Easiest Munros

The message <[email hidden]>
from Bernard Hill <[email hidden]> contains these words:

Quoted message said:

On the West Side, Braeriach is over 6 miles from the car park, with a
there-and-back climbing total of 4300 ft.

Quoted message said:

(That's always put me off Braeriach)

Quoted message said:

Or do you know a better place to leave the car?

Oh, do Breariach from Glenfeshie - leave the car at Achlean, and if you
are canny, have the lady in your life pick you up at the Sugar Loaf car
park at the end of the day, but otherwise, just return to Achlean.
Fabulous views, and damn' few people about!

Richard

Bernard Hill said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>Cairngorm Plateau on both sides of Lairig Ghru - hard getting up but easy
>walking on the top

and distance is not under 8 miles...

Depends where you start from

Hm. The nearest Munro on the East side is Ben Macdui, and I make that
just under 5 miles from the Ski centre car park, one way.

On the West Side, Braeriach is over 6 miles from the car park, with a
there-and-back climbing total of 4300 ft.

You seem to know all the distances, ascents and routes already!

Judith

Peter Clinch said:

Chris Gilbert said:

Bernard Hill wrote

Quoted message said:

a) shortish distance, say under 8 miles total

The Cairnwell

Quoted message said:

b) lowest ascent from the car

The Cairnwell

Quoted message said:

c) good paths, ie minimal wild walking

Probably Ben Lomond

Quoted message said:

d) extra points for more than one in a trip

The three around The Carinwell :-D

But The Cairnwell has a bloody great big comms tower on it and scruffy
ski paraphenalia scattered about :-(

Quoted message said:

Pretty much, though I'd say that Carn Aosda is the slightly more
benign one.

If all you want is to pocket a Munro, Carn Aosda, but I'd expand
horizons to just include good hills.

If it has to be a Munro then Schiehallion on a good day has to be the
one.

A good place to start mountain bagging with a view to quality hills is
Ralph Storer's 100 Best Scottish Mountain Routes
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0751518905
--
Phil Cook, last hill: Angletarn Pikes via Beda Fell.
http://www.p-t-cook.freeserve.co.uk/May07/martin9.htm

Jim Ford said:

Phil Cook said:

Most remote? A Mhaighdean, Seana Bhraigh, Ben Avon and Beinn
Mheadhoin. This last one also requires a scramble to reach the highest
point.

As does Ben Avon.

So you've spotted the one on that list I haven't done then. :-)
--
Phil Cook, last hill: Angletarn Pikes via Beda Fell.
http://www.p-t-cook.freeserve.co.uk/May07/martin9.htm

Phil Cook wrote

Quoted message said:

But The Cairnwell has a bloody great big comms tower on it and scruffy
ski paraphenalia scattered about :-(

'Pretty' wasn't in the specification :-D

Chris

Bernard Hill wrote

Quoted message said:

Ah, but I meant all 3 criteria together. And I was hoping for a longer
list...

OK. How about ...

Ben Vorlich (Loch Earn)
Schehallion
Carn Aosda
A'Chrailich (Shiel)
Ben Wyvis
Ben Lomond
Quinag
Meall Nan Tarmachan
Meall A choire Leith (Lawers)
The first one on Ban A'Glo, whose name eludes me at present

Quoted message said:

214Fells said:

Quoted message said:

>OK. Which Munros are the simplest?

Quoted message said:

What about the reverse? Inn Pin exlcuded, which are the hardest, most
remote!

This would have been a good thread on its own. I agree with Phil below, but
would find it hard to say which was the second hardest peak to climb.
Perhaps Sgurr Alasdair or Sgurr nan Gillean - the former would be if it
wasn't for the stone shoot which is so bad these days it might still be!

Phil Cook said:

Hardest? Most of the ones on Skye. Most of the other "difficult" ones
have easy approaches that enable them to be picked off piecemeal. Even
on Skye all but a few can be got at without /serious/ scrambles but if
you are going to do that 3000 plus feet of ascent you may as well try
to string a few together. I need to practice my scrambling a bit
and/or find a guide before I go there.

If you can get a week of good weather it's possible to get reasonably
accustomed to the harder stuff by the end of the week and make a decent go
of the ridge in two days avoiding most of the climbing. This means doing
Alasdair without using the stone chute, possibly making it the hardest peak
in the UK, Inn Pin excepted.

Graham

In message <[email hidden]>, Judith
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Bernard Hill said:

Quoted message said:

>>Cairngorm Plateau on both sides of Lairig Ghru - hard getting up but easy
>>walking on the top
>
> and distance is not under 8 miles...

Depends where you start from

Hm. The nearest Munro on the East side is Ben Macdui, and I make that
just under 5 miles from the Ski centre car park, one way.

On the West Side, Braeriach is over 6 miles from the car park, with a
there-and-back climbing total of 4300 ft.

You seem to know all the distances, ascents and routes already!

Judith

There are 283 easy ones and the other one just needs a bit of nerve and
a friend with a rope.

--
Martin Richardson
664/1554 Marilyns - aiming for 777 71/118 New Donalds - only 40% to go
88/211 Irish Hewitts - 123, it's easy 42/220 Corbetts - only 81% to go

Chris Gilbert said:

Bernard Hill wrote

Quoted message said:

Ah, but I meant all 3 criteria together. And I was hoping for a longer
list...

OK. How about ...

