a bottle of rum called "Nevis Mountain Dew."