Ben Oss

Ben Oss is a Scottish mountain situated in the Stirling Council area, six kilometres south west of the village of Tyndrum within the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.OverviewBen Oss reaches a height of 1029 metres and qualifies as a Munro and a Marilyn. It stands in a group of hills in the Cononish valley to the west of Tyndrum which consists of three other Munros and the Corbett Beinn Chùirn. When viewed from the north or south it is seen as a distinct pointed hill in contrast to its more bulky neighbour Beinn Dubhchraig, with which it is usually climbed.The mountain is quite rocky and craggy being composed of mica schist rock. The hills name has two possible meanings in the Gaelic with guide books being divided on the subject. “Os” can mean an elk or a loch outlet, with a lochan and a stream with the same name in the immediate vicinity it implies that the area around Ben Oss was where elk were found before they were hunted to extinction.GeographyBen Oss is especially craggy on its northern face, falling away steeply to the Cononish valley and barring any direct approach from this direction. It has two main ridges which connect to the adjacent Munros of Ben Lui and Beinn Dubhchraig and walkers usually arrive at the mountains summit along either of these. One ridge goes north east, east and then south east to form a curving edge around Coire Garbh connecting to Beinn Dubhchraig at the Bealach Buidhe with a height of 779 metres. Coire Garbh has Loch Oss lying within its recesses, a body of water measuring roughly 500 by 300 metres. Coire Buidhe stands on the northern side of this eastern ridge, this has a steep headwall and descents north from the bealach to the Cononish valley are not recommended.