EP 19: "Bagging Munros" with Garry Stevenson from Being Scottish

[00:00:00] This is 63 Percent Scottish, a Scotland Appreciation Podcast.

[00:00:07] Welcome to 63 Percent Scottish. My name is Eamon OFlynn and I am your host. One thing that defines the Scottish people is a real independent streak. No, I don't mean political independence, which is definitely of interest to many across the country, but in other ways too. The Scots have their own languages and cuisine, haggis anyone, and celebrate history from their own unique perspective.

[00:00:29] Does it surprise anyone that they would have their own unique name for mountains? Munros are Scottish mountains with a height over 3000 feet. The best known Munro is Bednevis, which at 4,411 feet is the highest mountain in the British Isles.

[00:00:42] But there are, amazingly, considering Scotland's size, 282 peaks that meet the qualification.

[00:00:49] In addition, there are another 226 Munro tops, which are lesser peaks of larger nearby mountains. For context, there are just 25 mountains that meet the Munro qualification in all of New England. None of Ontario's mountains would qualify as a Munro.

[00:01:05] They're named for Sir Hugh Munro, spelled M-U-N-R-O, because he was the first person to make a list of these types of mountains way back in 1891. The modern list is maintained by the Scottish Mountaineering Club.

[00:01:17] If you create a list of challenging peaks, you're going to get people trying to conquer the mall. In fact, the Munro list is considered the starting point of the concept of peak bagging.

[00:01:26] It was a unique concept at the time, but now you'll find similar lists in just about every country.

[00:01:32] In Scotland's case, it's called Munro bagging, and as of the start of 2024, about 7,650 people had reported climbing the mall.

[00:01:40] Some people have, ludicrously, set out to reach all 282 summits continuously on a single trip, starting with Hamish Brown in 1974.

[00:01:49] It took him nearly four months to cover 1,639 miles, or 2,638 kilometers for Canadian listeners.

[00:01:59] Ultra runner Jamie Ahrens completed the full 282 peaks in just 31 days in 2023.

[00:02:08] Today's guest is not an ultra runner, I don't think.

[00:02:12] Those of you who listened to our season one of 63% Scottish will recognize Gary Stevenson as the man behind the Being Scottish brand.

[00:02:21] You'll find his content all over Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and some sweet merch on his website.

[00:02:27] In his free time, he bags Munro's and he's here to tell us about it.

[00:02:31] Welcome back to the show, Gary.

[00:02:33] Thank you. Nice to be here.

[00:02:35] It's nice to have you back.

[00:02:38] It did blow me away when I said, you know, how many of the places around me would qualify as a Munro?

[00:02:47] And you have a province as big as Ontario and there's not a single one.

[00:02:51] Wow.

[00:02:52] Not a one.

[00:02:53] I sometimes feel that people maybe think that other Munro's aren't that challenging because they're quite small in comparison to the larger peaks.

[00:03:04] Yeah.

[00:03:04] Like around the world.

[00:03:06] I think a lot of people make a mistake, I think, in that sometimes.

[00:03:10] Mm-hmm.

[00:03:11] But yeah, they're pretty substantial.

[00:03:15] You know, like they're big.

[00:03:17] For very large population centers in North America, at least, they'd be the biggest things.

[00:03:22] Any one of them would be basically the biggest thing around, right?

[00:03:25] All right.

[00:03:27] Since we last spoke, though, I think we should start with this.

[00:03:30] Scotland played in the Euro 2024 tournament and you were on hand in Germany to watch.

[00:03:35] How was that experience?

[00:03:38] It was great.

[00:03:40] I mean, we actually, we did it the hard way.

[00:03:43] We drove in a converted transit van.

[00:03:48] So we left from Glasgow's East End and drove to Munich.

[00:03:55] And it took in like a ferry trip from Dover to Calais in France and an overnight drive through the whole, the entire country of Belgium.

[00:04:07] So it was pretty, pretty interesting.

[00:04:12] Yeah, it was great fun.

[00:04:14] I'll certainly not forget it.

[00:04:17] Yeah.

[00:04:18] And are you happy?

[00:04:19] I need a holiday after it to get over it.

[00:04:22] Yeah, yeah.

[00:04:24] Are you happy with how Scotland performed?

[00:04:27] Well, no.

