Mountaineering in Scotland

Munros, Corbetts and Grahams

In 1891 Sir Hugh Munro first tried to classify and count the number of mountains in Scotland over 3,000 feet (914m) high. His list, known as Munro's Tables, catalogued 538 summits from 283 mountains, which became known as The Munros. The number of qualifying mountains has been revised several times, but the current number from the Scottish Mountaineering Club, which was founded by Hugh Munro in 1889, is 284 Munros.

The Scottish Mountaineering Club continue to publish walking and climbing guides, such as The Munroist's Companion and The Munros. Other Munro guidebooks include Cicerone's Walking The Munros: Volume 1 and Luath's Ultimate Guide to the Monros - Volume 1: Southern Highlands, Volume 2: Central Highlands South and Volume 3: Central Highlands North.

Below the Munros lie the Corbetts, mountains ranging from 2,500 to 3,000 feet (762 to 914m), first catalogued by Englishman, John Rooke Corbett. The Corbetts are captured in Irvine Butterfield's photography book The Call of the Corbetts, while the Scottish Mountaineering Club have published a hillwalking guide, The Corbetts & Other Scottish Hills.

Finally, below the Corbetts are The Grahams, peaks over 2,000 feet. See hill-walker Andrew Dempster's guide The Grahams. In total, that's 720 Scottish peaks to be bagged.

Other mountain books:

• Scotland's Mountain Ridges by Dan Bailey
• Scottish Winter Climbs by Andrew Nisbet, Rab Anderson & Simon Richardson

Mountain Writing

Photography books featuring the munros include Irvine Butterfield's The Magic of the Munros and Alan Gordon's The Scottish Mountains. Chris Townsend's record-setting walk in the Scottish Highlands is recounted in his book The Munros And Tops. Chris was the first person to climb all the Munros and their related subsidiary tops.

Ian Mitchell's Scotland's Mountains Before the Mountaineers combines history, geology and geography in a study of Highland Scotland before it became a tourist and sports attraction.

Other mountain writing books:

• Mountaineering in Scotland by W.H. Murray
• A View from the Ridge by Ian R Mitchell and Dave Brown
• Scottish Hill Names by Peter Drummond

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  The Magic Of The Munros
  Irvine Butterfield - Paperback - David & Charles
  This is a unique photographic record of every Munro - a Scottish mountain over 3000 feet. Butterfield has selected the most evocative photographs to reveal the individual character of each one, with supporting vital statistics.
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  £12.99
  Mountaineering In Scotland: The Author's Two Scottish Mountaineering Classics Combined Into One Volume
  W. H. Murray - Paperback - Bâton Wicks
  Mountaineering in Scotland and Undiscovered Scotland are two of the most popular British climbing books. This is an omnibus edition of the two books, published a year after Murray's death.
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  £9.99
  Scotland's Mountains Before The Mountaineers
  Ian Mitchell - Paperback - Luath
  Ian Mitchell tells the story of explorations and ascents in the Scottish Highlands in the days before mountaineering became a popular sport - when Jacobites, bandits, poachers and illicit distillers traditionally used the mountains as sanctuary.
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  £16.00
  Scottish Hill Names: The Origin And Meaning Of The Names Of Scotland's Hills And Mountains
  Peter Drummond - Hardback - Scottish Mountaineering Trust
  This completely revised and expanded second edition makes use of the recent availability of the oldest comprehensive maps of Scotland - dating from the late 16th and mid-17th centuries - on the website of the National Library of Scotland. Some of the maps are reproduced here in colour.
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  £17.95
  The Scottish Mountains
  Alan Gordon - Hardback - Colin Baxter
  Scotland's mountain landscapes are among the most striking and fragile in northern Europe. This collection of panoramic photography captures the physical power of Scotland's mountains, and their ever-changing beauty.

The Cairngorms

Named after Cairn Gorm (the 'Blue Cairn'), the Cairngorms are the most extensive mountain range in Scotland. In 2003 the area became Scotland's second national park. Four of the five highest mountains in Scotland, Ben Macdhui, Cairn Gorm, Braeriach and Cairn Toul, are in the Cairngorms, and there are a number of guidebooks to the area.

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  The Cairngorms
  Chris Townsend - Paperback - Colin Baxter
  The extensive Cairngorm mountain area contains unique sub-Arctic plateaux and many of the country's highest mountains. The finest routes among them are described here in 12 walks over 13 Munros.
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  The Cairngorms
  Nick Williams - Paperback - Pocket Mountains
  The plateau that makes up much of the Cairngorms is defined by wild corries, long rivers and some of the highest mountains in Scotland. The 40 circular routes in this volume take in all of the Munros and many other great hills in and around this National Park.
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  £14.00
  The Cairngorms: Walks, Trails And Scrambles
  Ronald Turnbull - Paperback - Cicerone
  In over 50 walks, this guidebook explores the 23 Munro summits of the region and also the smaller viewpoint hills outside the main range.
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  £20.00
  The Nature Of The Cairngorms: Diversity In A Changing Environment
  - Hardback - TSO
  The Cairngorms are arguably the most significant area for nature conservatism in the British Isles. This work presents a review of the significance of the area's natural features. It assesses the nature of change, assessing the scale and consequences of climate change, deer management and recreation.
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  Seton Gordon's Cairngorms: An Anthology
  Seton Paul Gordon - Hardback - Whittles
  A skilfully selected collection of Seton Gordon's inimitable writings on his first love, the Cairngorms.

Ben Nevis

Scotland's highest mountain is, of course, Ben Nevis, and as the highest in the UK it attracts over 100,000 walkers a year. The mountain is 1,344 metres (4,409 ft) high, on the western edge of the Grampian mountains, and is owned by the John Muir Trust.

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  Ben Nevis: Britain's Highest Mountain
  Ken Crocket - Hardback - Scottish Mountaineering Trust
  Ben Nevis proposes a unique challenge to climbers, both in terms of height and adverse weather conditions. This book charts the history of human interaction with the mountain.
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  £8.49
  Ben Nevis & Glen Coe: Includes Fort William
  Alan Hall - Paperback - Pevensey
  This region provides a multiplicity of all-year round interests and activities, ranging from mountaineering, skiing, hillwalking, cycling, sailing, fishing, photography and history to shinty, whisky tasting and train spotting.
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  Ben Nevis & The Mamores
  Chris Townsend - Paperback - Colin Baxter
  Ben Nevis and its nearby mountains offer excellent walking opportunities in this internationally significant area. Here are 8 walks over 17 classic Munros.