ACTIVE OUTDOORS: Bagging the Munros is no mean feat – however long it takes
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Tick lists have always been a bone of contention in the outdoors world. Purists sometimes see them as anathema to having proper hill skills and look down on those “bagging the Munros” or collecting their Corbetts.
Personally, I’ve always enjoyed lists. My life is made up of far too many of them – most of which will never be fully ticked off.
The Munros might be like that for me. I’d like to finish them before I get too old to manage it, but when people ask if I’m bagging them, I never fully commit. You just never know.
I’ve got an uncle who got cancer with only about 30 left to go and now knows he will never finish the list. I have enjoyed some great days in the Lake District and in Scotland with him over the years and empathise with his pain after so many years of climbing mountains throughout his life. He’s no less of a mountaineer for not completing them all, though.
For me, if I do complete them, it will be a slow burner. I have worked out how many I need to do each year to finish them before I’m 60. There are 282 on the current official list of Munros, and I’ve done 133.
I have the map with the coloured-in boxes, I have the Munro Map app on my phone, and I have a beautiful artwork poster, framed, in my hall at home, which shows all the Munros along with a tick list at the side (which I can’t fill in because of the glass!).
It’s nice to go to new places, discover different ways of climbing hills, trying out scrambling routes, doing some in winter. At some stages in life, fitness is good and time allows regular trips to the hills; at others, it’s more of a challenge.
But the long-term aim is there, lurking in the background. Each time you venture to the hills you gain from a new experience, often solidifying new skills or refreshing others.
While myself and many others are slowly making their way through the list, some like to tackle the whole lot in one go – like the inspirational Anna Wells from Inverness.
The 34-year-old has just completed a full round of the Munros in a single winter season, becoming the first woman ever to do so.
Her story has been well told and widely shared recently. It’s a phenomenal achievement and way beyond anything I could hope to aspire to.
Related articles:
- WATCH: Inverness climber is 'proud' after being the first woman to tackle all 282 Munros in winter
- Put to the test in the wilds of Knoydart
- A memorable trip to tackle three Munros at Glen Dessarry
- One Munro to go after Alpine start in Fisherfield
As a dad trying to inspire his young children into learning resilience and strength through the outdoors, I love to see role models who they can relate to better than me as they get older.
It doesn’t mean that they need to go to the same heights, but those who push the boundaries and go to new extremes bring attention to the feats and inspire a new generation of people to be challenged and captivated by all that the outdoors offers.
That’s why I love these extreme challenges, whether it’s a winter Munro round or a record breaking non-stop cycle of the North Coast 500. What’s even better is when an “ordinary person” does something extraordinary, just like Anna did – she says she suffers from imposter syndrome, but she has proved herself beyond doubt that she is no imposter.
My own Munro mission continues, but it’s not the sole focus for me. By the end of 2024, I hope to be past halfway to the total, but it’s more important to have some fun days in the mountains and to develop my skills further as I explore the hills of the Highlands.
Many of the Munros I have done have featured in Active Outdoors over the last 16 years, including during the time Peter Evans was also writing as he was doing the final few hills on his list. That was a particularly special time as we went on trips to some of the more inaccessible mountains that he hadn’t managed to do yet.
Among the great trips we enjoyed was an overnight wild camp at Carnmore at the eastern end of Fionn Loch, before getting up at 4am to climb A’ Mhaighdean and Ruadh Stac Mòr before cycling back out to Poolewe.
I’m yet to walk the other Fisherfield Munros but a magnificent sunrise view at the summit of A’ Mhaighdean lives long in the memory.
We also spent a night at A’Chuil bothy in Glen Dessarry – one of many bothy trips to the hills – after climbing the trio of Munros, Sgurr na Ciche, Garbh Chioch Mhòr and Sgurr nan Coireachan.
There was trouble in the dark finding Suardalan bothy in Glen More, Glenelg, before taking an alternative and long approach to Beinn Sgritheall, which is more commonly tackled as a steep ascent from Arnisdale.
Then there was Peter’s final Munro – a busy trek up Sgurr na Sgine in Kintail, when my eldest daughter was about 18 months old and was carried up in the backpack by my wife on a glorious summer’s day; the perfect end to Peter’s Munro mission.
I’ve enjoyed more solo and sociable hills since then, and look forward to getting out, whether I’m adding to my tally, repeating familiar hills or exploring lower tops. It’s all about getting out there, having some fun and building up mental and physical fitness.
There’s no better place than the Highland hills for doing just that.