[00:04:29] Not really.

[00:04:30] I mean, we were pretty poor, but I'm used to it.

[00:04:34] I mean, I'm kind of hardened.

[00:04:36] I've been watching them for that long that nothing really surprises me.

[00:04:40] I can remember being quite upset when I was a wee boy watching Scotland.

[00:04:43] Like, they'd always put on these, you know, really sad montages with ballad music.

[00:04:51] The fans crying and us missing shots and all that.

[00:04:54] And I'd get upset as well.

[00:04:55] But now I'm just kind of, I think I'm a bit hardened to it.

[00:04:58] I'm just like, I'm so used to it.

[00:05:00] I'm so used to it.

[00:05:01] I mean, the annoying thing about this one is that we've actually got quite a good squad of players.

[00:05:07] And we beat the eventual winners.

[00:05:10] The last time they lost a competitive game was the year before against us.

[00:05:15] And we're kind of flying high for a few months.

[00:05:19] But it doesn't last long with Scotland, you know.

[00:05:23] No.

[00:05:24] For anyone listening at home who doesn't know, they lost.

[00:05:26] It's four games, right?

[00:05:27] They lost four.

[00:05:28] No, we played three games.

[00:05:31] Three games.

[00:05:32] We got scalped in the first game of Germany.

[00:05:35] The hosts 5-1.

[00:05:37] And then we drew the next game.

[00:05:40] That's kind of the standard formula with Scotland.

[00:05:42] Like, they give you a bit of hope.

[00:05:44] You think, this is it.

[00:05:46] Before they kind of tear your dreams into shreds.

[00:05:50] You know what I mean?

[00:05:50] Like, they did.

[00:05:51] And we usually go out in, like, the most heartbreaking way.

[00:05:55] Like, so this time in the third game, we were denied what I thought was a clear penalty.

[00:06:03] And then they ran up the other side of the pitch and scored.

[00:06:06] And that was it.

[00:06:07] It was like, bye-bye.

[00:06:10] Off we go.

[00:06:11] We actually, our plan was, we were meant to stay the night that night.

[00:06:18] But we just actually drove straight home, like, after the game.

[00:06:22] Through the night.

[00:06:23] Just, see you later.

[00:06:25] We're out of here.

[00:06:26] I'm done.

[00:06:26] I'm done with this.

[00:06:27] I am done.

[00:06:31] I've had enough to drink.

[00:06:35] I've had enough of the football.

[00:06:37] It was home time.

[00:06:39] I was missing my bed.

[00:06:41] I did have someone on here who said they did feel okay by the very end.

[00:06:47] Because England lost.

[00:06:49] Yeah, but they took a while, didn't they?

[00:06:51] They took too long to lose.

[00:06:53] That was the final they lost in.

[00:06:55] Yeah.

[00:06:56] So, it's fine.

[00:06:58] Like I say, I'm used to disappointment.

[00:07:01] And the kind of ironic thing was, like, Georgia had never played in a tournament.

[00:07:06] And they got through to the second round.

[00:07:08] It's like their first appearance.

[00:07:09] And we've had like nine or ten appearances.

[00:07:13] And finals have never got past the first round.

[00:07:16] And we're all football daft as well.

[00:07:18] It's madness.

[00:07:20] Oh, well.

[00:07:21] Yeah.

[00:07:22] One day.

[00:07:23] Better luck next time.

[00:07:24] Yeah, exactly.

[00:07:26] Okay, let's talk about Monroe's.

[00:07:28] So, when did you first climb one?

[00:07:33] Well, it's quite interesting.

[00:07:34] I was on holiday with a big group of us on holiday.

[00:07:39] It was like families and kids and stuff.

[00:07:43] And I was talking to my friend who goes hill climbing.

[00:07:48] And he was like, do you want to do one?

[00:07:49] And I was just like, yeah.

[00:07:52] That sounds quite interesting.

[00:07:53] Because it kind of came at the right time for me.

[00:07:55] Because I was in my, I just turned 40, I think.

[00:08:00] And I used to play football every week.

[00:08:02] And my knees and my hip was getting a bit sore.

[00:08:06] And I was just getting, I think I just stopped playing.

[00:08:08] And I was looking for something to plug the gap.

