A large proportion of the year's haul was climbed on a lovely day in May whilst completing my Munros, finishing on Beinn Tarsuinn in Fisherfield. I sat alone in calm sunshine, enjoying the wonderful view. Three hours later it was hood up and face screwed up in driving rain on Creag Rainich. Five Marilyns in all for the day. A chilly night camping in the glen was explained by a low snow line when I awoke.
Like many people, I tend to do everything at the same time (i.e. hills on lots of lists) and I had hoped to finish Munros and Tops together. But I still have five Munro Tops to do (four Murdos), though I have already done all the deleted tops.
Another five Marilyns were climbed on a trip to the Shetland Islands. The bird life on Noss Head was as dramatic and stunning to watch as that on South Georgia, although with fewer penguins.
Other hill lists completed in 2009 included a third round of the Wainwrights and a round of the Synges - good if you like planning and navigating unusual routes linking up lots of minor bumps and tops.
The summer was spent on a month-long walk across the Alps with Lesley. Carrying our smallest tent and as little else as possible, we walked the Alpine Pass route across Switzerland from Liechtenstein to Lake Geneva. There we linked into the GR5 southwards to Chamonix and then the Haute route as far as Arolla, where our time ran out. It was very refreshing to be on a journey where the simple things of life could be enjoyed; hard walking, wild camping, and eating lots of bread, cheese and tomatoes. Along the way, we also detoured to climb Cornette de Bise, my hundredth P600 summit.
