The big celebration for me in 2014 took place on King's Seat with my completion of the Donalds, my last of all the summits listed in the current edition of the SMC Munro's Tables book, what the SMC call a full house. Although a non-technical achievement, it was the labour of a lifetime and I rank it alongside my 1968 Troll Wall ascent in Norway and following in the footsteps of my all-time mountain hero, Edward Whymper, to the summit of the Matterhorn and to Chimborazo in Ecuador.
I did a Marilyn count for the first time in January 2014 and reached the 1000 mark in August on Millstone Hill on a lovely summer day with my partner, Irene.
So, a good year, but what to do in 2015? Well, I still have plenty of interesting Marilyns to visit, especially in Scotland where I live for nine months of the year. I am 70 Munros into a planned second round, which in 2014 included revisiting the Inaccessible Pinnacle, with a friend. This was his final Munro. A perfect day, warm and dry. It was pleasing to find that a couple of 70-year-olds could still easily climb this impressive peak.
I enjoy exploring the Monadhliath, one of my nearest mountain areas, and collecting Corbett Tops and Graham Tops of Moray. I also have a couple of little private lists I am working on: the whisky tops of Moray, the malt whisky county, and the 500m hills of the Southern Uplands (not the Donald Dewey list). It is good to have lists that no-one else is doing.
In the Lake District I still have 30 Wainwrights to visit; so here's looking forward to 2015 and hopefully plenty of good walking.