[00:08:12] So, he suggested, why don't you do Ben Lomond?

[00:08:15] Which is, it's quite a famous hill.

[00:08:17] But it's also one of the easier Monroe's.

[00:08:23] And so, I did that with him.

[00:08:24] That was in August 2018.

[00:08:29] And it was, the weather was pretty challenging, to be honest.

[00:08:34] It was like, because he was constantly asking, you all right?

[00:08:37] You all right?

[00:08:38] He was constantly asking me because the weather was so bad.

[00:08:43] But the thing about Ben Lomond is it's so popular that,

[00:08:47] I think there was a guy up who was doing it who had like,

[00:08:50] he was doing it for charity and he had no legs.

[00:08:52] And he was using crutches and stuff.

[00:08:54] And when you see people doing that, you just think, well,

[00:08:57] if they're doing it for a good cause, what am I going to grumble about?

[00:09:02] Do you know what I mean?

[00:09:05] So, it's kind of one of those four seasons in one day things that you get in Scotland.

[00:09:11] And he took me down the back way because he said it was challenging that way.

[00:09:15] You can kind of go up the front way of Ben Lomond and come back the way you came.

[00:09:19] Or you can make it like a circuit and go down the back way and go through a forest.

[00:09:23] And it's quite a nice, it's a nicer walk, actually.

[00:09:26] And I did that.

[00:09:27] And he was like, well, if you can do it in that weather, then you can do it again.

[00:09:31] I was like, yeah, yeah, why do it again?

[00:09:33] And that was kind of how it started.

[00:09:36] And I also wanted to see more of Scotland as well.

[00:09:40] And it's a great way to explore the highlands of Scotland.

[00:09:44] Because I didn't do that enough before I did the Monroes.

[00:09:48] I wasn't doing that enough.

[00:09:49] So, that's really helped in that respect.

[00:09:54] How many have you done so far?

[00:09:57] I've done 96.

[00:10:00] That's crazy.

[00:10:02] That's only six years ago or so.

[00:10:04] Yeah.

[00:10:05] That's a lot.

[00:10:06] No, I mean, you may think that's crazy, but you get guys like...

[00:10:09] I mean, I follow a lot of people on Instagram who climb them.

[00:10:12] You get people who can do a full circuit in three, four years because they're so driven.

[00:10:18] Yeah.

[00:10:19] Well, I mean, obviously, you've got that guy who did it in 30 days, which doesn't sound...

[00:10:23] Yeah, it looks like that.

[00:10:24] I mean, it doesn't sound possible.

[00:10:26] I know.

[00:10:27] How can you do 282 of anything in 30 days?

[00:10:31] Like...

[00:10:32] I don't know.

[00:10:33] Honestly.

[00:10:33] It's crazy.

[00:10:35] Mm-hmm.

[00:10:35] So...

[00:10:36] No, I think...

[00:10:38] I think he may be an alien of some sort.

[00:10:40] I don't know how he managed that.

[00:10:41] Yeah.

[00:10:42] I don't...

[00:10:43] Yeah.

[00:10:43] I don't get it.

[00:10:45] Um...

[00:10:45] So, I am familiar with some of the names of the mountains, but I have no idea what they're

[00:10:49] actually like.

[00:10:50] What are they like?

[00:10:51] Like, what is the condition like?

[00:10:53] Or are they all just different?

[00:10:55] Every single experience has been different.

[00:10:57] Yeah.

[00:10:58] That's that...

[00:10:58] Yeah.

[00:10:59] I mean, what...

[00:11:00] In my experience, on a sunny day, when there's no wind, a lot of them can be done...

[00:11:08] If you've got a reasonable amount of fitness, you could do them.

[00:11:13] Mm-hmm.

[00:11:14] What makes them in row challenging is when the weather comes in.

[00:11:19] Obviously, there's some that have harder terrain than others, and they're kind of notorious

[00:11:24] for being difficult.

[00:11:25] And you kind of learn.

[00:11:27] And you start doing them, and you're looking around Scotland at your map.

[00:11:31] Well, I've got this map.

[00:11:34] It's like a...

[00:11:36] It's a large map, and you can scratch off the ones you've done.

[00:11:39] It's got all 282 on it.

[00:11:41] And you can scratch off the ones you've done.

