Munro Bagging - is growing in popularity amongst hikers looking for a challenge. But what are the Munros and how can you bag them all?
What are the Munros?
The Munros are Scottish mountains over 3000 feet - these mountains are spread all across Scotland and range from the tallest - Ben Nevis at 4,411 ft to Beinn Teallach which just sneaks in to the Munro category at 3001 ft.
The Munros get their name from Sir Hugh Munro (1856 - 1919) in his 'Munros Tables', published in the Journal of the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) in 1891.
His cataloguing of Scottish Mountains was a revelation at the time - with people thinking there were only round 30 3000ft peaks at the time.
Whilst Sir Hugh Munro attempted to summit all of the mountains in his table - he unfortunately died with only 3 left to go.
The first person to climb all of the Munros was Reverend A. E. Robertson in 1901.
Munro Bagging
Munro bagging is more popular than ever and has been growing in popularity year on year since the 1980s - with hikers trying to bag all 282 peaks!
Reach the top of one of the 3000ft peaks and you have bagged that Munro. Bag all 282 and you are a Compleator!
The vast nature of this challenge along with the distance needed to travel around Scotland to complete make it tricky to complete, with many spending years trying to bag all of the Munros.
Completers can register their achievement with the Scottish Mountaineering Council - with over 8000 Compleators recorded to date!
What do you need to bag all of the Munros?
Time
As we have mentioned there are 282 peaks all over 3000ft - so it takes a lot of time to bag them all.
Whilst the record is 31 days, 10 hours and 27 minutes - set by Jamie Aarons in 2023 most people take a more leisurely approach and spend years trying to top all of the peaks.
So be prepared to spend lots of weekends in pursuit of the Munros.
The right gear
Bagging the Munros involves lots of hiking - likely in all conditions - this is Scotland after all! So having the right gear will make your attempts a lot easier and more importantly safer!
So having a good pair of walking boots, waterproof clothing, a map and compass (and the knowledge of how to use them) will be a great help.
If you are planning on tackling some of the Munros in winter too then you may need specialist winter gear such as crampons and axes!
The skills and knowledge
Although the Scottish mountains may be smaller than our European neighbours - there are some serious peaks involved in bagging all of the Munros.
So having basic navigation skills and experience on the mountains will help! It is a good idea to start with some of the smaller and easier peaks and work your way up to the big ones!
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Are you a Munro bagger or has this blog inspired you to get out and climb some Scottish Mountains? Tag us in you photos on Facebook or Instagram and we will share some of our favourites!
