Despite what the preachers tell you, it is possible to go to heaven before you die. The combination of an employer offering a generous exit package and a wife realising I might as well stay in the Highlands as constantly commute up and down the A9 allowed me to rent a cottage at Inchbae (between Garve and Glascarnoch) for six months. This enabled me to post 119 days on the hill in 2006, covering over 2200km and 130,000 metres of ascent. That this translated to a relatively modest 145 Marilyns is an indication that I turned my attention to Corbett Tops and ended the year with 137 left to do. These will continue as my prime objective in 2007.
Highlight of 2006 had to be the Corbett completion, with a round of the Rum Cuillin from Hallival to Ruinisval on a sunny July day. This was a counterpoint to many of the early walks. My arrival at Inchbae at the beginning of March heralded the onset of a late harsh winter in the far north. Very cold and lots of snow (fresh snow fell on 30 May). Winter notables were an enjoyable scramble on Stac Pollaidh; a thrilling but incredibly icy traverse of the Garbh Choireachan ridge of Ben Mor Coigach (16F); and fantastic fresh snow conditions on Binnein Shuas and Shios (4B). When it finally turned warmer I savoured superb camps in Knoydart, Glen Dessary, Glen Elchaig and of course on Rum. In Glen Dessary I had the company of a lizard that warmed itself on my saucepan lid for over half an hour.
It wasn't all Scotland. Although I avoided walking in England all year, I had eight enjoyable days in Wales including a round of Cwm Pennant (30B), wearing shorts at the end of October. Waun Fach (32A) has the most peculiar summit: a block of concrete (was it once a trig?) in the middle of a desperately eroded peat bog. These visits to Wales confirmed the extreme difficulty of parking near popular access points for the hills.
I was amazed how few people I met on the hill. The Munro boom has clearly not yet rippled out to Corbetts and Grahams. I did meet fellow Hall of Famers Richard Wood and Martin Collins in Strathconon, the morning after the Fort Augustus gathering. They'd attended, I hadn't. Inchbae also had the company of Steve Perry towards the end of his epic Munros-in-winter-without-transport expedition.
Notable observations:
I'm reluctant to nominate a 'worst walk' as I never consider a day on the hill to be a waste. There were moments staggering through peat hags trying to work out which of the endless bumps on the far horizon was the Corbett Top or Graham Top that was my particular objective (region 9 is by far the worst for this) that I wondered 'why exactly am I doing this?' Then again, if I had concentrated on Marilyns with their greater relative height...