[00:11:42] And I use that.

[00:11:43] So, I'll look at that and see ones that are close to me.

[00:11:47] And I'll work out what ones I'm doing from that.

[00:11:50] But in terms of the terrain, it's...

[00:11:52] Some of them have got paths.

[00:11:54] Some of them don't have paths.

[00:11:55] Some are like, you're walking through grass and heather.

[00:11:59] They are...

[00:12:00] No two are the same.

[00:12:01] They've all got their own personality, I think.

[00:12:04] And I can get...

[00:12:05] It's weird.

[00:12:05] I can remember.

[00:12:06] Like, every trip I've done, I can remember, like, and give people advice about the one

[00:12:11] I've done.

[00:12:11] It's not...

[00:12:12] Because my friend said to me, after you get to 100, they'll start to blend into each

[00:12:16] other, and you'll forget.

[00:12:17] And I was like, well, it's not happened yet.

[00:12:20] You know?

[00:12:20] I seem to remember them.

[00:12:23] So...

[00:12:23] That's...

[00:12:23] Yeah.

[00:12:25] Plus, I always stick them...

[00:12:27] I always kind of...

[00:12:28] Before I do them, I'll go on Instagram and I'll stick in...

[00:12:31] I'll look for the location and I'll do a wee bit of research as well to see what the current

[00:12:36] conditions are in, particularly in winter.

[00:12:39] Yeah.

[00:12:39] Because I'm not an experienced winter climber yet.

[00:12:42] I have done some in the snow, but I wouldn't deliberately search for snow.

[00:12:47] Like, some people go out to get the crampons on and the ice axe and all that, and that's

[00:12:54] not me yet.

[00:12:55] Yeah.

[00:12:56] It might be one day.

[00:12:58] We'll get there.

[00:12:59] Yeah.

[00:13:00] Yeah.

[00:13:01] You're building up to that.

[00:13:03] I mean, the thing is...

[00:13:04] I mean, you think 96 is quite a lot in that time, but you can have days where you do four

[00:13:10] at a time.

[00:13:12] Yeah.

[00:13:12] After that day when I've done six, and you can have a day where you've done one, and that

[00:13:18] can be more challenging than the sixth day because of the terrain and the conditions.

[00:13:24] You know, it just depends.

[00:13:26] Yeah.

[00:13:27] I was trying to figure that out.

[00:13:29] I know you were saying, like, one of the questions there was, are these full day things

[00:13:33] or a couple of hours?

[00:13:34] I was trying to gauge how long this would take for a given peak.

[00:13:40] Yeah.

[00:13:40] Well, I mean, it can take anything from four hours to up to 11 hours.

[00:13:47] There's some that are so remote that you need to kind of camp to get to them or at least have

[00:13:53] a bike.

[00:13:54] Yeah.

[00:13:57] But, like, some of the easier ones can take four or five hours, and you can do two in

[00:14:02] that time.

[00:14:03] Yeah.

[00:14:04] But you've also got to factor in the time it takes to get there.

[00:14:08] So I'm based in the central belt.

[00:14:10] So I can, for my first 100, I could probably get to most of them within two, two and a half

[00:14:16] hours.

[00:14:17] But obviously, the more you do, the further you need to travel.

[00:14:20] We maybe need to camp or stay somewhere.

[00:14:24] But that's because that's what you need to factor in.

[00:14:27] Already, I've started having to travel two and a half hours to get to some of them.

[00:14:32] And the odd one I've done by myself, and I just put an audio book on and just listen

[00:14:36] to that and drive up.

[00:14:38] And it's fine.

[00:14:39] It's just like being with someone.

[00:14:41] Yeah.

[00:14:42] It's something you mentioned just a minute ago.

[00:14:44] Like, one of the things I was trying to do was think about how long it would take

[00:14:48] to go up there.

[00:14:48] And I think the tallest or the highest thing that I've climbed, which is nowhere close to

[00:14:54] it, it would not meet the qualification of a Monroe, is Crow Patrick in Ireland, which

[00:15:00] are on their west coast.

[00:15:01] And I remember, I think it took like two and a half hours or something like that.

[00:15:04] But it had that kind of feeling of all of the seasons in two and a half hours.

[00:15:12] It was very cold at the top.

