My interest in Marilyns began... after completing the Munros and then the Corbetts. I started on the Grahams in earnest last year. After several instances of thinking along the lines of 'wouldn't it have been good to have done that hill while I was next to it, rather than having to traverse 20km of moorland to get back to it again', it dawned on me that it would be much more sensible to start bagging all the Marilyns now and not just the Grahams. Also, with two young children, it is nice to have some smaller hills closer to home to aim for again.
My favourite Marilyns are... the Lake District hills. They will always be favourites of mine and completing the Wainwrights with my dad gave my bagging career an early start. However, the classic Munros of north-west Scotland that require a good scramble to reach the summit are top of my list, such as Liathach, An Teallach and Sgurr nan Gillean.
My least favourite Marilyns are... any that involve a short trespass from a nearby road.
Do I keep Marilyn bagging a secret? No I came out a long time ago. Most of my friends are almost as bad as me, anyway.
I... whilst at university in America, with a friend, decided that it would be a good idea to spend the weekend climbing Mt. Katahdin in Maine. This involved driving 1300 miles across a fair chunk of the country, five hours to dash up and down the hill, and then driving straight back home again. We did at least make it back in time for Monday morning lectures, and ticked off a good P1000 peak.
