Sgurr nan Ceannaichean. Photo Nick Bramhall
So, it’s official: Scotland has one fewer munro. There are now only 283 of the 3,000-footers to bag, and those walkers who slogged up Sgurr nan Ceannaichean, near Achnasheen, have reason to feel a little miffed.
The mountain formerly graced the Ordnance Survey maps at 915m, just beating the metric munro equivalent of 914.4m. But, following scrutiny by amateur hill sleuths John Barnard and Graham Jackson, it will be demoted to the ranks of the corbetts, junior cousins of the Scottish mountain aristocracy.
The mountain has failed to measure up to munro status and now joins the other 220 corbetts that can’t reach the magic 3,000ft height.
Sgurr nan Ceannaichean was surveyed at 913m by the pair’s ultra-accurate Global Positioning System apparatus.
The announcement was made at a press conference this afternoon at the Kincaid House Hotel in Milton of Campsie, hosted by Barnard and Jackson. The Ordnance Survey has verified the changes, which just leaves the Scottish Mountaineering Club to change its ‘official’ list.
The survey was commissioned by the Munro Society, which is an organisation set up in 2002 for those who have completed the full round of munros, named after Sir Hugh Munro, the original chronicler of the lists.
Jhimmy
10 September 2009Please refrain from using the word "demoted" as that places Corbetts in a inferior light. Why you can't just use the word "reclassified" like the Munro Society used in their press release is beyond me.
Munros are not a technical list like the the Corbetts are. They are 2 different type of lists.
The SMC elect Munros on account of them being over 3000ft. There is no real drop criteria.
Corbetts are specific, "A Corbett is a Scottish hill between 2500 and 2999 feet high with a drop of at least 500 feet (152.4m) on all sides"
Grumble over...keep up the good work though ;-)
Isobel
10 September 2009Feel so dissapointed its one of only a few ive managed to climb (well about 80 ish) and only did so this year
Please dont say demoted it was still a long walk.Never mind
only around another 200 or so to go, unless someone else
would like to de-classify them quickly (only kidding)
onwards and upwards
Mark Gibson
11 September 2009As someone who compleated less than 2 weeks ago it matters not to me that this hill is about to taken ot the list. It hasn't been on the list that long and it may even make a comeback. Still it's 22 years since I climbed it at Easter on a glorious afternoon and my abiding memory of the day is the largest herd of Red Deer I've ever seen sweeping gracefully below me.
Craig
11 September 2009If you're ticking off both Munro and Corbett lists, but climbed this mountain when it had Munro status, technically should you re-ascend Sgurr nan Ceannaichean in order to claim it as a Corbett? Anybody know or is it just a matter of opinion?
Steve
13 September 2009Truth be told, only a fool would climb Moruisg and not extend their route across Sgurr nan Ceannaichean, unless some severe circumstance drove thjem off the hill early. The ridge between the two hills is a lovely walk, and the descent route off SnC is much more pleasant then going straight back down Moruisg.
I also think that if you've climbed the hill as part of a Munro round, you can claim it as a Corbett. After all, compleating the Corbett round entails claiming to have climbed every Corbett, which you would have done if you have climbed SnC. Anyway, where a hill appears on both the Graham and Donald lists, you wouldn't climb it twice either.
Robert
13 September 2009This is all about silly people being anal and playing with numbers.
The hills won't change and will be unaware of their change of "status"
Measurements are based on mean sea level, which is a complicated thing to measure in itself (and how accurately is it measured?). In actual fact there are many Munros below 3000ft at high tide and many Corbetts above at low tide!
Being pedantic about a few centimetres (or even inches) either way just makes a mockery of the whole thing.
If you've climbed a hill you've climbed it, regardless of peoples opinions of its "status".
It all just makes hill goers look like anoraks. Lets forget the pedantry and leave the lists as they are. I for one won't be buying the updated guide books published on the strength of this change.
R Webb
14 September 2009If there is one thing dafter than hill lists, its hill lists that are wrong. Well done on a bit of exploration.
Ceannaichean is still there, and livens up an ascent of Moruisg, especially from the south.