The Munros: Scottish Mountaineering Club Hillwalkers' Guide

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I spent hours planning this trip. It was the key to the Cairngorms and needed to be 2 days worth. I very much looked forward to it even though the days planned to be very long. Day 1 The mountains in Scotland over 3,000 feet (914.4 metres) in height are called the Munros. Named after Hugh Munro, the first person to compile a list of them in 1891, there were were originally 283 Munros. it cannot be denied that some few disadvantages attend winter and early Spring climbing, but I am sure that all who have tried it will agree that the pleasure derived is more than ample compensation. Munro, H, ‘Winter Ascents’ in Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal volume 1, 1890, pp. 20–24. 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 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.

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. There’s a huge pull to the Munros: Scotland’s mountains above 3000ft (914m). Most hill-goers, even if they claim not to be collecting the set, will have a fair idea how many they have done. I like the book because it offers lots of route options and ideas for extending the routes to take in other summits. While I am still very likely to continue to use Walk Highlands as a resource, it’s great to be able to refer to The Munros guidebook as well for other ideas or combinations of ideas and routes. Perhaps if I do a Munros round again I will take in the Munro Tops as well. The most recent revision of the list found Beinn a'Chlaidheimh in Fisherfield to be under the 3,000ft height, therefore bringing the current total to 282 Munros.During that winter’s day of 22 January 1891, Hugh Munro had completed a 20-mile mountain traverse from Blair Atholl to Dirnanean. An hour later, a thawed out, bathed and freshly dressed Munro sat before a roaring log fire with dram in hand, awaiting dinner. He would certainly deserve it.

This fully revised fourth edition of the Scottish Mountaineering Club’s original and best-selling guidebook The Munros describes the best walking routes on Scotland’s 282 mountains above 3,000ft. I like the concept of a map-by-map guide to Scotland’s mountains. It’s a simple compendium that names all the Munros, with basic details, including height, the meaning of the names and a grid reference. 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. Harvey Maps has a great history. A day which started gloriously with a great crossing to Lapaich from the Mullardoch dam but ended in a lot of pain on the long walk down Glen Elchaig. . . Day 1 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 classic round of An Teallach walked in misty conditions. A fantastic hill which many people would say is the best on Mainland Britain I have not really enjoyed it to it’s full on either of my visits. It is a mountain I certainly want to return to. The ridge is certainly good with some enjoyable scrambling over the peaks but I never felt the real feeling of exposure I have felt on other ridges (or the tingling element of danger) such as Liachach, the Aonach Eagach or on the Cuillin. Day 4 And those hills, scattered all over Scotland, from Ben Lomond in the South to Ben Hope in the north, and Sgurr na Banachdich in the west to Mount Keen in the east, offer no end of challenging and immensely enjoyable days out, in all seasons. Database of British and Irish Hills - not just Munros, Munro Tops and Murdos, but lots of hill-lists throughout the UK and Ireland. Instead, the Reverend A. E. Robertson became the first to complete the summits, in 1901. The final mountain reached was Meall Dearg (on the Aonach Eagach) - where the Revd famously kissed first the cairn, and then his wife. Recently some doubt has been cast as to whether Robertson was truly the first to complete the round as some researchers believe he may have missed the summit of Ben Wyvis. In 1923 another Reverend, Ronald Burn, became the second Munroist as well as the first person to climb all the subsidiary Tops.

The book is split into 17 sections by area. Each route is name with a height in metres, as well as a grid reference and the Gaelic translation for the mountain name. The Munros (and Tops) may be the best known mountain challenge in Britain. To complete the Munros will take many years, in many cases a lifetime of dedication”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 Rab Anderson edited the previous SMC guidebook to The Munros, as well as The Corbetts. He has written or contributed to various guidebooks for the SMC, most recently the Climbers’ Guide to the Outer Hebrides (co-author) and the acclaimed Hillwalkers’ Guide to The Grahams & The Donalds (co-author and co-editor). Rab lives in Edinburgh. These days, there is a wealth of information on-line of how to walk the Munros, as well as maps that can be used as GPX files on various map reading apps. Yet, still, I do like an actual map to look at. I am sure it will be a welcome gift for any keen walker.