The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) has updated one of the most popular downloads on its website – the Munros and Corbetts Guide.
Originally produced by the late guidebook author Irvine Butterfield, the new guide has been updated as a series of web pages by Anne Butler and Mike Dales. The latest version of this guide has a revised Munros and Corbetts log (with the Glen Carron hill Sgurr nan Ceannaichean now shown as a Corbett rather than a Munro following its re-measurement in 2009).
There is also an updated accommodation guide, useful information on maps and guidebooks, a list of links to other popular hill-related websites (including UKH naturally), and MCofS advice on mountain safety and minimal impact mountaineering.
MCofS Membership Development Officer Mike Dales said:
'Our Munros and Corbetts Guide is a great source of information. I'm sure that lots of hill walkers will visit these pages to pick up useful advice and to help them towards their ultimate goal of completing a round of the Munros and Corbetts.'
© Dan Bailey
Munros
Munros are Scottish mountains over 3000 feet (914.4 metres). There are currently 283 summits classified as Munros, plus a further 227 subsidiary 'Tops'. These were originally listed by Sir Hugh Munro, who published his first tables of mountains over 3,000 feet in 1891; these have since become an archaic but highly popular hill institution.
Munro's tables have undergone periodic revisions over the years; the last major update was made by the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) in 1997, while a more recent revision was made in 2009 when Sgurr nan Ceannaichean above Glen Carron was re-measured and found wanting by a metre or so. This peak has thus been demoted to Corbett status.
Sir Hugh did not complete his own list, with the mantle of first completion instead going to the Rev. A. E Robertson in 1901. Many others have followed suit since, and to date over 4,700 people have recorded their completion with the SMC - though counting the non-registered too the true number is generally reckoned to be rather higher.
© Dan Bailey
Corbetts
The Corbetts fall between 2500-3000 feet (762-914.4m), and a peak must have a drop of at least 500 feet (152m) on all sides in order to qualify (the criteria for Munro qualification are less exacting by comparison). There are currently 220 summits in the list, which was originally compiled by a chap called John Rooke Corbett.
Occasional revisions are made to this list too, most recently the addition of Sgurr nan Ceannaichean (see Munros). There are currently only 440 officially recorded Corbett completers, perhaps reflecting the widely acknowledged fact that a full round of these smaller hills is actually quite a bit harder than the Munros due to their more widely scattered distribution and a frequent lack of well trodden paths.
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