Ben Vorlich (Loch Earn)
Schehallion
Carn Aosda
A'Chrailich (Shiel)
Ben Wyvis
Ben Lomond
Quinag
Meall Nan Tarmachan
Meall A choire Leith (Lawers)
The first one on Ban A'Glo, whose name eludes me at present

Beinn a Ghlo - Carn Liath. Easy unless there is a gale blowing. :-(
http://www.p-t-cook.freeserve.co.uk/misc/stable.htm
--
Phil Cook, last hill: Angletarn Pikes via Beda Fell.
http://www.p-t-cook.freeserve.co.uk/May07/martin9.htm

Bernard Hill said:

Scenario:

An older person, possibly retired, dodgy knees. Has boots.
Can read maps
Money no problem within reason: maps, poles, rucksack for instance.
Fancies trying the had at this Munro thing.
No intent to compleat them all, so can cherry-pick.

(not me!)

No, of course not.

Quoted message said:

OK. Which Munros are the simplest?

So you, I mean your friend, wants to climb simple Munros eh?

Quoted message said:

a) shortish distance, say under 8 miles total
b) lowest ascent from the car
c) good paths, ie minimal wild walking

Have you considered a helicopter? Sounds like you'd prefer to avoid the
hassle of hill walking altogether! ;-)

Quoted message said:

d) extra points for more than one in a trip

So what are your recommendations for first 10, or even 20?

Call me biased, but why not visit Wales instead? Most summits in Wales
probably fit your criteria. Why limit yourself to 10, you could do almost
the whole lot! And the others wouldn't be very hard.

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/weblog/

Peter Clinch said:

My
point being you can have a much better day than by limiting
yourself to easy Munros.

Indeed. The third highest summit in the Brecon Beacons is Waun Fach (Small
Bog).

Nuff said. Height isn't everything.

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/weblog/

Phil Cook said:

A good place to start mountain bagging with a view to quality hills is
Ralph Storer's 100 Best Scottish Mountain Routes
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0751518905

There wouldn't be a simple list of those routes on the net somewhere, would
there?

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/weblog/

Martin Richardson said:

There are 283 easy ones and the other one just needs a bit of nerve
and a friend with a rope.

Nice one Martin! That's the beauty of the British hills. Almost anyone can
climb almost all of them.

It's not like we have any real mountains here! ;-)

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/weblog/

Paul Saunders said:

Phil Cook said:

A good place to start mountain bagging with a view to quality hills is
Ralph Storer's 100 Best Scottish Mountain Routes
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0751518905

There wouldn't be a simple list of those routes on the net somewhere, would
there?

It should be on the Amazon site but the "Search Inside" feature seems
to be borked for that book.
--
Phil Cook, last hill: Angletarn Pikes via Beda Fell.
http://www.p-t-cook.freeserve.co.uk/May07/martin9.htm

In message <[email hidden]>, Paul Saunders
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Martin Richardson said:

There are 283 easy ones and the other one just needs a bit of nerve
and a friend with a rope.

Nice one Martin! That's the beauty of the British hills. Almost anyone can
climb almost all of them.

It's not like we have any real mountains here! ;-)

You are so right - Scotland is a bit like walking in Lincolnshire
--
Martin Richardson
664/1554 Marilyns - aiming for 777 71/118 New Donalds - only 40% to go
88/211 Irish Hewitts - 123, it's easy 42/220 Corbetts - only 81% to go

Phil Cook wrote

Quoted message said:

Beinn a Ghlo - Carn Liath

That's the doobie. Nice hill.

Chris

Phil Cook said:

If it has to be a Munro then Schiehallion on a good day has to be the
one.

I tried to get my parents up that one, but at the start of the ridge
my dad realised that he'd left his glasses on the rock table and
stools, so we had to go back down. I don't think they would have made
it anyway.

Martin Richardson said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

There are 283 easy ones and the other one just needs a bit of nerve
and a friend with a rope.

Nice one Martin! That's the beauty of the British hills. Almost
anyone can climb almost all of them.

It's not like we have any real mountains here! ;-)

You are so right - Scotland is a bit like walking in Lincolnshire

Quite. Fractionally harder of course, but only a minimal difference.
Compared to mountains in a world sense we're really fortunate to live in
such a flat country.

In a critical sense, our mountains seem to end where real mountains begin
(at the border between what's possible for the majority and what isn't).

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk/weblog/

In article <[email hidden]>, Phil Cook
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

If it has to be a Munro then Schiehallion on a good day has to be the
one.

Well it's a good one. But for ease I'd rather go for Geal Charn in the
Drumochter pass. Under 500m ascent, 2 miles each way, a great view on
both sides: the A9 gains visibility as you climb and then that great
view over Loch Ericht, Ben Alder and the two lochans as you look over
the top.
--
Bernard Hill
Selkirk, Scotland

In article <[email hidden]>, Judith
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Bernard Hill said:

Quoted message said:

>>Cairngorm Plateau on both sides of Lairig Ghru - hard getting up but easy
>>walking on the top
>
> and distance is not under 8 miles...

Depends where you start from

Hm. The nearest Munro on the East side is Ben Macdui, and I make that
just under 5 miles from the Ski centre car park, one way.

On the West Side, Braeriach is over 6 miles from the car park, with a
there-and-back climbing total of 4300 ft.

You seem to know all the distances, ascents and routes already!

Not really. I know a few, and the aim was to add a few. But it's
wonderful what a map will do in checking new suggestions. :-)

--
Bernard Hill
Selkirk, Scotland