It was certainly not my most spectacular walk of 2010 but it was perhaps the most significant when I completed the Grahams on Cat Law in April. The other outing of statistical note was to Great Rhos in October, which was my 1100th Marilyn and meant that I had stood on every Relative Hill of 2000 feet or higher.
An annual total of 29 new Marilyns from 72 days on the hill indicates that I had other priorities during the year. North of the Border, these were Corbett and Graham Tops. I have only a handful of each left, which I hope to further reduce during 2011, although the absence of a climbing partner means that I am unlikely to finish them. This also explains why, south of the Border, I have now completed all the Birketts apart from Pillar Rock. Fortunately, a round of Wainwright's outlying fells included no such impediment.
For years now, I have typically compiled my annual report on a wild January evening with my log in one hand and a glass of malt in the other. Memories of wonderful days on the hill come flooding back and it is hard to know what to leave out without giving the Marhofn editorial team far too much material. This time it is different. I can think of nothing other than the tragic loss of Graham Bunn in an accident on Yr Aran in October. Graham and I never climbed a hill together but we were constantly exchanging totals, routes, ideas and experiences, either over a beer or by email. Although I have been out a few times since, hillwalking does not seem quite the same knowing I will no longer send the 'guess what I did yesterday?' messages. My apologies for an unusually brief and sombre baglog.