[00:15:14] Is that up and down two and a half hours?

[00:15:16] Yeah.

[00:15:18] Yeah.

[00:15:18] I think it was about two and a half, maybe three hours if you're up and down.

[00:15:22] Okay.

[00:15:23] And so I'm like walking up.

[00:15:24] I'm like, this is kind of tough.

[00:15:25] This is halfway up.

[00:15:26] It becomes just like loose rock that you're just kind of scrambling up a lot of it.

[00:15:31] And I was like, this is really tough.

[00:15:32] And then I was talking to someone and they were like, yeah, the local rugby team runs up

[00:15:35] and down it a couple of times for their workouts.

[00:15:38] And I was like, oh, okay, well, if they can do that, I probably shouldn't be complaining

[00:15:42] as much.

[00:15:43] Yeah.

[00:15:44] I was doing one in snow in January or February.

[00:15:47] I can't remember when it was.

[00:15:48] In fact, it might even have been March because we get it right up till April in the hills

[00:15:52] here.

[00:15:55] And we were doing one.

[00:15:56] It was really, really tough.

[00:15:57] It was three Monroes and it took us about nine and a half hours.

[00:16:00] And I didn't underestimate how much snow would be at the top.

[00:16:04] But whilst we were kind of struggling, the wind was blowing.

[00:16:07] People ran past us in the snow.

[00:16:09] It was like, you know, it was a top job.

[00:16:12] And like they were going, they were like wee specks in the distance within 15 minutes.

[00:16:18] And I was just like, oh, I wish I could do that.

[00:16:21] Yeah.

[00:16:22] That's something else entirely.

[00:16:26] Okay.

[00:16:26] Okay.

[00:16:27] What's the most challenging, Monroe, you've climbed?

[00:16:30] What's the most challenging experience you've had?

[00:16:35] The most challenging experience.

[00:16:39] See, that's kind of what I was trying to get at with the weather is what is challenging

[00:16:45] for my day could have been really simple for someone else.

[00:16:51] That's a good point.

[00:16:52] For example, like we did, we did a hill called Bidyan Nambien in Glencoe, which is, it's two

[00:17:03] Monroes.

[00:17:04] And it's, it's beautiful.

[00:17:07] Glencoe is beautiful.

[00:17:08] And the scenery is beautiful.

[00:17:09] When you're up in the ridge, you can see down a place called the Lost Valley, which is just,

[00:17:13] it's got a stunning view.

[00:17:16] But there's this set that to get down there, there's a really, there's a really steep bit

[00:17:21] with, with like, you need to watch every single step you take.

[00:17:25] And it's, I think you call it loose rock.

[00:17:27] We call it scree.

[00:17:27] Do you use the word scree in Canada?

[00:17:29] No.

[00:17:30] Oh, I haven't heard it, but maybe if I climbed more mountains, I would.

[00:17:33] It might be a Scottish one.

[00:17:34] I don't know.

[00:17:35] S-D-R-E-E.

[00:17:37] Scree.

[00:17:37] I mean, it's all over our hills.

[00:17:39] Like, it's just wee loose pebbles that are very easy to slip on.

[00:17:42] Because before, before I'd done it, like the week or two before I'd done it, there'd been

[00:17:45] a fatality in Bidyan Nambien.

[00:17:47] And I've had, I've noticed there has been a few.

[00:17:51] And I always get that in the back of my head when I'm doing it, like, to really take my

[00:17:55] time doing that.

[00:17:56] I mean, but on that particular day, the worst thing that happened to us was near the end,

[00:18:03] we, we, I think we got a bit cocky with, because I've always got a map.

[00:18:07] And I've always got it on my phone.

[00:18:10] So I rarely look at the physical map, because the phone usually suffices.

[00:18:14] So I was looking at my phone.

[00:18:15] And because we're, we went through the Lost Valley, and we were on flat ground, I just presumed

[00:18:21] to be pretty straight.

[00:18:21] But it wasn't, I was meant to go take a sharp detour to avoid what we ended up in.

[00:18:27] We ended up in this kind of weird valley of rocks that was midgy infested.

[00:18:32] And they were, like, attacking us from all angles.

[00:18:35] So we're trying to, like, keep calm and work out where we went wrong.

[00:18:38] But we're getting savaged.

