Highlander on being the first black man to conquer all the Munros—and how his grief became a catalyst for change
When David Solomon set off to climb Ben Nevis, he was looking for an escape in the midst of lockdown.
He was grieving the death of his sister alongside the breakdown of a romantic relationship and wanted to find some space in his head.
Little did he know that it would alter the course of his life, and it is now believed that he is the first Black man to complete all of Scotland’s Munros.
The Inverness-based cyber security analyst said: “I was just dancing on the top of the hill, and I felt so free. It was incredible, and I felt like everything that had been going on in my head just became so quiet.
“After Ben Nevis, I read that you could do multiple Munros in one day. I saw that I could do seven in one day, so I thought, wow, seven plus Ben Nevis—the number is going up!
“I drove up to Kintail, to a place called South Glen Shiel Ridge, and parked. I had an idea of the distance, and on the way up, I met a group of guys and started chatting to them.
“I asked them how many they had done, and some of them had done over 100. They turned round to me to ask how many I had done, and I said, two!!
“There was this silence, and they were like, ‘you want to do this by yourself?!’
“After the first Munro at Kintail, you have to go over a ridge to get to the second one. It was very narrow and my first time on something like that.
“I froze. I just sat down and started crying,” he laughed.
“I thought I was going to die. This couple, who were runners, came from the other side, stopped and asked if I was okay. I said, no, I’m scared. I had two poles—all the gear and no idea!
“The guy goes, why don’t you use it for balance? He asked if I wanted to go back, and I said no.
“That was it—I got up, used the poles, and kept going.
“I deleted the videos I made, saying I love my mum and my daughter, as I thought that was it!
“That was my first experience with something that scary.”
Over the next four years, Nigerian-born David set out to take on all 282 Munros in Scotland.
When things began to open up again post-lockdown, David was starting to lose interest a bit, as he was able to do more things.
However, he started doing some research after he found that he was the only Black person among the hills when he was climbing them.
“One thing I noticed throughout all my time doing the Munros was that I had never encountered anyone who was Black when I was climbing,” he explained.
“There were so many people from different backgrounds, but there was nobody who was Black.
“There is a society that takes a record of people who have bagged Munros.
“I emailed them as I wanted to meet a Black man who had done them so I could ask him ‘why?’ because I was getting the vibe that I shouldn’t be doing it and it’s not for me.
“They emailed me back to say they hadn’t had anyone.
“It gave me a sense of purpose, something to chase and do. Then eventually, it just worked through daily life. If I was stressed at work, I would look forward to Saturdays to go out on the hills.
“If it was during the summer months, I would go out after work, camp, and then come back before I started work the next day.
“I don’t think I would have stopped even if I wasn’t going to be the first Black person to complete them.”
This year alone, two black men have completed all of Scotland’s Munros, with David finishing in August and a man called Peter completing them in September.
David said: “This year is very significant for Munro bagging for Black people.”
When asked whether there needs to be a change in perception or a conversation about who takes on outdoor activities, David said, most definitely.
He explained: “It has to be internal: within the black community, we need to understand that the outdoors are not just for white people.
“We need to have that conversation that we belong anywhere. We shouldn’t just expect people to hand stuff over to us—or ‘include’ us.
“It’s for me to know that I deserve to be there.”
Despite having a strong social media following(under the name ilovethishike) that has captured his journey of Munro bagging, David has steered clear of promoting outdoor brands.
He said: “I think the greatest barrier to people embracing the outdoors is affordability.
“People have to choose between working to pay bills and taking time off to go explore nature or buy unaffordable outdoor gear.
“If brands genuinely want to get involved, rather than pick a few folks from a community and shower them with money and free gear, they could make their products affordable.
“Also, nature is healing. It’s an incredible place, and we take far too much from it. If we are using it to sell products, then we are just treating it like another commodity.”
For David, the toughest Munros have been in Skye—but the most monumental was the last one he did, where his family and friends joined him for the occasion.
Speaking about how it felt, he said: “It was mixed emotions. When I got close to the finish, I didn’t want it to end. I was thinking, what next?
“The last day was challenging. The people closest to me came with me. My daughter, my brother from Canada, and my best friend from Nigeria came, alongside friends from London and Aberdeen Uni.
“Everyone did it, and that alone got me very emotional at the top. Seeing them all pushing themselves when they had never done something like that before.
“They came out of their comfort zones. My other mountain friends were there to support them, and it was emotional.”
There are a few things that David couldn’t live without when taking on the mammoth challenge.
“I need music when climbing, so my speaker is essential,” he laughed, “although I don’t play it when other people are about.
“Other musts are a down jacket, gloves, and my dog JJ!”
Since completing the Munros, David is now focused on tackling all the Wainwrights in England.
He said: “Compared to the Munros, they’re a walk in the park!”
