DEEP snow on Scotland's highest peak is creating potentially hazardous conditions for hillwalkers, mountaineering experts have warned as Ben Nevis is braced for one of its busiest weekends of the year.
The Mountaineering Council of Scotland is urging caution to the thousands of hillwalkers planning to climb the mountain over the Bank Holiday weekend.
It said winter conditions and snow more than six foot deep are making navigation in poor visibility particularly challenging above the 295ft contour line on Scotland's highest peak. Some of the navigation cairns, relied on by many walkers traversing the summit plateau, are completely buried under snow, heightening the risk of accidents on the Ben's renowned cliffs.
The mountain attracts a high proportion of first-time walkers as well as fundraisers racing to compete the 'Three Peaks' charity challenge, which involves climbing Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Mount Snowden in a single day.
Heather Morning, Mountain Safety Adviser for the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, said: "For most of Britain, spring and early summer is definitely upon us; but on the high plateau of Ben Nevis it is a very different story.
"The conditions up there are very difficult to imagine when you set off from Fort William, which can easily lead walkers to underestimate what dangers they will encounter. Appropriate clothing, footwear and navigation skills are essential to make a safe ascent of the mountain."
Meanwhile, the Bank Holiday getaway will see hundreds of thousands heading in and out of Scotland this weekend.
Edinburgh Airport is expecting to handle around 100,000 passengers over the weekend, making it busier than usual although not as busy as the Easter or summer peaks.
The bulk of travellers are heading south to visit friends and family in London or Bristol, and west to Belfast.
There are also a high number of passengers heading off on city or sunshine breaks to Amsterdam, Dublin, Paris, Copenhagen, Palma, Malaga and Alicante.
Glasgow Airport expects around 105,000 passengers to pass through its doors from yesterday to the Bank Holiday Monday, including an influx of visitors to the city last night for the Glasgow Warriors versus Ulster rugby match.
A spokesman for ferry operator CalMac said bookings were up by a third as tourists and holidaymakers make a beeline for the islands.
A spokesman for CalMac said: "After a busy Easter weekend it would appear that the lure of our mainland and 24 island destinations are again proving irresistible for those looking to escape for a few days.
"Bookings for vehicles are almost one third up compared to earlier in the month with just over 15,000 heading off to enjoy all the west coast has to offer.'"
With threatened industrial action called off, all Scotland's train services will run as normal across the weekend. However, there will be disruption for passengers travelling on the West Coast Main Line north of Carlisle.
Engineering works mean that replacement buses will be used to carry passengers between Glasgow and Edinburgh and Carlisle during today, Sunday and Monday.
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