Gerry training, with friend, in October on Maol Chean-dearg
A member of a Highland mountain rescue team will set out next week in a bid to break a munrobagging record.
Gerry McPartlin, a retired doctor, aims to complete the ascent of all 283 Scottish munro peaks in 100 days – which he says will set a record for the fastest completion by a pensioner.
The 66-year-old is medical officer with the Torridon Mountain Rescue Team and will start his quest next Saturday, 10 April, when he will set off up the country’s most southerly munro, Ben Lomond.
His journey will see him walk more than 1,600km (1,000 miles) and ascend 122,000m (400,00ft) in a venture that has been dubbed Granddad’s Mad Munro Marathon.
Dr McPartlin completing the munros in record setting group of five, including, Fr Gemmell, centre, the only monsignor to complete the munros
Dr McPartlin’s is hoping to raise £50,000 from his munro trip towards two homes for people with learning disabilities run by the L’Arche charity – one in Edinburgh and one in Nyahururu, Kenya. A fund, set up in memory of one of Dr McPartlin’s climbing friends, Fr David Gemmell, who died suddenly in 2008, has already raised close to £40,000, a sum the mountain rescuer hopes will be boosted by his venture.
Dr McPartlin said: “I was Father David’s GP and close friend for many years. We climbed together on numerous munros as well as in the Alps and in the Himalaya.
“We completed our rounds of the munros together in 1996, in a group of five which is still the largest group known to have completed the munros at the same time.
“So it seemed that the most suitable way in which I could raise money for the David Gemmell Living Memorial Fund was through a sponsored second round of all the munros. Typically it takes over ten years to do all the munros but I am attempting to do it in under four months, if possible, in under 100 days, starting on Ben Lomond on 10 April.
Gerry will travel between the munros and sleep in his camper van
“If I succeed, it is likely that this will be the fastest munro round by a pensioner.”
The doctor, of Camusteel, Applecross, has set up a justgiving website for supporters to donate cash to the appeal.
His friends and supporters will gather at the Rowardennan Hotel, at the foot of Ben Lomond, next Saturday, for the start of the challenge.
