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Do all the Munros have trig points at the summit?

Do all the Munros have trig points at the summit?


Postby Dan1001 » Sun Nov 02, 2014 11:28 am

I recently read a few things on the net where someone has said they had climbed a Munro only to find later that they had not actually been at the summit.

Im fairly new to hill walking but the hills I have walked up so far have all had trig points at the summit, I walked up Ben Wyvis yesterday and sure enough the trig point was there at the summit.

If there are trig points at the top of every Munro then surely there can be no confusion as to where the summit is, so this leads me to believe that not all Munros have trig points at the summit, am I right?

Thanks, Dan.
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Re: Do all the Munros have trig points at the summit?

Postby IamAJMiller » Sun Nov 02, 2014 7:50 pm

SImple answer: no, not all Munros have Trig points on them, but pretty sure you'll find a cairn of stones at the top of each one (I'll tell you in 55 munros time! :wink: ). Trig points were used by the OS to calculate relative distances for mapmaking etc. Therefore you'll find them in places with good vantage points and you should theoretically be able to see at least two other trig points on neighbouring hills/other good vantage points. One interesting Trig is on the side of East Lomond, it's not at the summit, but about 50m South of it on the side. Presumably it's a better viewpoint than having one at the summit!
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Re: Do all the Munros have trig points at the summit?

Postby gaffr » Sun Nov 02, 2014 7:52 pm

No..... There are some where the Trig. point is not at what is considered to be the 'Munro'.
Some have been knocked down or just wasted away over the years. :lol:
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Re: Do all the Munros have trig points at the summit?

Postby dtr42 » Sun Nov 02, 2014 9:19 pm

A good example is Ben Vorlich [Loch lomond] as the trig point is about 200 metres away and 15 metres below the actual top of the Munro. and there are loads of hills with no trig point at all.
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Re: Do all the Munros have trig points at the summit?

Postby KeithS » Mon Nov 03, 2014 12:10 pm

Hi, Whilst not all (in fact many) Munros do not have actual O/S trig points, most will have some sort of cairn. The size seems to be related to the nature of the ground around and availability of suitable stones.

The problem arises with the fact that many Munro Tops (or even other pointly bits) will also have a cairn, sometimes quite sizeable, so the fact that you are stood on a piece of ground which descends in every direction and has a cairn on top does not mean you are actually at the Munro summit.

This is rarely a problem in fine weather as you can just look around and see what appears to be a higher bit. The problem arises in mist when it might not be so obvious.

A good example of this is Ben Dorain where the route takes you over a top with a very good cairn and I believe many people have stopped for their sandwiches and tick in the book without continuing the 200 metres of so further on to the actual summit.
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Re: Do all the Munros have trig points at the summit?

Postby IamAJMiller » Mon Nov 03, 2014 12:23 pm

Beinn Dorain is a great example! Gulvain is also worth mentioning as it's South top has an excellent trig point on it and almost everyone reaches it via the normal route. In the mist it would be easy to think that it was the highest point, even more so if you're using the Landranger maps (The true summit is 1km away on a different map sheet). I imagine this is a popular one for people thinking they've got to the top but in reality only reached a lower 'top'.
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Re: Do all the Munros have trig points at the summit?

Postby Walk-n-Roller » Mon Nov 03, 2014 10:49 pm

When I went up face of Stuc a Chroin in heavy mist, I reached the top of the scramble and Sat down at a cairn to have a roll and took a photo thinking that was the top....it wasn't until I went to look for an easier "route down" that I found the true summit....and another two cairns both of which I stood on just incase. :)
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Re: Do all the Munros have trig points at the summit?

Postby colingray8 » Tue Nov 04, 2014 6:03 pm

I did a very similar thing on Lochnagar. Climbed up to the cairn and had lunch thinking we were at the top, never checked the map or GPS as we thought we knew where we were. It wasn't till I downloaded my GPS route at home that I realised that we were not in the right place and did not get to the summit! :shock:

Need to climb it again - it's a nice walk so I don't mind too much.

Lesson learned, check the map or GPS!!!
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Re: Do all the Munros have trig points at the summit?

Postby Kevin29035 » Tue Nov 04, 2014 7:44 pm

Speaking of Beinn Dorain, I once did it after several days to a week of little wind and no new snowfall. I passed many people on my way up, but when I got to the "top" it was deserted and the tracks just stopped there. The ridge to the main summit was completely untouched, not even by old prints seemingly. God knows how long it had been since anyone had gone across, but that's a lot of people who had no idea they made it to the nearly-top! :clap: :D
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Re: Do all the Munros have trig points at the summit?

Postby jmarkb » Tue Nov 04, 2014 9:30 pm

Kevin29035 wrote:Speaking of Beinn Dorain, I once did it after several days to a week of little wind and no new snowfall. I passed many people on my way up, but when I got to the "top" it was deserted and the tracks just stopped there. The ridge to the main summit was completely untouched, not even by old prints seemingly. God knows how long it had been since anyone had gone across, but that's a lot of people who had no idea they made it to the nearly-top! :clap: :D


Had a similar experience on Vorlich last year: at least a dozen sets of prints going to the trig point and none to the summit cairn! Have seen folk turn round at the trig point on Carn nan Gabhar (Beinn a' Ghlo) too.
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Re: Do all the Munros have trig points at the summit?

Postby BlackPanther » Thu Nov 06, 2014 1:43 pm

Throw in Slioch for trig point in confusing position. I witnessed people reaching the trig, posing for photos and then turning back. I was sitting by the true summit cairn and wondered - did they realise, they missed the real top?

Corbetts are even worse when it comes to summit location :lol:
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Re: Do all the Munros have trig points at the summit?

Postby Red Peak » Thu Nov 06, 2014 2:12 pm

Reading some of the comments on here of people incorrectly thinking they were on the summit, it makes me wonder how many compleaters there are out there that, well, aren't :D
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Re: Do all the Munros have trig points at the summit?

Postby gaffr » Thu Nov 06, 2014 2:55 pm

What about those doing the reverse :lol:
Coming up the Druim a'Choire Odhair on a traverse of Ladhar Bheinn.......Trig point in the distance.....it is kind-of like a magnet. :lol:
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Re: Do all the Munros have trig points at the summit?

Postby PerthAlly » Thu Nov 06, 2014 7:38 pm

I was at the top of Bidean nam Bian yesterday and didn't see one.

It could, of course, been hidden under the cairn.

Plus it was pretty cold up there and my attention was given over to a hot cup of tea and a rapidly scoffed sandwich :)
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Re: Do all the Munros have trig points at the summit?

Postby jmarkb » Thu Nov 06, 2014 8:29 pm

PerthAlly wrote:I was at the top of Bidean nam Bian yesterday and didn't see one.


Perhaps surprisingly given its prominence, Bidean never had one (according to http://trigpointing.uk ).
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