Grif 'Faked' Ben Nevis Summit Scandal

Seems Griff Rhys Jones isn't quite the intrepid mountain man after all - according to the Mirror, the presenter of Mountain failed to climb Ben Nevis, despite claiming to have done so at his third attempt in the programme.

Apparently Rhys Jones along with a film crew only actually reached the top of neighbouring Carn Dearg, but didn't realise his mistake because of the thick cloud.

The Mirror reports him as saying:

"I was very shocked to discover that actually we were in the wrong place.

"It's irritating, too, as we'd done the worst of the climb on a route most tourists don't take. I'll have to go back now and do it for real."

The whole episode appears to have roused the ire of local climber and guide book writer Ken Crocket however. According to the Mirror he called the mistake 'a slap in the face' for those who've climbed the mountain.

Talk about a storm in tea-cup. It's not exactly in the Cerro Torre or Tomo Cesen bracket when it comes to questionable mountain conquests.

To be blunt, if the screening of Mountain and its accompanying book mean just a few more people discover a love of the hills, then we don't care if Grif Rhys Jones filmed the whole thing in mocked up mountainscape inside a warehoure in Rotherhithe...

Full story at www.mirror.co.uk