Top Forty Munros

In 1993, when people heard I was climbing the Munros, I was frequently asked "what are the best Munros?"  I decided to carry out a survey amongst a 1% sample of Munroists to find an answer. I was invited by Cameron McNeish, the then editor of The Great Outdoors (TGO), to write an article for the magazine giving the results of the survey. The article became the lead story in the May 1994 edition.  I have included the article in its entirety below after being asked the same question by some walkers during a recent outing. The TGO listed only the top twenty from the survey, although the survey had identified the top forty. This longer list is included in the abstract below simply to be more complete.

and the winner is....

"One of the frequent questions you get asked when people hear that you are climbing the munros is: 'which is the best?' You pause and decide whether to go into the politically correct discourse about why they are all good or to indulge the patience of your innocent questioner whilst you eulogise about Bidein a' Choire Sheasgaich or whatever else has taken your fancy recently. It is a rich seam, the munros are indelibly etched in our minds and it is difficult not to let rip when you get the chance.

Ever since reading an article in the Climbing Magazine by Hamish Brown in September 1989 which listed the top twenty munros selected by a group of Scottish climbers marooned in a Moroccan bothy, I had tried to keep a list of my own personal favourites. As I reached 100 and then 200 Munros it became increasingly difficult to decide between so many good but different hills. I came across a programme that allows priorities to be made between 40 or so different activities or objects. This could be the answer but rather than trust my own experiences I thought it would be more useful to get the views of a sample of munroists. I asked a dozen friends and acquaintances, who had recently completed the munros, to nominate their favourite 20 and from these to rank the top three.

From these returns four mountains stood out from the rest: An Teallach, Liathach, Sgurr nan Gillean and Ladhar Bheinn. There was already a distinct pattern emerging but this was just the first phase of the exercise. The respondents were a diverse group from all parts of Scotland ranging in age from 29 to 60 and including an international hill runner, a climbing instructor, twin sisters, mountain rescue team members, a policeman, teachers and a doctor. It took us on average 10 years to complete the munros but this varied fom 4 to 41 years and it required from 80 to 220 days. Although the group had little chance to compare notes, they came back with a remarkably consistent set of nominations. Only 77 of the 277 munros received nominations although my statistician friend tells me that had we chosen randomly we would have identified 145 hills, and at least 2 Geal Charns. Only 45 hills received more than one nomination and these were the ones that went into the next phase.

I am not saying it would be my preferred list, it doesn't include Cona Mheal which overlooks the magnificent Coire Ghranda, and a couple of people even came up with Gulvain - to be fair it was their final munro - but by and large it is an impressive list. Only Schiehallion of Hamish Brown's 1989 list did not get a nomination, and if you've been up there recently you will realise why not. What was clear was our overwhelming preference for the north west. There were 27 nominations in the Torridons, 24 on Skye, 18 in Knoydart, 15 in Fisherfield and 11 in Kintail. Only the Cairngorms with 16 and Glencoe with 11 nominations from outwith the north west came anywhere near.

From these nominations I compiled a list of the most frequently mentioned Munros and put them into a questionnaire. This randomly paired each Munro with three others and asked the participants to choose their priorities between the various permutations of the pairings. It was like doing the pools except that you got the resuts that you wanted. The programme was used to analyse the completed questionnaires to establish each persons' individual preferences and that of the combined group of munroists. Thirteen people were involved, just over 1% of the current number (1993) of Munroists. Again a familiar pattern emerged.

Liathach - first

There was no dubiety about the best munro, Liathach was a clear winner. It was followed by Sgurr nan Gillean and An Teallach. The rest appear in the table below.

1. Liathach                                  Torridon
2. Sgurr nan Gillean                     Skye
3. An Teallach                              Fisherfield
4. Inaccessible Pinnacle             Skye
5. Beinn Alligin                          Torridon
6. Beinn Eighe                            Torridon
7. The Saddle                             Glen Shiel
8. Ladhar Bheinn                      Knoydart
9. Buchaille Etive Mor             Glencoe
10. Sgurr na Ciche                     Knoydart
11. Five Sisters                           Glen Shiel
12. Sgurr Mhic Choinnich           Skye
13. Bla Bheinn                               Skye
14. Bidean nam Bian                   Glencoe
15. Am Basteir                              Skye
16. Aonach Eagach                      Glencoe
17. A' Mhaighdean                       Fisherfield
18. Slioch                                      Torridon
19. Ben Nevis                               Lochaber
20. Bidean a' Choire Sheasgaich  Glen Carron 
21. Braeriach                                Cairngorms
22. Ben Alder                                Central Highlands
23. Ben Cruachan                         Southern Highlands
24. Maol Chean-dearg                   Torridon
25. Ben Lui                                 Southern Highlands
26. Lochnagar                               Deeside
27. Carn Mor Dearg                     Lochaber
28. Ben Starav                               Glen Etive  
29. Sgur Mor                                Knoydart
30. Ben Avon                               Cairngorms
31. Ben More, Mull                      Mull
32. Sgurr na Lapaich                   Mullardoch
33. Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan     Glen Affric
34. Ben Hope                               Northern Highlands
35. Beinn Sgritheall                      Loch Hourn
36. Sgurr a' Mhaim                         Lochaber
37. Seanna Bhraigh                           Ullapool
38. Creag Meaghaidh                    Laggan
39. Meall nan Tarmachan               Lawers               
40. Ben Mheadhoin                       Cairngorms