[00:18:40] So we're kind of getting angry with each other, because we're getting bitten, eaten alive.

[00:18:45] And it was just like, oh, it was horrible.

[00:18:47] But that was, I mean, it wasn't life-threatening or anything, but it was, it was particularly

[00:18:50] horrible.

[00:18:51] And again, to talk about, like, how the conditions can affect something.

[00:18:56] Like, I did Ben Lomond on January the 3rd.

[00:19:00] Not this year, but the year before.

[00:19:03] And we tried to go up the back way, just to make it more interesting.

[00:19:08] It was a really, really cold day.

[00:19:10] Well, cold by Scottish standards.

[00:19:12] I don't know what this is in Fahrenheit, but it was maybe minus three or something.

[00:19:16] And it's any good.

[00:19:19] So that's pretty cold.

[00:19:23] Yes, I'm terrible at the translation.

[00:19:25] Our American listeners can do it themselves.

[00:19:28] I can't remember what Fahrenheit.

[00:19:30] But yeah, sorry.

[00:19:31] Continue.

[00:19:33] So anyway, it's cold enough to make the car slide a wee bit up on the road.

[00:19:39] But when we got there, and there was a little bit of snow, but not much.

[00:19:43] So we're going up the back of the mountain, and there's a guy coming down.

[00:19:48] And we reckon we're maybe half an hour from the summit.

[00:19:52] And he says, oh, I'm turning back, lads.

[00:19:55] Don't go up there.

[00:19:57] And so my pal Brian looks at me, he's like, what's he talking about?

[00:20:01] You know, what is he talking about?

[00:20:03] Like, let's just carry on.

[00:20:05] Because the conditions weren't really that bad.

[00:20:07] There was snow, but it wasn't that bad.

[00:20:10] The wind wasn't that bad.

[00:20:11] And I was like, do you know what, I'm just going to put my ice spikes on just in case.

[00:20:15] And he's like, no, I'm not putting mine on.

[00:20:16] No way, it's fine.

[00:20:18] 15 minutes later, we could not see.

[00:20:21] It was like a whiteout.

[00:20:24] And I was using footprints ahead of me just to see, like to get to the summit.

[00:20:29] So he had nothing on his feet at all.

[00:20:31] But I had ice spikes, just normal ice spikes.

[00:20:36] And it was, we couldn't really hear each other because the wind was that bad.

[00:20:40] We couldn't see anything.

[00:20:41] And this is Ben Lomond.

[00:20:42] This is one of the more beginner minerals from the back.

[00:20:48] And honestly, we made it to the top, but there was like big, big hugs of relief at the summit.

[00:20:55] I mean, I think that was the third time I've done Ben Lomond.

[00:21:01] But it was definitely the scariest.

[00:21:04] I mean, people make the list of this and be like, Ben Lomond, what's he talking about?

[00:21:08] But I think on any Monroe, if the weather comes in bad enough, like the conditions are bad enough,

[00:21:16] and you're not prepared for it, or you're a wee bit cocky, as we probably were that day,

[00:21:21] then you're in trouble sometimes.

[00:21:24] So, yeah.

[00:21:25] Yeah.

[00:21:25] Yeah.

[00:21:27] If you were, it sounds like Ben Lomond maybe is the answer to this one,

[00:21:31] but which Monroe would you recommend other people start with based on your 90, 90 so completions?

[00:21:39] Well, there's one that a lot of people don't recommend because it's part of,

[00:21:44] there's a lovely walk called the Tarmacan Ridge,

[00:21:48] which is like, I think it's about a seven hour circular walk.

[00:21:51] But it starts with, you reach the Monroe first.

[00:21:56] And I can always remember like being astonished that I was at the summit of the Monroe

[00:22:01] because the car park is high up.

[00:22:05] I think the car park's maybe about 400, 500 meters high.

[00:22:08] And then the initial climb is to the Monroe.

[00:22:11] So you can get there in like, I'd say 45 minutes, maybe 45 minutes to an hour.

[00:22:17] Definitely the quickest in my experience.

[00:22:20] And then, so when, when I did it, I was with my cousin and my nephew,

[00:22:25] who was 10 at the time.

[00:22:28] So I suggested that because I said like, we'll do this.

[00:22:32] We'll bag the Monroe.

