Munro

Ben Nevis is the highest Munro in Britain

A Munro is a mountain in Scotland with a height over 3,000 feet. They are named after Sir Hugh Munro, 4th Baronet (1856–1919), who produced the first list of such hills, known as Munros Tables, in 1891. A Munro top is a summit over 3,000 feet which is not regarded as a separate mountain.

As of the 2014, revision of the tables, published by the Scottish Mountaineering Club, there are 282 Munros and 226 further subsidiary tops. The most well known Munro is Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles, with a summit standing at 4,409 feet.

The Munros of Scotland are known for presenting challenging conditions to hikers, particularly in winter when a number of fatal accidents are reported each year. Nevertheless, a popular practice amongst hillwalkers is "Munro Bagging", the aim being to climb all of the listed Munros. As of 2009, more than 4,000 had reported completing their round. The first continuous round of the Munros was completed by Hamish Brown in 1974, whilst the current holder of the record for the fastest continuous round is Stephen Pyke, who completed his 2010 round in just under 40 days.

History

SMC hut beneath Buachaille Etive Mor

Before 1891 and the publication of Munros Tables there was considerable uncertainty about the number of peaks in Scotland over 3,000 feet. Estimates ranged from as few as 31 in the guides written by MJB Baddeley, up to 236 listed by Robert Hall in the third edition of The Highland Sportsman and Tourist, published in 1884. One of the aims of the Scottish Mountaineering Club, formed in 1889, was to rectify this situation and accurately to document all of Scotland's mountains over 3,000 feet. Sir Hugh Munro, a founding member of the Club, took the task in hand using his own experience as a mountaineer, as well as detailed study of the Ordnance Survey Six-inch to the mile and One-inch to the mile map series.

Munro's research produced a set of tables which were published in the Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal in September 1891. They listed 538 summits over 3,000 feet, of which 283 were regarded as "separate mountains"; the term Munro applies to the latter, while the lesser summits are known as tops. Munro did not set any measure of topographic prominence by which a peak qualified as a separate mountain, and much debate has since taken place over how distinct two hills must be if they are to be considered as two separate Munros.

The Scottish Mountaineering Club have carried out a number of revisions of the tables, both in response to new height data on Ordnance Survey maps and to address the perceived inconsistency as to which peaks qualify for Munro status.

In 1992, the publication of Alan Dawson's book Relative hills of Britain, showed that three tops not already considered summits, had a prominence of more than 500 feet and in the 1997 tables these three tops, on Beinn Alligin, Beinn Eighe and Buachaille Etive Beag, gained full Munro summit status. Dawson's book also highlighted a number of significant tops with as much as of 200-foot prominence which were not listed as Munro subsidiary tops. The 1997 tables promoted five of these to full Munro status.

During May and July 2009 several mountains were re-surveyed by the Munro Society to determine a more accurate height reading for those mountains which are known to be close to the 3,000 ft figure. In a press release on 10 September 2009 it was announced that the mountain Sgurr nan Ceannaichean, south of Glen Carron, has a height of 2,997 feet. As a result of the re-surveys the Scottish Mountaineering Club removed the Munro status of Sgurr nan Ceannaichean and this mountain is now a "Corbett".

Current position

The Munros lack a rigid set of criteria for inclusion. Many summits of lesser relative prominence in relation to neighbouring ground are listed, principally due to time or distance factors rendering their summits difficult to reach. The 1997 tables ironed out many anomalies.

The current revision of the tables¸published in 2009, lists 283 Munros and 227 further subsidiary tops.

List of Munros

Main article: List of Munros

There are 282 Munros, and they are found in ten counties, often on county borders:

Aberdeenshire; Angus; Argyll; Banffshire; Cromartyshire; Dunbartonshire; Perthshire; Ross-shire; Stirlingshire; Sutherland

The definitive tables of munros and tops is maintained by the Scottish Mountaineering Club, but a list by height, range and county is provided on Wikishire as List of Munros.

Corbetts, Grahams and Marilyns

Other classification schemes in Scotland include:

• Corbetts: 2500- 3000 feet
• Grahams: 2000 – 2500 feet

To qualify as a Corbett or a Graham a peak must to have a prominence of at least 500 feet.

Another classification, applied throughout the British Isles, is:

• Marilyns: a hill or mountain with a relative height of 492 feet, regardless of height above sea level.

The name Marilyn was adopted as a humorous counterpart Munro, in reference to Marilyn Munro of notable geography.

Munro bagging

Ben Hope; the most northerly Munro

Buachaille Etive Mòr

The triple buttresses of Coire Mhic Fearchair on Beinn Eighe

Some hillwalkers climb Munros with an eye to climbing every single one, a practice known as "Munro bagging". Having climbed all of them, a walker is entitled to be called a Munroist. Munro-bagging is a form of peak bagging.

Despite their relatively modest height compared with some continental ranges, walking and climbing in the Scottish mountains may be made treacherous by their latitude and exposure to Atlantic and Arctic weather systems. Even in summer, conditions can be atrocious; thick fog, strong winds, driving rain and freezing summit temperatures are not unusual.

Winter ascents of certain Munros are widely accepted to provide among ice climbs challenging any in Europe. Some walkers are unprepared for the often extreme weather conditions on the exposed tops and many deaths are recorded every year, often resulting from slips on wet rock or ice.

