Am Bodach is part of the excellent Ring of Steall route
By Geordie305
01 August 2008 10:15
I've just planned a climb which includes Am Bodach (NN17650 65093), but when browsing old Trail mags I came across a grade 2 scramble on Aonach Eagach (April 08, route 7 ) which also includes a summit Am Bodach (NN16840 58003). At first I thought I'd planned my route wrong, but after checking found both summits had the same name. Question - how many mountains are there within a region with the same name and is this an error by the people naming the summits?
Answer
By LFTO Answers Team
Duplication in mountain names often stems from the fact most Scottish peaks were named by locals who gave them descriptive names, or likened them to something familiar. These descriptive terms are rarely unique. Am Bodach means simply ‘old man’, a name which unsurprisingly seems to fit several other peaks, or the stories locals wove around them. Other names with generic origins which free them up for multiple uses include A’ Chailleach (old woman), A’Mhaighdean (maiden), Ben More (big mountain). Carn Dearg (red hill of the cairn) must be the most successful, with 50 iterations in the Highlands. So no, it’s not a mistake of those naming the hills, it’s a feature of the way most hills got their names – by locals looking at them and thinking ‘that looks a bit like a...’.
