The Great Outdoors Spring 2019

The Munros

A n evolving list
When Hugh Munro – he became Sir Hugh in 1913 –
presented his list of mountains exceeding 3,000t to
the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) in 1891, he
had identiied 283 mountains and 255 separate Tops
(summits over 3,000t, but considered a subsidary
top of a nearby Munro). Since then, Munro’s Tables
have gone through a series of revisions, but they
remain largely intact and true to the spirit of their
origin, and are the seminal guide to Scotland’s
highest mountains.
Munro acknowledged that his 1891 listings
contained many anomalies, and he was working on
a revision at the time of his death in March 1919. His
family later passed on his planned changes to the
SMC and they incorporated many of his suggestions
to produce an updated list in 1921.
his year marks the centenary of his death, and
Munro’s life and legacy to Scottish hillwalking are
being celebrated with a major exhibition at the
A. K. Bell Library in Perth. he Munro Legacy
Exhibition runs until 18 May. It has been driven by
he Munro Society, and it is hoped ater its Perth
run the exhibition will move on other venues around
the country. It has already been earmarked for the
Dundee Mountain Film Festival in November.
One of the great ironies is that Munro never
managed to complete his list. he honour of the irst
to do so went to the Reverend A.E. Robertson in 1901.
He is regarded as the irst Munroist, although he never
scaled the Inaccessible Pinnacle, instead following
Munro’s list to the letter, which had mistakenly
registered the main, yet lower, peak of Sgurr Dearg
as the summit. here is also confusion over whether
Robertson managed to reach the top of Ben Wyvis.
It was 22 years before the next ‘compleation’
(the archaic spelling used to denote a successful
ascent of every peak on the list), but by that time the
Reverend Ronald Burn was working from the revised
1921 igures. he number of Munros now stood
at 276, seven less than originally recorded, but the
number of Tops had risen by 12 for a grand total of
543 compared to Munro’s 538. And this time, the In
Pinn was included, with the adjoining Sgurr Dearg
having been correctly re-classiied as a Top.
Munro made most of his calculations with a
pocket-sized aneroid barometer, and the scale and
accuracy of his work was remarkable for its time.
But constantly evolving and improving mapping
and measuring methods meant inconsistencies were

highlighted and adjusted as and when they were

deemed relevant.

Controversial changes

Changes to the list are not always greeted with

universal approval. here are even dissenting voices

to any tinkering at all, a belief that Munro’s original

list is a historical document and is personal rather

than deinitive – and should stand as it was written.

It’s a tricky balancing act, and many mountaineering

luminaries have struggled with the task. For some,

any change is one too many; for others, there have

been too few changes. Little wonder that Hamish

Brown referred to the Munros as “always changing,

never changing”.

he introduction of metric measures has also

caused some to question the modern relevance

of a list of 3,000t mountains. he igure of 914.4

metres just doesn’t have the same ring but, so far, any

suggestion of presenting a fresh list based on the more

rounded starting height of 1,000 metres has fallen on

deaf ears. Rightly so: in that case the term Munros

would, and could, no longer apply.

Height was not always the main factor used by

Munro in deciding which was the main summit,

as in the case of the In Pinn, possibly seen as merely

a protuberance on the side of the main mountain

mass, even though it stood higher. It’s likely, however,

that Munro would have approved of the opportunity

to update and adjust his data with any means at his

disposal.

It’s interesting, but perhaps not surprising, that

in these days where we are swamped by mountain

lists, where every bump or swelling belongs to some

category or other, that there are a few souls going

back to basics. Reverend Robertson may have

been the only person to have completed his round

from Munro’s original list, but there are now a few

Munroists following in his footsteps and ticking their

way round it.

Sir Hugh Munro

Hugh Thomas Munro was born in

London in 1856, the eldest of nine

children of Sir Campbell Munro, but

was brought up on the family estate

of Lindertis, near Kirriemuir.

Munro was an avid traveller

and mountaineer, and an

original member of the Scottish

Mountaineering Club when it

was formed in 1889. He became

president in 1894.

He compiled a list of Scottish

mountains over 3,000ft at the

request of the SMC in 1891.

Sir HughMunro was revising the

Munro's list at the time of his death

in March 1919. He had been serving

as a volunteer for the Red Cross

after the First World War when he

became a casualty of the post-war

lu pandemic at the age of 63.

[previous page] Walker on Skye's Cuillin ridge descending

towards Sgurr a Fionn Choire, Am Basteir (now a Munro

although not in the original list) and Sgurr nan Gillean

[clockwise from top right] Am Basteir; Ruadh Stac Mor; An

Stuc; Carn Cloich-mhuilinn; Ben Wyvis

Photos: Alan Rowan

58 The Great Outdoors Spring 2019