Rock Climbing

Oban has no local rock climbing apart from a couple of boulders that get used for training but it is only 45 minutes drive from Glencoe where there is an enormous choice of big mountain routes of all grades and 1 hour from Glen Nevis where there is an abundance of small crags offering good quality climbing with easy access.

Glencoe contains many big mountain routes and it is possible to link together some of the routes so that you can have a complete day climbing at your chosen level. The key areas are Buachaillie Etive Mor which is the first mountain seen as you cross Rannoch moor towards Glencoe and its cliffs and towers can be seen from the roadside and Bidean nam Bian which is at the opposite end of the glen and is a complex mountain consisting of several spurs and buttresses.

Ben Nevis overlooks Fort William and its north east face offers some world class climbing including classics like Tower Ridge a 600m V.Diff climb up one of the mountains outstanding features.

Glen Nevis which runs to the south of the Ben houses Polldubh one of Scotland’s finest cragging areas with 3 tiers of crags and some outlying rock as well. At the weekends in the summer this area can be very busy with a host of people abseiling and climbing at all grades.