First it was banana skins now it is orange peel that is littering Britain's highest mountain.
Once again those climbers making their way up and down Ben Nevis are being warned to take all their rubbish home with them.
The Sportscotland Avalanche Information Service (SAIS) has highlighted the problem in a series of images in a blog written by an SAIS worker.
Posted earlier this week it said. "Snow overnight and today has left deep drifts in places. Poor visibility above about 900 metres today. A trail of orange peel on the path to the CIC hut ( Charles Inglis Clark Memorial Hut) made the walk to work today a bit less pleasant. This takes about six months to biodegrade so please take it home!!!!"
A dozen pictures of different examples of the offending peel on the mountain's paths accompanied the blog. The captions underlined the increasing levels of anger and frustration at the mountain litter louts, starting from "Orange peel" and escalating to "Orange peel!!!!!!!!!!"ar."
Comments posted on line share the author's feelings including "Totally agree with you on the orange peel front! Collected a complete orange peel over 4-5 pick up stops this week – please take it home!" and "Yes and banana skins take longer and wet wipes even longer…should be banned!"
Neil Reid of the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS), which has raised concerns in the past about litter on Scotland's hills, urged walkers not leave food waste and other rubbish.
"They should be leaving nothing but their footprints. If it wasn't there before, take they should always take it back. These mountains are so important and it is not always appreciated just how fragile they are. The MCofS applauds the action by organisations carrying out waste collection in areas such as Ben Nevis, which attract large numbers of visitors. We will continue to emphasise the need for responsible behaviour in the mountains and for users to comply with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code."
In 2009 the John Muir Trust (JMT), which owns much of the mountain, raised the problem of banana skins been thrown away. It said that up to 1,000 could be found at the summit at any one time, where they can take up to two years to biodegrade because of the cold temperatures The JMT said that more than half of the rubbish collected from the Ben Nevis was made up of the fruit peel. To underline the point in 2011 a team of its volunteers dressed as bananas to undertake a publicised clean up of of the mountain.
Last year, incidents of littering in the Cairngorms were highlighted by the MCofS with a YouTube clip of a hill walker describing rubbish left in a remote location as "absolute filth".
*The CIC hut on the north side of Ben Nevis was erected in 1928/29 by Dr and Mrs Inglis Clark from Edinburgh in memory of their son Charles Inglis Clark who was killed in action in the 1914-1918 War.
There is accommodation for 24 persons on Alpine platforms with mattresses and is run by the Scottish Mountaineering Club.
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