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Loch Lomond Round

This splendid concept — a 75-mile 'skyline' round of Loch Lomond with c.9,000m ascent — was devised by Luke Arnott, tested on multiple partial attempts, and finally run complete not once but twice by him in spring 2019: firstly solo with food drops in 38 hrs 47 mins on 22–23 April and then supported in 34 hrs 24 mins on 19–20 May. With a mileage comparable to the Rigby Round and height gain exceeding that of Ramsay's Round, it's clearly a significant undertaking, but Luke has also been modest enough to suggest that 'it will definitely go sub 24 hr.' [Ref: MS Word account here at SHR.] Like Ramsay's Round it includes a substantial 'valley section' (in this case c.15 miles on road round the south end of the Loch), but plotting the route on a map shows it to be otherwise both surprisingly pure and impressively inclusive, with conscientious detours made for the Cobbler and some of the Luss hills off the most direct line, not to mention leaving the road late on for Duncryne (aka the Dumpling)!

Luke ran anticlockwise, starting and finishing at the Tom Weir statue at Balmaha, and saving the road section for last. While he mentions the possibility of further dogleg additions to his 29 listed summits, his choices were all logically made through familiarity with the ground and the visible 'skyline' aesthetic, and we welcome his route as a major new addition to our collection:

  1. Conic Hill 358
  2. Conic Hill 361
  3. Gualann 461
  4. Stob a' Choin Duibh
  5. Beinn Bhreac (trig/cairn)
  6. Binnean nan Gobhar 586
  7. Beinn Uird 597
  8. Ben Lomond 974
  9. Cruinn a' Bheinn 632
  10. Cruachan 536
  11. Stob an Fhàinne 655
  12. Beinn a' Choin 770
  13. Stob nan Eighrach 613
  14. Ben Vorlich 943
  15. Ben Vane 916
  16. Ben Ime 1011
  17. The Cobbler 884
  18. Ben Narnain 926
  19. Ben Reoch 632
  20. Beinn Bhreac 681
  21. Beinn Dubh (Mid Hill) 657
  22. Pt 701
  23. Doune Hill 734
  24. Beinn Eich 703
  25. Cruach an t-Sìthein 684
  26. Beinn a' Mhanaich 709
  27. Beinn Chaorach 713
  28. Pt 693
  29. Duncryne 142

For a more detailed description of the route, please see Luke's report linked above.

Page new 8 October 2019