The best known Munos are:

• Ben Nevis, Inverness-shire (4,409 feet); the highest peak in the British Isles
• Ben Lomond (3,196 feet); the most southerly of the Munros
• Ben Hope in Sutherland (3,041 feet); the most northerly Munro
• In the Cairngorms:
  • Ben Macdhui (4,295 feet), the second highest
  • Cairn Gorm (4,085 feet)
• Buachaille Etive Mòr (3,353 feet) at the entrance to Glencoe; one of the most photographed Munros
• In Torridon, Ross-shire
  • Beinn Eighe (3,314 feet)
  • Liathach (3,461 feet) in Torridon
• Lochnagar (3,789 feet), on the Royal estate of Balmoral
• Schiehallion (3,553 feet), a mountain often described as lying at the centre of Scotland
• In the Cuillin Hills on the Isle of Skye, Inverness-shire:
  • Sgùrr nan Gillean (3,163 feet)
  • Sgùrr Alasdair (3,258 feet)
  • The Inaccessible Pinnacle (3,235 feet)

Notable completions

As of 2009, more than 4,000 people had completed the Munros. The Scottish Mountaineering Club, who maintain a list of those Munroists who have reported completing the Munros, have attempted to popularise the archaic spelling of compleation.

Hugh Munro never completed his own list, missing out on Càrn an Fhidhleir and Càrn Cloich-mhuillin (downgraded to a "top" in 1981). Sir Hugh is said to have missed the Inaccessible Pinnacle of Sgurr Dearg, on the Isle of Skye, which he never climbed. However the "In Pinn", as it is known colloquially within Scottish mountaineering, was only listed as a subsidiary top on his list (despite being several yards higher than Sgurr Dearg, which was listed as the main top).

The first "compleationist" was to be the Reverend A E Robertson, in 1901. However, research has cast doubt on this claim, and it is not certain that he reached the summit of Ben Wyvis. Also it is known that Robertson did not climb the Inaccessible Peak of Sgurr Dearg. If Robertson is discounted, the first Munroist is Ronald Burn, who completed in 1923. Burn is also (indisputably) the first person to climb all the subsidiary "tops".

The person with the most rounds of Munros is Steven Fallon from Edinburgh, who has 'completed' thirteen rounds as of 2006.

Chris Smith became the first Member of Parliament to complete the Munros when he reached the summit of Sgurr nan Coireachan on 27 May 1989.

Ben Fleetwood is probably the youngest person to have completed a round. He climbed the final Munro of his round – Ben More – on 30 August 2011 at the age of 10 years and 3 months. The youngest compleationist to have done the round without the presence of a parent or a guardian is probably Andy Nisbet, who finished his round in 1972 aged 18 years and 1 month.

Continuous rounds

Hamish Brown did the first continuous self-propelled round of the Munros (except for the Skye and Mull ferries) between 4 April and 24 July 1974, walking for 1,489 miles, and cycling the remaining 150 miles, with 449,000 feet of ascent. The walk is fully documented in his book Hamish's Mountain Walk.

The average time taken to bag all the Munros is eight years.

The first reported completion of all the Munros plus the subsidiary tops in one continuous expedition was by Chris Townsend in 1996. His trip lasted between May 18 and September 12 (118 days), he covered a distance of 1,770 miles by bicycle) with 575,000 feet of ascent. The round was broken twice for spells at the office.

The first person to complete a winter round (all the Munros in one winter season) was Martin Moran in 1984/85. His journey lasted between 21 December 1984 and 13 March 1985 (83 days), he walked 1,028 miles with 412,000 feet of ascent. He used motor transport (Campervan) to link his walk.

In the winter of 2005/06, Steve Perry completed a continuous unsupported round entirely on foot (and ferry). He is also the first person to have completed two continuous Munro rounds, having also walked Land's End to John O'Groats by way of every mainland 3,000-foot mountain between 18 February 2003 and 30 September 2003.

Fastest round

Charlie Campbell, a former postman from Glasgow, held the record for the fastest round of the Munros between 2000 and 2010. He completed his round in 48 days 12 hours, finishing on 16 July 2000, on Ben Hope. His record was broken by Stephen Pyke of Stone, Staffordshire, in 2010 who completed the round in 39 days, 9 hours. Pyke's round started on the island of Mull on 25 April 2010 and finished on Ben Hope in Sutherland on 3 June 2010. He cycled and kayaked between Munros; no motorised transport was used. He was backed by a support team in a motor home, but had to camp out in the remoter areas.

Furth Munros

Main article: Furth Munro

The SMC recognises six peaks in England, fifteen in Wales and thirteen in Ireland that would be Munros or Munro Tops if they were in Scotland. These are referred to as Furth Munros, as "the Munros furth of Scotland".

Outside links

• Scottish Mountaineering Club official Munros page, including completionists.
• Track your Munro progress and keep your friends up to date.
• MunroMagic – details and route descriptions for all Munros. (Some content requires registration.)
• Walk Highlands guide to the Munros - includes free OS maps and GPS routes for each Munro, and detailed descriptions.
• The Munros and Tops 1891-1997 - Spreadsheet showing changes in successive versions of Munros Tables.
• ScottishHills.com - Hillwalking forum with Munro, Corbett, Graham and Donalds log, maps and trip reports.

References

Book references

• The Munros (SMC Guide), Donald Bennet et al., ISBN 0-907521-13-4