Munros + Corbetts - 2009
08 June 2009 .......... Ben Lomond
Poor old Ben Lomond - it really does suffer from an identity crisis. When it was a young lad, its parents told it to eat up all its porridge, and it would grow big and strong like them. Well it ate up all its porridge, and it made it into the big boys group - it became a munro, and looked forward to getting all the respect that munros should get.
Only trouble is - nobody told the good citizens of Glasgow that Ben Lomond is a munro - to them it is just a hill that they climb on Sunday afternoons - in their thousands !
The National Trust has spent a fortune on providing a very smart 2 metre wide path all the way to the top. I gather that previous to their handiwork, the path was up to 25 metres wide in places, so it is a lot tidier than it was. You can forget your boots and your gaiters and your map and compass - put on your trainers, tie your anorak round your waist, put your lunch in a plastic carrier bag - and you`ll fit in just fine !
That path may somewhat destroy the mountain experience, but you can`t half romp up it. It`s the fastest climb you`ll ever do.
Unfortunately, it does have a downside - the summit of Ben Lomond has got a rather spectacular north and east side,
which the path completely misses, so you don`t see it, or get the walk along the top of the crags. Which is a shame.
The views from the top were quite good, as the NE wind was keeping the visibility high - Arran, Jura, and Ben Nevis were all just visible.
The NE wind was bitter, but I was stuck between a rock and a hard place - I either sat on the top and got blasted by the wind, or dropped down a few metres into the shelter, and got eaten by midges. Even though it was still early June, they were out in force up on the summit.
I couldn`t face going back down the same way, so came down over Ptarmigan. As soon as you leave the summit of Ben Lomond to go down to Ptarmigan, you are back into a mountain environment. It`s quite a steep drop to begin with, and you can meander over the tops on the way down. The path is quite distinct, and quite good, but it is a normal mountain path, not a motorway for pedestrians, so much more normal to walk on, and fits in nicely.
The route over Ptarmigan does have a snag - more midges ! As soon as you drop off Ben Lomond, the ridge down to Ptarmigan is full of midges. Maybe it was just the wind direction, but once beyond Ptarmigan - no midges.
Although it is lower than the summit of Ben Lomond, Ptarmigan is a better place to take pictures of both Loch Lomond, and of the Arrochar Alps - the pictures just work better. Here`s the obligatory view of Loch Lomond.
But there`s no mountains in that photograph, so here`s one looking across to the Cobbler and the Arrochar Alps.
Although it certainly is not as challenging as most other mountains, it was a pleasant day. The Met office was forecasting snow showers, but I had broken sunshine for most of the time. My only regret is not knowing about coming off the path and walking up above the crags at the summit.
A final word of warning - don`t even think about climbing Ben Lomond during the weekend or a bank holiday if the sun is shining - half of the population of Glasgow goes to Loch Lomond for their day out, and once the car parks are full, the police close the road at Balmaha. And take your midge protection - you`ll need it.
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