I finally climbed out of the Cellar and into the Corridor on Meall Corranaich, on a lovely warm June day spent traversing the Lawers range from Camusvrachan in Glen Lyon.
High point: The Dolomites Skyrace, on 20 July, took me to the summit of 3152m Piz Boë in the Sella range, which is not an Ultra but still has 939m of prominence. A fantastic viewpoint, with a small refuge on top. A great hill, and one which in good weather is well within the capabilities of a competent UK hillwalker.
Low point: Waughton Hill (21B) was easily the lowest hill of the year, at 234m, and was climbed on a foul day in early October. To my delight, however, the sleet showers were replaced by a brief spell of sunshine for the half-hour jog to the summit, so only my feet got wet.
Intermittently scary day: A round of Beinn Maol Chaluim, Sgor na h-Ulaidh, Meall Lighiche, Sgorr a'Choise and Meall Mor above Glen Coe seemed to be peppered with those adrenalin-inducing moments when one realises that the ground has suddenly become rather steeper than one likes. In particular the descent north off Sgor na h-Ulaidh proved to be downright dangerous to the non-climber, and I was thankful that my running mate Fran was able to guide my foot placements from below as I inched my way down a fault-line in the crags to easier ground. This hill won't forgive mistakes.
Mostly easy day: Spidean a'Choire Leith (Liathach). Well it wasn't actually easy at all, but it was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. A very pleasant steep walk up a well-made path led to a delightful ridge walk. A clear day, with some truly glorious views that made this one of those memorable days which (I hope) I never forget. Unbeatable.
On Spidean a'Choire Leith (photo:Jonathan Appleby)
What next? I am writing this from Antananarivo, the capital city of Madagascar, at an elevation of about 1265m. I'll be working here for some months, so I expect 2009 to be a lean year for Marilyns, but there are a few hills hereabouts which I hope to explore before returning to Marilyn heaven.
