The Munros: Scottish Mountaineering Club Hillwalkers' Guide

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A strange post foot and mouth tour dotting up and down the A9. The Glen Lyon 4, Braeriach and the two to the south off Courour Halt were all completed Day 1

We hired a guide for Day 2 over the Inaccessible Pinnacle to Sgurr Alasdair. After the midge JP and myself then climbed Blaven Day 1 An excellent day on Beinn Eighe with JP. Again we headed north in to the coire to the north, the only obvious route up Eighe. An extra Munro had been added since our last visit and we also aimed to ‘walk the ridge’ which involved a scrambled top at the west end (Sail Mhor) and then a long hike along the ridge towards Kinlochewe. The clearest memory of this walk was the clearance as we descended towards Kinlochewe – one of those spectacular moments. Day 4

A long day over the Grey Corries in cloudy weather. The ridge twisted and turned which I lengthened by taking in the westerley top. We also drove to the 3 near Loch Quoich which involved the only time I returned to the car for lunch and started again. Day 1 In addition to Munros, there are also Munro Tops and Murdos. Munro Tops are summits that are over 3,000ft, but considered to be a subsidary top of a nearby Munro. The final tour to complete the Munros on my 40th birthday. We overnighted in Glenfinnan below Streap and after the Corbetts before travelling down to the Kingshouse for the final and 184th Munro. Day 1 I use the SMC hillwalkers guide books for both the Munros and the Corbetts & other Scottish hills as well as information from walk reports on WH when planning walks.

It took me 5 years to follow up the Munros with their associated Tops. I decided to start doing Tops roughly half way through the Munros which led me on to longer walks than anticipated. However it was only after completing the Munros that things became more mentally difficult. Attempting a single Top almost inevitably required a second go at the Munro so the walk was often repetitive but with ‘a little bit extra added on’ I did attempt alternative routes but these were often longer – at least I did provide some companionship for Alistair who was still going for his first set of Munros. The book was published in 2019 by map-makers HARVEY Maps to mark the centenary of the death of Sir High Munro, the founder of the Munros List. It includes an interesting introductory section that informs the reader what to expect in the book, as well as map symbols and scales; details about HARVEY Maps; and how the maps are created. The terrible night was followed by a pleasant walk up Blaven. Easy compared to the previous 2 days and we did not continue along the ridge to Clach Glas where there are some considerable difficulties. Drove down to the Kinghouse for the night. Day 4 I really enjoyed Attow or Beinn Fhada as it is sometimes called. Intermittent rain and cloud meant that navigation was a little difficult. This was particularly so as we headed for the eastern top, two and a half miles from the summit. Little Glas Bheinn was taken out on the return to midge infested Strath Croe. My suspicions have always been that Days 3 and 4 are the most difficult on an extended trip and that there will become a stage when a routine is set and the mind settles to a regular beat. It also physically becomes easier. 2003 Glenfinnan and Completion Scottish Mountaineering Club - has a section with lots of information on Munros and a list of all the Munroists (people who have 'compleated' all the Munros), many with photos.The weather was better the following day but bitterly cold. Snow was on the ground so the distances felt longer than they are. These four do make the easiest day on the Munro calendar with two positioned on the top of the ski slopes. An Socach is the only Munro which is harder to get to but this was mainly because of the snow lying in the gully between it and the other three. Slogging up snow slopes is difficult but a high start made this a comfortable day. 1999 Assynt. A dramatic descent The list has grown and shrunk over the years - in 1984 it was 277, in 1997 it grew to 284 and in September 2009 it returned to 283 after Sgurr nan Ceannaichean was re-measured and found to miss the magic height by 1 metre. Sir Hugh did not manage to complete an ascent of all the summits on his list; instead the Rev. A. E Robertson became the first person to complete 'The Munros' in 1901. Now, over a hundred years later, there are over 5000 people who have registered as ‘compleaters’, with completions recorded with the Scottish Mountaineering Club. Compleaters also become eligible to join The Munro Society.

Profits from the sale of the book go to the Scottish Mountaineering Trust, which is a charity that provides grants to recreation, education and safety projects in the outdoors. Hamish’s Grand Slam is the Munros, Tops and Furth (3,000 foot mountains in England, Wales and Ireland) – a worthy challenge! The books give numerous routes for the hills and also grade the scrambling and climbing routes too. The Munros are generally recognized by the classification set out by Sir Hugh Munro which detailed over 500 separate hills in Scotland over 3,000 foot high. He separated his list in to main and subsidiary summits so in effect there are 2 lists now commonly referred to as the Munros and the Tops. In 2017 over 6,000 people have completed the Munro main summits. Sir Hugh never managed to complete the ascent of all the summits on his list, and it was left to the Revd A E Robertson to complete the first round of the Munros in 1901. Since then, attempting to ascend all the peaks ('Munro-bagging') has become a popular pursuit among British walkers and mountaineers.Climbing the Munros can easily become a passion. Starting off on the right foot with suitable equipment, understanding the skills required and taking time to get necessary training, information and safety skills will lay the foundation for many enjoyable and safe days in the hills. A straightforward 2 north of Spean Bridge in fairly ropey conditions finished a tour which was a little disjointed but did give a good sense of achievement 1998 North Cluanie and Lunndaidh Now as a much more experienced Munro bagger I can appreciate the routes in the old SMC book but I far prefer the look and details found in the latest edition.

A very different walk from those in the west. This was a long 2 day walk meeting Reg and Archie at the bothy. A through walk from Blair Atholl to Braemar but the walk out was extremely painful due to blisters which also slowed me up next day on Lochnagar. A long drive over to Fort William preceded a long slog up Carn mor Dearg. I was pretty tired before we summited, again the weather was cloudy but not bad. The crossing on to the Aonachs was simple though. As we were in cloud all the time there was no appreciation of the height and scale of the hills although Barry did have an Eureka moment on the crossing. I know what he meant – they do not happen that much. We had a long, steep descent in to Glen Nevis which was enlivened by winding the dog up by taking different courses down and calling her from one to another. She loved it Day 3 My first day on just the Corbetts. Alistair was cutting the corner as he aimed for Gulvain whilst I made two very steep ascents of Streap and its neighbouring Corbett. On the way down the heavens opened but to be honest my mind was on the following day, my 40th birthday. Day 3. The Final Munro. To begin logging your ascents or writing your own account of your experiences on the Munros and other walks, or to also show Munro Tops, Login or Register now - it's free!However, I've often thought that it could be useful having a wee handbook with routes, comments, data etc with me on the hills along with the usual OS map. I've had a look through threads on WH and in the bookshop but haven't really found what I'm looking for.