Ben Nevis emergency shelter trashed with beer cans and mouldy food as John Muir Trust despairs

From the Newshound archive · first published 22 September 2026 · last updated 23 September 2026.

The emergency rescue shelter at the summit of Ben Nevis was found strewn with empty beer cans, rotting food, discarded cigarette packets and a left-behind rucksack, with author and snow-patch researcher Iain Cameron sharing photographs of the scene online. The John Muir Trust, which manages the mountain, says volunteers remove hundreds of kilograms of litter every year and that the situation has deteriorated since Covid. Cameron wrote online: "I despair sometimes." Climber Eugene Owens took a bin bag up to gather the rubbish but said he "didn't even make a dent in it."

The shelter is a lifesaving facility used by injured or exhausted walkers to escape the weather.

MSP Andrew Baxter called it "very disappointing", adding: "We shouldn't have to spend money educating people to take their rubbish home."

Over 160,000 people climb Ben Nevis each year, many ill-equipped for conditions, and Mountain Rescue is frequently called out.