Well nearly anyway. Sarah tells me she has made an excellent start with her collection of Munros.
For those of us not in the know, a Munro is a mountain in Scotland over the height of over 3,000 feet (914m). The original list was compiled by Sir Hugo Munro who produced his Munro’s Tables in 1891. The Scottish Mountaineering Club have identified 282 Munros and an additional 227 subsidiary tops.
The Scottish Munros Sarah can remember conquering are Beinn Macdui, Sgurr na Banachdich, Sgor Gaoith and several others in the Cairngorms. She has also added a couple from the Isle of Skye, namely Bla Bheinn (Blaven) and Sgurr Dearg.
There also so-called Furth Munros in England and Wales and Sarah has climbed some in the Lake District; Scafell Pike, Skiddaw, Blencathra and Helvellyn.
Here’s Sarah to tell you how she got into climbing and what is to come next:
“My passion for getting to the top of mountains came from watching Julia Bradbury’s BBC series ‘Wainwright Walks’. I remember being blown away with just how beautiful these remote parts of the country are. The following year I was following in her footsteps to experience first-hand just how mind blowing it actually is and I have never looked back.
“My climbing companion is my lifelong friend Adele, who I met when I was 7 years of age in primary school. Adele lives on the Isle of Skye and is an ecologist. She often tries to educate me with rare species of plants along the way which I tell her look just like dandelions! Adele then tells me there are 250 different species of dandelion – yawn, yawn lol. Despite this she has a wicked sense of humour. When I am exhausted, she assures me that if I keep going there is a lovely cafe at the top!
“This September we are preparing to do a 4 day trek/climb in the Pyrenees. For this I will need to get some fitness training in. My recent trip to the Isle of Skye was to allow me to get used to wearing ridged boots and crampons, and to try ice axe training, which may be necessary if there is snow on the summit. If all goes well, then the following year we are planning to travel to Ecuador and attempt Chimborazo.”
I hope you will join me in wishing Sarah and Adele the very best of luck – expect to see a report with photos in a future blog!