[00:22:33] And if Jack's enjoying it, we'll walk around the, what do you call it?

[00:22:38] The circuit.

[00:22:40] And he did enjoy it.

[00:22:41] So we did do the whole thing.

[00:22:43] But if you just want to bag one Monroe, I would say that one.

[00:22:47] There's maybe another one that's good is Mayer and Dresch.

[00:22:53] That's two Monroes.

[00:22:55] They're good.

[00:22:57] That's, I know you might not understand that.

[00:22:58] That's spelled M-A-Y-A-R and D-R-I-E-S-H.

[00:23:03] So there's two together.

[00:23:05] And the good thing about that is that on the way to it,

[00:23:08] it takes four or five hours to do both of them.

[00:23:10] But on the way to it, you come across this beautiful valley.

[00:23:15] I can't remember the name of it.

[00:23:17] Escaped me.

[00:23:19] Glen, is it Glen Clover?

[00:23:21] Anyway, there's a map.

[00:23:22] But if you look that up, you'll find out the name of the valley.

[00:23:25] And it's kind of, it's been carved out of a glacial formation.

[00:23:31] And it's absolutely stunning.

[00:23:32] And it's a great beginner walk as well.

[00:23:34] Unfortunately, when I did it, it was Bucket in the Rain at the time.

[00:23:38] So the conditions were not great, which is kind of like 50.

[00:23:42] It may be for you all at home as well.

[00:23:45] Anyone who's listening, it may be raining for you as well.

[00:23:48] Well, it's actually raining just now, of course.

[00:23:52] It's been raining all day, but yeah.

[00:23:55] Yeah, I mean, ones like that.

[00:23:58] There's that.

[00:23:58] There's Shehalian, Ben Chaunzi, or Ben Honzi, if I'm pronouncing it correctly.

[00:24:03] Those ones are good starting Monroes.

[00:24:07] There's maybe about 10 or so.

[00:24:11] At least 10 that are quite good for beginners because they just involve walking.

[00:24:19] And maybe it's just a steep walk up and down and a nice day.

[00:24:24] And it can kind of let you know if you're interested in taking it further, I think.

[00:24:29] Yeah.

[00:24:29] Yeah.

[00:24:31] Okay.

[00:24:33] Is there a Monro that you would have no interest in climbing because of the conditions or terrain

[00:24:39] or anything like that?

[00:24:43] No.

[00:24:44] No.

[00:24:44] I would...

[00:24:46] In the right conditions and with the right people, I would try any of them.

[00:24:50] But I mean, there are some that are notoriously quite hard.

[00:24:54] The ones in Nihil Sky, it's recommended that you don't do them without a guide unless you're

[00:25:00] an experienced mountain climber.

[00:25:02] Like the infamous Monroes in Sky is called the Inpin, which is short for Inaccessible

[00:25:09] Pinnacle.

[00:25:11] And that's like a big column that you need to upsell up and down to get to the top.

[00:25:18] So I don't really fancy doing that without a guide.

[00:25:21] Yeah.

[00:25:22] But no, I don't think there's any I wouldn't.

[00:25:23] And because through this, I've discovered that I don't really have a fear of heights

[00:25:28] at all.

[00:25:29] So there aren't any that I'm not like, that I wouldn't do.

[00:25:33] Yeah.

[00:25:34] I don't think.

[00:25:36] Okay.

[00:25:38] It's not the same thing, but have you ever considered tackling the West Highland way?

[00:25:44] Yeah.

[00:25:45] I mean, absolutely.

[00:25:45] I think I would like to do that.

[00:25:47] I've never been much of a camper, but because I was in Germany camping for 10 days,

[00:25:53] I feel like I can do, I can camp anywhere, you know, 10 days in a row with rain bouncing

[00:25:58] off a tent and all sorts, because it rains a lot there as well.

[00:26:01] Yes.

[00:26:02] But I do think that would be spectacular.

[00:26:06] And there's people I know who have done it who don't even like climb Monroe's and they've

[00:26:10] always had a great time.

[00:26:12] With me, it's kind of what holds up the Monroe thing is that I've got a family.

[00:26:17] Yes.

[00:26:18] And I take my kids to football games and stuff like every weekend and that sometimes gets in

[00:26:25] the road.

