Hills which don't make the sacred 'lists'- an appreciation

[tomsnowball]

hi guys,

I just want to send out some appreciation for all those forgotten hilltops which for whatever reason don't make the precious (and arbitrary) 'lists'; those Might-have-been Munro tops, Cancelled Corbetts, Give-em-a-miss non-Grahams, Dont-bother Donalds.

I just want to say, they may not tick the right boxes,
They may never be quite Compleat,
But to climb their crags and buttresses,
Still has to be some feat.

x

T

[Sunset tripper]

I think nowadays every hill, bump or lump is on one list or another.
Dun Dearduil Southside Loch Ness is pretty impressive though for a small hill.

[simon-b]

Two little hills I've enjoyed:
Cnoc Croit na Maoile (Ord Hill) near Muir of Ord
Smearsett Scar near Settle, Yorkshire Dales

[BobMcBob]

Stuc Coire an Laoigh, an outlier of Beinn Eighe, would be a Corbett but for the unfathomable beaurocracy of list-makers. I climbed it last week because it was looking at me. It's a great little scramble, offers the best views down the ridge of Liathach I've ever seen, and is without doubt a better way up onto the Beinn Eighe ridge than the appalling scar that calls itself a path that runs up through Coire an Laoigh.

While we're on Beinn Eighe, the whole eastern half of the ridge is better than the bit with the Munros on it and to the west, Sail Mhor is not a Munro but is the best summit on the whole thing.

I could go on and, if I'd had more beer, would do so. So count yourselves lucky. If I'm honest these days I tend to give a route more consideration if it's not on a list than if it is.

[Mal Grey]

Stuc Coire an Laoigh, an outlier of Beinn Eighe, would be a Corbett but for the unfathomable beaurocracy of list-makers. I climbed it last week because it was looking at me. It's a great little scramble, offers the best views down the ridge of Liathach I've ever seen, and is without doubt a better way up onto the Beinn Eighe ridge than the appalling scar that calls itself a path that runs up through Coire an Laoigh.

Its quite a peak, isn't it. Whist its too much of a subsidiary top to ever be counted as a "list" summit, it really is a great spot. It caught us by surprise one winter, involving a definitely "interesting" little move that was rather exposed when covered with snow...as you say, far better than the coire "path".

Beinn Eighe is such an amazing "massif" that it doesn't really make logical sense to say that getting to the two Munro tops means you've climbed it. Fortunately we did the lot in one looooonnng winter day (very little snow that time), but have been back a few times since.

[nigheandonn]

Ben A'an seems to be the one most asked about - a nice hill, too, although it's many years since I've been there.

[malky_c]

The top of Shelterstone Crag in the Cairngorms gets my vote, and isn't on any list that I can see.

Sgurr na Eanchannie above Ardgour is probably a Graham top, but it is better than the attached Graham. The following are also probably humps or bumps or lumps of some list or other, but not on the most popular lists:

Garbh Choireachain and Speicein Coinnich on Ben Mor Coigach (particularly the former) are strongly recommended.

Carn Mairi above Barisdale.

Halaval on Rum

Bidein Druim nan Ramh and Gars-Bheinn on the Black Cuillin ridge.

[DaveH82]

I really enjoyed my look up Mither Tap last week, I think it only misses out on a blue ballon of any kind because Oxen Craig is slightly higher. But it's definitely the better peak.

[lochfyne]

The top of Shelterstone Crag in the Cairngorms gets my vote, and isn't on any list that I can see.

Sgurr na Eanchannie above Ardgour is probably a Graham top, but it is better than the attached Graham. The following are also probably humps or bumps or lumps of some list or other, but not on the most popular lists:

Garbh Choireachain and Speicein Coinnich on Ben Mor Coigach (particularly the former) are strongly recommended.

Carn Mairi above Barisdale.

Halaval on Rum

Bidein Druim nan Ramh and Gars-Bheinn on the Black Cuillin ridge.

Interested to read your list which includes my two "disappointed not to find them on a list" hills

Gars-Bheinn which is my favourite hill. I looked at it every day when I was growing up in Elgol, but having no interest in hills until I was in my late 40's, I was 54 before making it to the top to look across to Elgol on one of our top hill days.
The other is Halaval on Rum. We spent a fantastic weekend on Rum in April and set off to do the traverse, or perhaps part of it depending on how the day panned out. I suspect we made things difficult for ourselves with the route we took to the top of Halaval, so it felt like quite an achievement to reach the summit, but then a bit of a disappointment to find on our return home that Halaval is not "listed"
Anyhow, its only a list!

[prog99]

Alas Hallival is on a list.

http://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/mountaind ... hp?rf=4502

[jmarkb]

Anything with at least 30m of re-ascent is now listed in the Tumps http://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/Tumps.php?ct=S which is a superset of most of the other lists.

[malky_c]

Alas Hallival is on a list.

http://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/mountaind ... hp?rf=4502

Yes, I sort of acknowledged that with
'The following are also probably humps or bumps or lumps of some list or other, but not on the most popular lists:'

There's very few summits of any significance that aren't on a list - usually more likely to be the end of a ridge or something.

[StevieC]

Beinn Choranach - next door to Beinn Ime - is a nice wee hill I've done a couple of times but doesn't seem to appear on most lists. Park at Butterbridge, nice walk up Glen Kinglas, climb up the hill's north ridge, then descend south to the bealach then west back to the car.

[BlackPanther]

Cnoc Croit na Maoile (Ord Hill) near Muir of Ord

Basically, all Beauly hills are good walks. I'd add Torr Breac to the list of unlisted

Another local hill: Cnoc a'Bhreacaich above Dingwall.
A nice wee mountain for afternoon stroll plus an interesting folly castle (Caisteal Gorach) to investigate

Also Cnoc Fyrish near Alness, another hill with a folly monument and great views to Cromarty Firth.

[Cairngormwanderer]

All this does my head in. I think, just to share the pain and confusion, we should have a new list of hills, the 'Paradoxes'.
Qualification for this list is on the basis that the hills are not members of any list of hills.