Anna Wells has become the first woman – and only the fourth person – to reach all 282 Munros in one winter season. The 34-year-old completed what is known as a Winter Munro Round in 83 days.
She also matched the first and fastest Winter Munro Round, which was set by the late Martin Moran in 1985 – finishing in the same duration and on the same day.
The two other men to have completed a Winter Munro Round are Steve Perry in 2006 and Kevin Woods in 2020.
Anna’s Winter Munro Round
Anna, of Inverness, started her feat on December 22. The aim of the challenge is to bag all Scottish mountains with a summit of 3000ft (914.4m) or more within an astronomical winter, between the shortest day of the year and the spring equinox. She completed with seven days in hand on March 13 at around 5.45pm on the summit of Cairn Gorm.
Reflecting on her feat, Anna said: “It feels surreal to have finished. I don’t think it will sink in for a while yet. In fact, for most of the time that I was doing the round, it didn’t feel quite real. But, of course, I am delighted to have completed what I set out to do.”
Anna, who had been given three months off work as a risk model analyst with TSB, had hoped to complete the Munros in a generally north to south direction, but ever-changing weather conditions forced her to be more strategic and plan day to day.
She says: “There are different ways to do a winter round and I wanted to have as many days in a comfortable bed as possible. I went home to Inverness many times and also stayed for some sections of the round in Taynuilt, Killin and Fort William.
“Steve and Kevin spent much more time on the road and while I did spend a couple of nights in bothies, I knew I would recover better with a comfortable bed, a bath and warmth.”
Of the 83 days, Anna was in the mountains for 67 days. She says: “I was either walking or running, driving back to a base, eating, planning my next days of walking and sleeping.
“I survived on about six hours sleep on average and that wasn’t enough after the big days in the mountains. I definitely think I should have got more sleep and if I had the chance again I would have tried to get more sleep, such as by accepting more lifts and sleeping during the journey.”
Big days in the mountains
She spent many consecutive days covering long distances and ascending many thousands of metres.
Anna says: “I did some very big outings, linking together summits. For example, I completed 10 Munros in the Cairngorms, which totalled 67km and 4600m of ascent. I was out for 19 hours that time.
“I also did a huge push at the end with consecutive days in the Ben Alder area reaching six Munros, then the next day doing eight Munros in a traverse in Lochaber. The penultimate day was five Ben Starav Munros in Glen Etive and then three remaining Beinn Dearg Munros that I had been forced to miss out due to feeling unwell earlier in the challenge.
“Those three Munros I did at night after no sleep because I knew the weather was going to be very stormy the next day.
“I was very happy to be able to push through all that and make the 83 days.”
Smaller dreams in one big dream
Anna, who is a summer mountaineering instructor, reveals she had a few smaller pipe dreams as part of the overall Winter Munro Round.
She says: “I had some goals I was keen to achieve, including a Tranter’s Round. This didn’t actually happen because my knee started to feel sore and because I was so early in the round I was scared to push it.
“I also wanted to do the Munros of the Cuillin Ridge on Skye in full-on winter conditions. I did achieve this, reaching eight summits in the south and three in the north of the ridge in two days. I loved it.
“My third goal, which I didn’t tell anyone about, was to complete the round in 83 days. I thought later in the round that this wasn’t going to happen because I struggled with a bad cold for about seven days. I was forced to take a double rest day and I did less on some other days than I had hoped I would.
“The final days of pushing hard – completing some 10,000m of ascent over 72 hours – in very difficult weather made it all possible and really worthwhile.
“My final Munro, Cairn Gorm, was everything I could have dreamed for. Although it was very windy, it was wonderful to have some 25 other people there to celebrate with me.”
Tough times for Anna
As well as ill-health and a sore knee, Anna also had a tough time in the remote Knoydart area. She explains: “I set off to walk the Knoydart Munros and within 5km my heel became very sore. I was having to use my walking poles like crutches and I endured 32km in a lot of pain.
“At the first summit, I messaged a physio I knew and asked what to do. Luckily, they were able to send me a video with instructions on how to sort my heel. I was very fortunate because I managed to get my talus to realign. I had thought my round was over and I was so upset.
“The next day I could walk but I was being overly careful and I was so tired from the pain of the day before. Knoydart was quite a low point for me.”
Solo walking – and kind support
Anna spent many days walking solo. She says: “I was joined by other people and I was very grateful for their support but I also like to be on my own in the mountains. In the first half of the round, I did around half the days on my own. Then in the second half, I was on my own for about three-quarters of the days.
“I like being with other people, but equally I enjoy being on my own. I was never bored and always had something to think about or I would listen to an audio book or music.”
Many people offered support to Anna with a bed, food and driving to Munros. She says: “I have been overwhelmed by the kindness of other people. Some were friends but others were strangers. I was greeted with such positivity from so many people, both on the ground and on social media, and I have been amazed by this.”
‘A proper winter round challenge’
Anna reveals she had been worried the round would be “too mellow”. She explains: “I didn’t want the winter round to be easy. I wanted there to be tough conditions and at times the weather was atrocious. There were at least eight named storms in the first half of the round.
“The weather was also very changeable and I had to plan daily where I would head for my next Munros. I tried to be as strategic as I could to get the best weather but even then I had a lot of storms, strong winds, snow, rain.
“Almost every day I used crampons and an ice axe because I spent a lot of time at higher levels and in snow and ice.
“I am satisfied my round was a winter challenge.”
Inspiration to other people
Anna’s round has gained a great following on social media. She hopes her feat will encourage others, especially women, to spend more time in the mountains. She says: “With the appropriate experience, skills and equipment many people can enjoy mountain adventures. I think women are good at longer challenges and it has been shown time after time that in endurance events, women are as good as the men.
“There are plenty of places where people can learn the right skills to get out into the mountains and in winter and I hope I have shown people what is possible.”
Praise from the Martin Moran Foundation
The Martin Moran Foundation, a charitable foundation founded in memory of mountain guide and explorer Martin Moran, congratulated Anna.
A spokesperson wrote: “Martin would be full of admiration for Anna’s epic achievement.
“Her achievement is utterly inspirational and will serve as a beacon to the next generation of adventurers and young women, whether they’re striving for the seemingly impossible or simply seeking more adventure in their lives. You are amazing Anna.”
- * Thanks to Anna for all the photos.
- * You can check out more of Anna’s Winter Munro Round by searching for @annawells and @rocksandtrails on social media.