18th May 2011

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The original ascent took place in May 1911. The car was a production 4-seat Model T Ford Tourer and the driver was Henry Alexander. His father had a Ford dealership  in Edinburgh and the expedition was probably a publicity stunt. The feat involved 10 days of reconnaissance work finding and checking a drivable route to around half way up the mountain, and placing bridging planks over impassable gullies and streams. It took three further days to drive the car to the halfway point and two more days to cover the rest of the distance to the summit

Alexander was helped by a large support team who would haul the car to safety whenever it sank up to its axles in boggy ground,  which happened frequently on the lower slopes of the mountain. On returning to Fort William, Alexander was hailed a hero. After only some minor adjustments to the brakes, with no other repairs necessary, he drove the car back to Edinburgh.

18th May 2011 Ascent 

On the 18^th May 2011 a Model T Ford once again successfully made it to the top of Ben Nevis. The expedition to haul the model T up 4,409ft of jagged terrain mirrored the 1911 publicity stunt dreamt up by Ford salesman Henry Alexander.

The original path nowadays has been engineered for walkers and includes steps so it would not be possible to drive a model T completely to the top any more. However the car was driven a very good distance up the mountain before it was dissembled and individual parts carried to the top by a 77 strong team of volunteers where it was then reassembled. More pictures here>>>