Mountainous Monday: Ben Lomond

HAPPY NEW YEAR! In  2015 we’ll go in search of inspiring mountains again. We’ll start the first Monday of the year with Ben Lomond in the Scottish Highlands.

Ben Lomond is a very nice mountain to climb because of the following three reasons:
1. There is a very easy and wide path going up, no need for any scrambling.
2.  The view from the summit is just breathtaking. You have excellent views over Loch Lomond (or Lake Lomond) and on a clear day, when you’re looking to the north, you can see many Scottish Munro’s and even the Ben Nevis.
3., It is very easy to get to the start of the Ben Lomond track, due to its close proximity to Glasgow.

Because of the reasons mentioned above, it can be very busy on the mountain with other travellers or “Munro Baggers”. To avoid the crowds start early, as we did, or start late at the end of the day.

We started our trek early in the morning (around 7:30) and went up on the alternative track on the northern side which is a bit steeper than the easy path. We walked up the Ptarmigan ridge to get to the summit, and half way across the ridge, we saw that we weren’t alone:  a (Rock) Ptarmigan had already been to the top. How cool is that? Now we know there the name of the ridge came from.

After reaching the summit, we had something to eat and started our descent. We took the easy path back and half way down, we noticed that there were more and more people going up to enjoy the amazing views. It was not just a few people but a giant crowd making their way up because it was a national holiday.

With an elevation of 974 m (3.196ft), Ben Lomond is above the 3.000 feet high and there for a real Munro. If you want to start “Munro Bagging” (climbing all 282 mountains of 3.000 feet or higher in Scotland) then Ben Lomond is an easy pick to get the Munro bagging virus going.

On the site walkhighlands you can click on the Panoramic Summit view which gives you a good idea which peaks you can see from the summit. Ofcourse when there is a clear view, because in Scotland you never know…

f you want to read all the other Mountainous Monday posts, please click here. More reading about Scotland? You might enjoy these:
– A day on the West Highland Way
– Mountainous Monday: Ben Nevis

Thanks for sharing!