Hikers from Inverness Mountaineering Club climb Ross-shire munro Ben Wyvis to celebrate life of Sir Hugh Munro
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HIKERS took to the slopes of a Ross-shire Munro recently to celebrate the life of the man who played a major role in Scottish mountaineering.
Inverness Mountaineering Club ascended Ben Wyvis to mark the 100th anniversary of the death of Sir Hugh Munro – the first person to accurately survey Scotland's highest mountains and whose name defines all mountains that rise more than 3000ft above sea level.
The publication of his Tables of Heights over 3000ft in 1891 proved a major mountaineering milestone of the time and provided a focal point around which Scottish mountaineering enjoyed increasing popularity.
To celebrate his achievement 12 hikers from the club carried out a special ascent of Ben Wyvis before meeting up with other members and guests in the evening at the Inchbae Lodge Hotel at the foot of the hill for a Sir Hugh Munro “Anniversary Wake” followed by an excellent bar supper.
Founded in 1950, the Inverness Mountaineering Club (IMC) numbers over a dozen mountain walkers among the current membership who have completed a full round of Munros, including at least one who has summited them all twice.
Club president, Robin Forrest, himself a Munro compleatist, said: “We chose Ben Wyvis as the hill is held in great affection by all those who live in the Easter Ross, Black Isle and Inverness areas.
"It is a constant backdrop to our everyday lives, being the dominant feature of the Inner Moray Firth landscape for many miles around. The Ben is unique among Munros as being the only high mountain that stands on the east coast, and though not, as was once thought, the highest mountain in Ross-shire, is still impressive in scale, with no less than four 3000ft tops spread out along the length of its five mile long summit ridge.”
Although the group enjoyed their hike up Ben Wyvis, the weather did not co-operate and, with high winds gusting to in excess of 40mph – sending clouds of spindrift racing over the flanks of the hill – the party was forced to turn back before reaching the summit.
A special guest on the day was Dingwall resident and Munro compleatist Dave Broadhead of the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC), who for 11 years up until the end of 2018 was the SMC’s Clerk of the Munro List, maintaining the official record of all those who have climbed all the Munro summits.
The first written record of an ascent of Ben Wyvis was by botanist James Robertson in 1767, who remarked in his account on the “considerable depth of snow” underfoot, even though his ascent took place in June.
Another special guest on the day, was Richard Hartland, President of the IMC’s sister organisation, the Highland Hillwalking Club. Unfortunately Richard, although having enjoyed his day on the hill despite the weather, missed out on his dinner as, being a member of the Kintail Mountain Rescue Team, he was summoned to attend an emergency call out elsewhere just five minutes before it was about to be served!
