Page 16 - 2020 AMA Winter

GUESTWRITER
This is certainly one of the highlights of starting early in the morning.
Throughout the day I encountered many deer, voles and frogs but not one other person – perfect escapism! The big river crossings, tussocks, bog and loose scree all added to the remote feel of the day and resulted in a wild and strenuous link-up! The thing I liked best about this round was that it forced me to find my own lines between summits and take routes up hills that were different from those in most guidebooks. The new ‘Glencoe Corbetts Round’ clocked-in at 59km with 5070m ascent.
But if this doesn’t seem epic enough for you, the new Kingshouse Round from John Fleetwood (completed this August) surely will! At 81km and 8230m, this loop covers most of the major peaks in the Black Mount, Glen Etive, and both sides of Glen Coe (details available via UK Hillwalking online). The route has all the hallmarks of a classic round, avoiding ‘out- and-backs’ and following natural lines. It also incorporates excellent scrambling over Curved Ridge, Dinnertime Buttress and the Aonach Eagach Ridge. It is fitting that such an epic journey should start and finish at the historic Kingshouse, which has offered refuge to travellers for over 200 years (but most importantly it means that you can get a pint at the end!)
If you like to slow it down and take your time in the mountains, then ultra-distance mountain rounds such as these make for excellent lightweight backpacking journeys (so-called ‘fast-packing) for anyone with the skills and an appetite for greater adventures.
SPEED ATTEMPTS IN
THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS
In July, Scottish climbers Ali Rose and Mark Chambers undertook a new round of all 6
classic rock climbs in the Cairngorms (as per Ken Wilson’s book ‘Classic Rock’). This stacks-up as a 62km day, with 28 pitches of climbing, taking them from Lochnagar through some spectacular terrain to their finish at Cairngorm ski car park - 17hrs and 28mins later. This challenge was matched only last month in the Lake District when Tom Randall broke the Classic Rock Round record there in a time of 12 hours 2 minutes 36 seconds. By comparison, the Lakeland round combines 54 miles of running between 15 multipitch Classic Rock routes, and includes 70 pitches of rock climbing in 4300m of ascent.
For some, the appeal of linking routes and mountains in this way is to see how quickly they can be done – and for this reason they often become fell running challenges in their own right. In July, Aviemore-based mountaineering instructor Ian Stewart linked all 58 Munros in the National Park for the first time – starting with Mount Keen and finishing on Cairngorm (supported in five days and 22 hours).
Other notable post-lockdown speed attempts (or Fastest Known Times/ FKTs) in the Scottish Highlands include new records for the Ramsay Round, Tranters Round, Tour of the Mamores and Lochaber Travers, Cairngorm 4000ers and the Munro Round (to name but a few). In the latter, Donnie Campbell used a bike and kayak to travel between all 282 Munros in a self-powered hill-climbing challenge lasting 31 days, 23 hours and two minutes!
HOW CAN WE TRAVEL MORE
QUICKLY IN THE MOUNTAINS?
Even as lockdown was about to set in this spring, local mountaineers Es Tresidder and Finlay Wild took advantage of good March weather and snow conditions to attempt a ski-mountaineering traverse of the Ramsay Round. This 92km classic (fell running route) has never been done on
skis, and the winter record for the traverse sits at 22hrs 23mins (Jim Mann, 2017). The pair were unsuccessful in 2020 but winter is coming and who knows what new successes it will bring in its wake...
BUT WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
The coronavirus pandemic has landed us in an era of uncertainty, where work, training and overseas travel all hang in the balance. But the scale of achievements in the highlands this summer reveals how walkers, runners and climbers have turned to the mountains for release; to express themselves, be inspired or raise the bar for future generations. Plotting your own link-ups and exploring different ways to travel through the hills opens up all kinds of new possibilities and helps give us back our sense of freedom - and it doesn’t need to be against the clock!
More than ever, the mountains have become our playground and we can still be pioneers.
BIO
Dr Keri Wallace is the Founder of Girls on Hills Ltd, Glencoe. She is an experienced mountaineer, summer and winter climber, and fell runner who holds Summer Mountain Leader and Rock Climbing Instructor awards. Through Girls on Hills Keri delivers navigation and mountain safety courses, as well as guided hill walking and trail running in the mountains of Lochaber. Keri was selected for the UK Skyrunning team in 2018 and won first V40 in the 2019 Glen Coe Skyline. She has a keen interest in long-distance mountain challenges in the UK, and authors expert editorial for UK Climbing, UK Hillwalking and BMC’s Summit magazine.
Looking out over Rannoch Mor from the top of Curved Ridge. This ridge was climbed in descent but is most commonly tackled in an upward direction
Keri and Ben Wallace celebrate completion of the 6 Ridges of Buachaille Etive Mor, standing on the summit of the Munro itself
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