As with most recent years, 1999 was relatively quiet in terms of climbing new relative hills. My total nudged up by 53 to 704, starting with Whitfell on the last day of February and ending with Lowick High Common (both 34D) as an avoid-the-kitchen hill for Christmas morning. Both were extremely blowy, the year's windiest walks - although Meall Lochan a'Chleirich (13A) with its tussock-hidden, ankle-wrenching holes was pretty wild, too.
Small hills are good hills is a mantra known to most Marilyn folk, and 1999 again bore this out for me. I climbed only five new English Hewitts, three new Corbetts and six new Grahams (overall Grahams included 41 Ben Cleuchs), yet didn't feel at all underfulfilled by 74% of my new Marilyns being sub-610m. Occasional pangs for something bigger saw me head off for repeat Murdos or Corbetts, but generally I was content to potter wherever mood and circumstance suggested, which is surely how it should be.
A rate of one new hill per week kept me happy, but I was a binge eater: 12 of the new things came in a very wet June week near Poolewe and a further 13 during a perfect October holiday on Skye (when St Kilda was seen from Trotternish). Rob Woodall's very enjoyable 1000-up Cairnkinna jaunt is lumped in with that Skye subtotal, as it came next day after a mad dash Dumfriesshirewards. My own 700 was reached on Brown Muir (9A) near Elgin, home to perhaps the oddest of all trigs.
Tradition demands that each year includes one abortive attempt on a small hill, and 1999's bag noir was the notorious Hutton Roof Crags (34D). Foolishly, we thought that a road rising to within 82m and just over 1km of the summit would give an easy route - yet two hours later, after trying to navigate around, through, under and over the limestone clints and tangled briars, we gave up and ducked out to Hutton Roof village (itself non-trivial from where we ended up). Even my fondness for foliage was wearing thin by the end, although the afterglow felt good: there can be few British hills with an 'interior' offering such roll-your-sleeves-up exploration. Next time however we'll receive a little wisdom and try it from the south side.
Easiest was Burgiehill (9A), a rival to Mount Eagle (although the latter ought not be taken lightly: the 1993 SMC Journal records an accident here). Cruachan Charna (18C), as other HoFmen and women will confirm, was a great day: perfect weather, good company, a tricky-to-visit island and the odd pleasure that accompanies any sub-200m Marilyn. This was my lowest to date, ousting Billinge Hill. Ben Laga and Meall nan Each (18A) followed immediately (when in Rome, roam), and the evening stroll up Cruim Leacainn (4A) with Eddie Dealtry gave one of the year's most contented hours.
Resolutions for 2000? To camp and bivvy more than of late, and certainly to start work on Wales: it would seem wrong to reach halfway with two zeroes in the national breakdown bracket. An April visit looks likely (at least in principality). And away from the logical lists, I really should climb a new Munro sometime: since reaching 240 on Slioch in October 1992 I've added only Beinn nan Aighenan in June 1996, which is taking slow progress to rather an extreme. That's what starting a hillzine does, I guess: you become bogged down in letterwriting rather than bagging up in Letterewe. Not that I'm complaining, though.
Largo Law (26)
