Ben Lomond- Day OOT- 22.5.2012

Best day walking this year so far. Probably as it has been so bloody long since Ive done any exercise.... So following on from blog from top... Left home at 730 and I was at the car park at Rowardennan Hotel just after 9am....



This was my 3rd ascent of Ben Lomond. Last 1 in 2011 was wet windy foggy and non eventful... I was aware of some really great weather so I took full advantage, tho I am paying for it now... burnt to a crisp.! - LOL

Ben Lomond is a solitary and distinctive peak to the E of Loch Lomond. From the Arrochar Alps, to the NW, Ben Lomond appears to have a conical summit but there is a craggy corrie high on its N slopes.

N slopes are steep and craggy but S slopes are easy to moderate. The normal access routes lead from the S and do not encounter the crags until near the summit.

Ben Lomond has two parallel SSE ridges, to the W is the Ptarmigan Ridge and to the E the Sron Aonaich ridge.

The "tourist" path cuts a broad swathe from Sron Aonaich to the summit. The ascent path by the burn that casacdes between Tom Fitich and Tom Eas at the S end of the Ptarmigan ridge is steeper and much more attractive.

Following the Ptarmigan ridge leads to the W face of Ben Lomond from where a minor scramble through rocky outcrops leads to the summit.

Anyway the route I took was up the normal tourist route then decended via the Ptarmigan route, walk approx north-west from the trig point to find a path descending steeply down craggy slopes - mind your feet here - to a beallach where the track becomes well defined after crossing some stepping stones. The track now rises to a high point before commencing a mixed descent to the lochside at Ardess near the hostel.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2RoOS38xJ0&w=560&h=315]

and later:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qbTVhlyRJY&w=420&h=315]

Photos appear next blog...

Cheers for read..

AH. X