Rocks along the summit of Ben Nevis have been left “obliterated” after a lightning strike.
The highest point in the UK was left devastated following a thunderstorm on Monday evening.
A stone pillar on the summit of the 4,413ft mountain was smashed to pieces by the force of nature.
BBC Weather reported that the UK and Ireland recorded 28,000 lightning flashes during the day.
The thunderstorm was caused by heatwave conditions mostly concentrated in north-west Scotland.
Damage to the pillar was first spotted on Tuesday by experienced Kinlochleven-based mountain guide Rich Pyne.
‘It has been smashed to pieces’
The expert, who started a mountaineering guide business in 2015, has climbed the Ben Nevis summit 562 times.
He said: “That is how I notice little changes.”
In a video on social media, Mr Pyne surveyed the damage and said: “That has been smashed to pieces. It was fine on Saturday.
“I can’t imagine people doing this much destruction. Wow. Obliterated.”
Videos and images which later surfaced on social media of lightning strikes hitting the summit confirmed Mr Pyne’s suspicions.
The summit of Ben Nevis has been the location of many events over the years.
In September, a couple who met on the mountain were married on the summit.
Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team answered around 80 callouts on the mountain in 2022. Nine people died on the mountain that year.
