I thought I’d missed an important piece of Scotland outdoors news. I was sure I hadn’t but while on holiday skiing with friends we got to talking about the Munros. I said the Munro tally was standing at 283, while someone else said it was 282. Now I knew that there was a Munro that had apparently been remeasured and fell just shy of the 3000ft (914.4m) requirement. But I was pretty sure that the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) hadn’t announced this officially. I thought we were still waiting for the official announcement and so, for the time being, the Munros tally still sat “officially”at 283.

So, I wrote to a man that I thought might now. For sure. Mike Dales, Membership Development Officer at MCofS (Mountaineering Council of Scotland), confirms that I have the right story. But also, in a way, so does my friend.

Mike says: “It’s a good question. Are we now down to 282 Munros?  Yes, I would say that we are. But are we now down to 282 Munros officially?  No, not until the SMC accept the change in status of Beinn a’Chlaidheimh.  They accepted the change to Sgurr nan Ceannaichean quite quickly last year – taking the total down to 283 – but they haven’t done the same for Beinn a’C, which leaves the poor wee hill, and all of us keen hill folk, in a state of suspended limbo.”

The story goes that a survey by The Munro Society (TMS) last year has suggested that Beinn a’Chlaidheimh in Fisherfield is not 916 metres in height as currently mapped, but 913.96m.  This would suggest that Beinn a’C is below Munro height by 44cm. But while the TMS have been in charge of the measuring, it is up to the SMC to make a decision on whether the Munro is removed form the list. So far no official announcement has been made.

 

My question is: Why so?