Location: Argyll
Map: OS
Landranger 56
Distance: 9
miles ( 15km )
Time: 57 hours
Grade: Serious
mountain walk
Inventing
personalities for mountains is foolish but there is little
doubt that some hills do have character. A good ease in point is the Cobbler,
near Arrochar, a hill often described as audacious and
impertinent. Despite its relatively low height of 2,900ft/884m it's an awesome peak and
even has the impudence to make us rock climb to reach its summit.
The Cobbler
dominates its neighbours despite its size, but it's the
outlandish profile that gives it its commonly used name — some think it resembles a
cobbler working at his last. Its Sunday title is Ben Arthur but I don't
know anyone who calls it that.
There are three
distinct tops, the left one formed into a leaning
pyramid; the Central Peak, the true summit, is a tiny exposed platform;
while the
North
Peak is formed by an immense overhanging prow, a
remarkable feature that boasts many of the mountain’s best rock-climbs.
Snow and ice on
the path that runs up the hill’s eastern corrie
reminded me of another reason this hill is special. This was the
mountain that
inspired
the late WH Murray to become a mountaineer. Murray,
arguably the finest of all Scottish mountain writers, had overheard a conversation
between two people and was mesmerised by their discussion
of a climb in Wester Ross. It had never occurred to him that here was a
whole new world of which he knew nothing, a world that was close at
hand. The only mountain he knew of was the Cobbler, so he went there, in ordinary
shoes and clothes. He found the mountain covered in snow
but carried on, soon finding himself in icy conditions in the corrie
that leads
to the
summit ridge. He was frightened by the ice and the
exposure but continued to the top where his trepidation melted away as
he gazed
over a
panorama of hills and mountains spread before him like a
white-topped sea. In his own words, he was “hooked for life".
That experience
eventually profited all of us for Bill went on to become
a renowned mountaineer and writer and his books became classics.
I had climbed up
from Loch Long alongside the Allt a’ Bhalachain, past
the Narnain Boulders and into the corrie, where long icicles hung from the crags and
spindrift blew off the summit ridge like spumes of smoke.
Below the ice-encrusted prow of the North Peak I re-lived something
of Murray’s
trepidation. This is an awesome place of rock and ice where
an eroded path climbed steeply through the snow wreaths to the summit ridge.
With the hard work over I followed the icy path through
the rocks and boulders to the top of the North Peak, a natural eyrie.
Ben Lomond and
its loch dominates the view to the south and to the
north and east Ben Ime and Beinn Narnain stand out against the jumble
of mountains
beyond. Across the corrie the crags of the Central Peak rose high above
the dark arm of Loch Long.
For most walkers
this, effectively, is the summit of the Cobbler. The
Central Peak is a little higher but the route to the top isn’t too
evident and
involves
rock Climbing. From the summit ridge a window in the rock
above you represents the portal to the top. You have to squeeze through
this hole
to find
a narrow ledge that traverses off to the left. By
following this around the back of the rock, you'll find a couple of easy
moves take
you on to
the small summit platform. In winter conditions it can
be particularly awkward and I was happy enough to ignore it, fighting off
the temptation
to think the mountain had defeated me.
Route: Start and
finish at the car park beside A83. 2km W of Arrochar ( GR: NN2B7040 ).
Cross the road
and tollow the path through the forest beside the Allt e‘Bhalachain to
a small dam.
Cross the burn
above the dam to gain the path that runs alongside the
NE side of the stream past the Narnain Boulders towards the obvious col
between the Cobbler and its eastern neighbour, Beinn Narnain.
Before the col
bear left and cross the burn again, climbing up into the
rock-strewn corrie below the overhanging prow of the North Peak.
Climb up steeply
on an eroded path below the prow and on to the summit
ridge. Follow the path up and over slabby rocks and boulders to the north
peak.
The true summit
of the mountain is on the Centrai Peak, but involves
scrambling moves that can be very difficult under icy conditions.
Walkers should
return to the ridge and descend by the route of ascent
