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
Ben Nevis Race Bank, after Scottish Natural Heritage contacted race organisers with concerns about erosion in that area. In 2015, Finlay Wild of Lochaber Athletic Club won his sixth successive race in a time of 1hour 30minutes and 56seconds. Fort William taxi driver Eddie Campbell won the race three times, the first in 1952. The men's course record was set in 1984, when Kenny Stuart of Keswick Athletic Club won the race with a time of 1:25:34. The women's record is 1:43:01, set by Victoria Wilkinson in 2018. The winners of the race have been as follows. Ben Nevis Race The Ben Nevis