Laura Baillie Completes 1,072-Peak UK Full House at Carn na h-Easgainn

Q: Why did conquering the lower Corbetts prove far more agonizing than scaling the UK's tallest 3,000-foot mountains?

The lower Corbetts were more agonizing because, despite being shorter than Munros, they were often much rougher and less developed terrain. Laura Baillie said the Corbetts were the hardest part of her “Full House” because they frequently involved pathless ground and thick bracken, making progress slow, tiring and awkward. By contrast, the Munros — Scotland’s mountains above 3,000 feet — are generally better known, more regularly climbed and often served by clearer paths and more established routes. That does not make them easy, but it does make them more straightforward to plan and walk. Baillie said the Munros still required careful route planning, yet the going on Corbetts was often physically more frustrating. That fits the wider hillwalking experience in Scotland. Corbetts, which are peaks between 2,500 and 3,000 feet with significant prominence, are often more isolated and quieter than Munros. Many have long approaches, little sign of a trail, deep heather, boggy ground and heavy summer bracken. In practical terms, that can make a lower hill feel harder than a taller mountain, because walkers spend more time battling vegetation, uneven footing and difficult navigation. So the challenge was not altitude so much as terrain: the Corbetts demanded more grinding effort underfoot, while the taller Munros were usually easier to read and follow.

2 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 23

Carn na h-Easgainn, a 2,025ft Highland summit near Tomatin, was Laura Baillie’s 1,072nd and final peak in the Scottish Mountaineering Club’s “full house” challenge.
The 38-year-old Glasgow property manager deliberately saved an easier last ascent so family could join, with land access arranged to bring her 89-year-old grandmother to the summit before her 90th birthday.
About 100 people have completed the feat, which requires climbers to summit every Munro, Munro Top, Corbett, Graham, Donald and Furth across Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland.
Baillie, among the youngest women to finish, said the toughest sections were pathless Corbetts, capping years of early starts, wild camping and often solo hikes in remote areas without phone signal.