[00:26:25] And I mean, I always say the mountains aren't going anywhere.

[00:26:29] So, and the scenery is not going anywhere.

[00:26:30] So I'll get around to it.

[00:26:31] I will.

[00:26:33] Yeah.

[00:26:34] The, um, the, so I, I spoke to someone for this podcast about the West Highland way.

[00:26:40] And, uh, and she told me that there's one person who I think he's done it 87 times.

[00:26:46] Wow.

[00:26:47] He, and he does it like once every, um, about once a month.

[00:26:53] Wow.

[00:26:54] Yeah.

[00:26:54] What a life.

[00:26:55] Yeah, I know quite, quite the life.

[00:26:57] Uh, he does it.

[00:26:58] He completes it in about five days.

[00:27:00] Um, nonstop just walks for, you know, 16 hours or something insane.

[00:27:05] Um, I, I had her confirmed for me that, uh, that there was plenty of places you could just

[00:27:11] get a hotel.

[00:27:12] Yeah.

[00:27:13] Yeah.

[00:27:14] I mean, there's also, there's also like, there's kind of been an explosion of these ways in

[00:27:18] Scotland as well as the great Glenway and there's the Sir John Moore way.

[00:27:22] So you think the guy might want to try another one.

[00:27:25] Another one.

[00:27:26] Yeah.

[00:27:26] Maybe, maybe, uh, he's just trying to set the record and he's just trying to run that

[00:27:33] score so high that no one's ever going to touch it.

[00:27:35] That's what I think is happening.

[00:27:36] Okay.

[00:27:37] Yeah.

[00:27:38] Um, yeah, exactly.

[00:27:42] I mean, he's out, he's out, he's getting fresh air.

[00:27:45] He's, uh, it's healthy.

[00:27:47] Uh, okay.

[00:27:48] So, um, just to wrap up a little bit, Monroe's are so important to you that you even made

[00:27:53] a t-shirt that lists all 282 of them.

[00:27:56] Um, so here's your, here's your chance to plug the merch.

[00:27:58] Uh, where can people find being Scottish online and on social media?

[00:28:04] Um, you'll find us at beingscottish.com.

[00:28:08] Um, and if you Google being Scottish Monroe's t-shirt, you might even find it just without

[00:28:13] going to the shop.

[00:28:15] Um, yeah, that was a bit of a labor of love doing that.

[00:28:18] When, when I got into the Monroe's, I thought I'm going to do this.

[00:28:21] Can it be done?

[00:28:22] Can I fit 282 Monroe's on one and it still be readable?

[00:28:26] It turns out it can.

[00:28:27] So that was good.

[00:28:28] Um, yeah, we're, we're online in Facebook, Twitter.

[00:28:31] Oh, sorry.

[00:28:32] When do we start calling it X?

[00:28:33] I'm going to keep calling it Twitter until, uh,

[00:28:36] Elon gets annoyed.

[00:28:38] Yes.

[00:28:38] Until my dying day, probably.

[00:28:41] Yeah.

[00:28:41] Twitter.

[00:28:42] Those were the days.

[00:28:43] So we're in, we're on.

[00:28:44] Facebook, it, and Instagram.

[00:28:49] We are on TikTok as well, but I'm not, I'm not updating as much as I should really,

[00:28:55] even though the video is where it's at, but they take longer, don't they?

[00:28:59] Yeah.

[00:29:00] Yeah.

[00:29:01] Um, okay.

[00:29:02] Well, thank you, uh, so much for telling us about a bit about Monroe's.

[00:29:07] You're welcome.

[00:29:08] It's been fun.

[00:29:15] Thank you for listening to 63% Scottish.

[00:29:18] Check us out on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.

[00:29:21] Also known as X.

[00:29:22] You can also listen to every episode for free at 63% Scottish.com.

[00:29:27] If you listen on Spotify, Apple podcasts, or another service, please subscribe to the show.

[00:29:31] It really helps.

[00:29:33] A big thank you to friends of the podcast, including the Toronto St. Andrews Society,

[00:29:38] the Scottish Society of Ottawa, the Scottish Banner, and Scottish Studies at the University

[00:29:42] of Guelph.

[00:29:43] Your support is never taken for granted.

[00:29:46] Until next time, goodbye.