Get Lost Mountaineering

Ben Lomond from the north

Start/Finish

Small lay by at Loch Dhu, which is just before Loch Chon, on the B829 road from Aberfoyle to Inversnaid. From Aberfoyle, drive west through Milton, past Loch Ard, through Kinlochard. Blairuskinmore is the last prominent sign before Loch Dhu which starts just after the track for Comer, signposted on 14/3/12.

Distance/Time

12 km cycle + 6 km walk. About 6 – 7 hours, longer if all walked.

Peaks

Ben Lomond, 931 m, NN 367 028. OS Sheet 56.

Introduction

Ben Lomond is the dominant peak on the eastern side of Loch Lomond. On a clear day, there are superb views not just of surrounding mountains but also of the lochs in the Trossachs, Loch Lomond and even Loch Fyne. Ben Lomond, alone, is most popularly ascended from the south by a well engineered path. This route, however, ascends from Comer Farm on the northern side of Coire a' Bhathaich. On the map, this is shown as a line of crags. From below the route seems to have many crags. From the summit, the route looks very steep indeed. In reality, the ascent is a walk and almost entirely on grass although some of it is steep and would be a problem in winter conditions for those not properly equipped.

Route

(1) Cycle up the obvious track from Loch Dhu. Cross the bridge at the end of Loch Dhu. Just past the house, go left at the bend. Continue steeply up hill. At Stronmacnair, go right following the line of pylons to reach the cottage below Stuc a' Bhuic. Continue round to the W until the bridge before Comer is crossed. Leave bikes here. On the left of the track are some enclosures. On the right is a gate to the open hill. There are some helpful signs pointing the way to Comer at some of the track junctions.

(2) Go through the gate opposite the enclosures. Immediately, leave the good track and follow an ATV track going left towards a gate in a fence higher up. Once through this gate, follow the fence up hill on a faint path/track before slanting left to reach the flat section at the bottom of the ridge. This is at approximately NN 378 033. Alternatively, one can walk to Comer where two burns meet then ascend SW between the two burns. There are many crags on this ridge but they are easily avoided by weaving around. Now and then, there are hints of a path. The higher one goes, the more defined the ridge becomes. Higher up is a small square fenced enclosure. At the top, a very short descent leads to the summit crest. Follow this as it curves around to the NW. Soon the unmistakeable “tourist path” from the S is met and followed easily to the trig point which marks the summit of Ben Lomond, 931 m. There is no cairn on the summit which is a small slabby plateau.

(3) Descend SE on the obvious “tourist path”. Continue down its first set of zig-zags to where the path straightens on a grassy shoulder. Leave the path here and descend, roughly E/SE, down grassy slopes to reach a narrow grassy bealach at about NN 374 020. Ascend NE up the other side and follow the ridge, ill-defined in places, down the E side of Coire a' Bhathaich. Apart from the crags overlooking the corrie, there are few crags on the ridge and they are easily avoided. Much lower down, an ATV track appears and leads down to Comer Farm. The burn coming down the corrie has to be forded just above the farm. Normally, this is only a few inches deep, if that. Should it be in spate and too deep to cross (very unlikely) there are two parallel iron “girders” across the burn slightly nearer the farm. Once at the farm, retrieve the bicycle and cycle back to Loch Dhu.

Notes

(a) This walk took place on 18^th March, 2012.

(b) There is a separate walk described for those who wish to include Cruinn a' Bheinn (a Graham).

(c) The ridge to the right, W, of the ascent route looks steep from below but is less rocky. If ascended (and this has not yet been checked out), it leads directly to the summit.