Looking back over 2009, I realise that many of my hill days were opportunistic ones, grabbed whilst travelling to relatives, ferries, weddings, birthday parties, bunkhouse-sitting, or even supporting a Land's End to John o'Groats ride. Satisfying certainly, but inevitably leading to a certain geographical randomness of new Marilyns. More organised holidays did permit the climbing of various Breadalbane Corbetts and Uist Marilyns, but most memorably of all, the four main St Kilda islands in September, 21 years after my last visit and 34 years after my first. These summits were especially satisfying given that I had had to leave early in April and so missed out by two days on the successful landings. A late contender for view of the year was when I climbed out above an inversion on a snowy Geal-charn near Drumochter in November, and was treated to a Brocken spectre with three concentric rings - but I think somehow that St Kilda still has the edge.
Breadalbane Corbett Beinn Odhar from Cam Chreag (photo: Jim Fothergill)