It is a table of consistent quality. They are the genuine articles even though some may be less well known and are less accessible to the wider hill walking fraternity. But look at the pattern. Torridon, Skye and Knoydart dominate and there is an absence of hills from the south and east. Only Buchaille Etive Mor breaks the stranglehold of the north west in the top ten. The dominance of the Torridons is complete with Beinn Eighe and Beinn Alligin also in the top 6 and Slioch and Maol Chean- dearg in the top 25.

Then there is Skye. Sgurr nan Gillean is a mountain that everyone rated and 9 of the 13 respondents had it in their top ten. The Inn Pinn was enigmatic as always. No one had it as their top munro but everyone rated it, it is after all the major psychological barrier in any Munro round. Blaven, Sgurr Mhic Choinnich and Am Baister completed the line up of Skye Munros in the top 15. I had expected An Teallach to come first but it was less consistent than Liathach and Sgurr nan Gillean and drifted to third. Perhaps it lacks the massive good looks of Liathach."

Am Baister and Sgurr nan Gillean - second

An Teallach - third

The Inaccessible Pinnacle - fourth

Below Sgurr Mhic Choinnich looking north to Inn Pinn

Ladhar Bheinn - eighth

Five Sisters - eleventh

More surprising was the lower positions of Ben Nevis and Slioch. The Ben suffers from overcrowding although some did make the point that it rated very highly if approached by the Carn Dearg arrete, whereas Slioch looks better than it walks.

The real Munros came in the next group. Who but a range of Munroists would come up with Bidein a' Coire Sheasgaich, a beautiful remote pinnacle south of Achnashellach. And A' Mhaigdean and Maol Chean-dearg are fond memories in the far forgiven north. The Cairngorms were represented by Braeriach and Ben Avon. There were also a number of popular massive hills such as Ben Alder, Ben Lui, Ben Cruachan and Lochnagar in the twenties. Then a few loners crept in: Ben More on Mull, Ben Hope and Beinn Sgritheall which all provide scintillating sea views as well as relatively quick ascents. I was pleased that some remote and lesser known hills such as Sgurr na Lapaich in Mullardoch and Seana Braigh made the list.

The big ridges are not well represented although they give superb days in the mountains. There were no Munros from the Fannaichs, South Glen Shiel, or the Grey Corries. Even the Mamores could only manage Sgurr a' Mhaim at the end of the Devil's ridge. But then this is just another list and as I was reminded on being congratulated for being 'compleat', what would people say in another year's time. I reckon they would say Liathach but then I am biased as I had saved it for my last Munro."

Sgurr na Lapaich 

The article got a lot of comment at the time and a fee that bought me my first goretex jacket. When I met Cameron McNeish a few years later on a bright December day near Loch Ossian he was a bit dismissive of Munro bashing and felt that my survey had not ranked the Cairngorms nor Ben Nevis high enough. This was before he published his book on the subject. I agree with his understandable championing of Corbetts and other lesser hills. Foinaven, Suilven, Fuar Tholl, Beinn Dearg Mhor, Ben Aden, Garbh Bheinn and Quinag would probably all make it into a top forty mountains of Scotland. But there are far fewer people who have completed the Corbetts and lesser hills because, unlike Cameron McNeish, most of us are bound by work and families. On the limited days free for going into the hills you have to prioritise and the Munros are a realistic if challenging objective. Having them as a goal guarantees a lot of exciting adventures and hill walking becomes a lot more fun than just something you stick on a CV.

Another recent listing of the best Munros can be found on the excellent Walk Highlands website which summarises the ratings from its members. When I looked at the site today the top five were exactly the same as the 1994 survey.  There is also a lot of consistency across the top forty although some of the more remote Munros are lower down the order. Ben Nevis is languishing at 84 and only Braeriach makes it from the Cairngorms. I was also delighted to see that the Cairnwell is the worst rated Munro, or at least it became so after I gave it the minimum score and it moved from 281 to 283 in the list.