Introduction

Bouldering in Glen Croe, Arrochar

The various boulders scattered around the lower slopes of the Cobbler in Glen Croe have long been played on by Glasgow climbers looking for a change of scenery. Edinburgh boulderers Michael Tweedly and Dave Redpath began to get the ball rolling over the past couple of years by naming and grading a few problems and spreading the word about Glen Croe's potential as a viable venue. Having ticked Dumbarton Rock and desperate to find some new rock to play on, I began to explore the boulders for myself and quickly realised there was much to be done and that the area was an attractive place to climb in.

So why come and try out the boulders in Glen Croe? Firstly, there are quite an extensive number of problems in a relatively concentrated area. It's not a 'hardcore' venue either, most of the problems are in the lower grades and don't tend to have stopper moves or the scary landings which often put people off Dumbarton. However, the hard problems which do exist are of outstanding quality on good rock. Good conditions are fairly frequent and the glen is much windier than many others in the highlands. It also sees the sun until mid evening. However, on the few still nights, midges are just as bad as you might expect for a Highland venue. Finally, this is a roadside venue and just 40 minutes from Glasgow.

The landings of a number of the problems are a little boggy (although eased by the Redpath treatment on the Beer Can Boulder!). Thus, a good bouldering mat and accessory footmat make life much easier. The use of a mat is recommended to all not just for your sake but to prevent the development of permanent puddles below the best problems as seen at Bowden Doors.

Also remember this is a newly developed venue and many of the problems need some more traffic to get fully cleaned up. I nearly lost an arm to repetitive strain injury with the wire brush while developing the problems. If you care about the quality of the venue, take a wire brush along with you and help turn this into a really good bouldering crag.

Potential for a few more new problems remains although the best rock has already been climbed. A few of the hard projects have been mentioned and these are open projects. There is also another boulder west of the Beer Can boulder (through the trees and 200m along the track) which remains undeveloped. Please report any new problems or grade adjustments to newsandreports@scottishoutdoors.com

In general, Glen Croe gives fingery and powerful climbing on mainly good but occasionally soft Mica Schist. There is plenty of variety though with slabs, walls traverses and powerful overhangs. The problems have been given a British technical grade and a Font grade.