Bens Up Nevis: Music, Mountains and Bental Health

In July 2024, The Council of Bens took the UK’s highest peak and turned it into a beacon for mental health, community and pure Benergy.

Bens, friends, and ravers came together to climb Ben Nevis, drop a DJ set at the summit and raise vital funds and awareness for mental health causes.

“Imagine throwing a rave up Ben Nevis”

What started as a joke in a WhatsApp chat, quickly turned into a real plan.

After our first big meet-ups in 2023, it was clear the Council of Bens was more than a meme; it was a community ready to do something meaningful with all that BENergy.

We’d already seen how powerful it was when hundreds of Bens came together at festivals and raves to highlight mental health, or as we call it, Bental Health.

So when the idea of Ben Nevis landed, it felt like the perfect mix of challenge, charity and chaos in the best possible way.

The Plan

Get a crew of Bens up Ben Nevis, carry a DJ setup to the top, and throw a charity rave in the clouds.

Every new Ben joining the chat got a choice, Big Ben or Ben Nevis... and the votes for the mountain stacked up fast.

We linked the climb to Bental health fundraising, directing donations towards Mind and Ben’s Centre, both supporting people with mental health challenges and substance misuse.

The goal wasn’t just to raise money; it was to show that the rave community can lead on mental health, using music and movement as a bridge to real conversations.

The Day Up Nevis

On the day, a crew of Bens and friends laced up their boots, grabbed their gear and headed for the Pony Track.

Alongside the usual mountain kit, one Ben carried a DDJ-400 controller and laptop, rigged up to a portable screen and strapped in a bag around his neck, ready for the highest set in the UK.

The sound system came courtesy of a partnership with Minirig: Four Minirig 4s and a Minirig sub, small enough to carry but loud enough to turn the summit into a mini dancefloor.

Hikers arriving at the top found a ring of Bens in bucket hats, dropping drum and bass and Ben-themed edits while still keeping the summit respectful, litter-free and full of smiles.

Why We Did It

“Bens Up Nevis” was never just about a stunt; it was about Bental Health.

We wanted to prove that spaces built around rave culture can also be safe places to talk honestly about mental health, sobriety, grief, diagnosis and everything in between.

In our Bental Health chats, it’s normal for Bens to swap advice on ADHD assessments, sobriety, nutrition or just life when things get heavy.

Taking that Benergy into the mountains was our way of saying you can carry those conversations anywhere, even 1,345 metres above sea level.

The Reaction

The videos of Bens Up Nevis travelled fast, with clips bouncing around social media and news sites picking up the story of “the ravers who took decks up Ben Nevis.” Some people loved seeing the joy, colour and fundraising on the summit; others questioned whether music belongs on the hills, sparking a wider conversation about what “appropriate” enjoyment of wild places looks like.

Outdoor voices like The Great Outdoors magazine stepped in to argue that human joy, including music, has a place in the mountains as long as there’s respect for the land and other walkers.

For us, that balance is key: no trace left behind, donations flowing to charities, and every hiker we meet getting a friendly wave and a smile from a Ben in a bucket hat.

The Impact

Between fundraising pages and on-the-day giving, Bens Up Nevis raised over £2,000 for Mind and Ben’s Centre, amplifying support for people navigating mental health challenges and substance misuse. The story of a bunch of Bens raving on the roof of the UK also helped thousands more people hear about Bental Health and the communities we’re building around it.

Most importantly, it showed that when you bring together music, movement and community, you can create spaces where talking about mental health feels natural, not clinical.

For a lot of us, the real win wasn’t just the summit; it was the conversations happening in the group chat before and after, the Bens checking in on each other long after the climb.

Bens Up Nevis: The Next Chapter

The success of that first Ben Nevis climb has turned it into a yearly summit for The Council of Bens, with bigger crews, new routes in and fresh fundraising targets for mental health charities.

Future plans include linking the climb with longer challenges, think Big Ben to Ben Nevis bike rides, multi-day treks and new ways to bring more Bens and friends into the fold.

If you’re a Ben, a friend of Ben, or just feel the BENergy, you’re welcome to join us. Keep an eye on our events page for dates, sign-up links and fundraising pages, and get ready to swap the dancefloor for the mountain path... at least for one weekend!