HIGH ACHIEVER
Elsa bags full set of Munros at age 76.. for the third time
A SUPER-FIT gran has finished climbing all 282 of Scotland’s highest hills at the age of 76 ... for the third time.
Passionate Munro-bagger Elsa Yates started her labour of love in 1988 with late husband Bobby when she scaled Ben Lomond for her first 3000ft-plus ascent.
She and Bobby, who have two sons and a daughter, completed their first round of Munros within four years.
The pair from Edinburgh then went on to complete all 282 for a second time by 1996.
Sadly, Bobby passed away in 2005, but Elsa’s love of hillwalking continued and she became a triple Munroist in June.
She finished with two peaks in the Big Six at Fisherfield, in the north west of the country.
And while Elsa said she can’t imagine life without the hills, she doesn’t think she’ll make it up and down them all again a fourth time.
Retired English teacher Elsa continues to walk regularly with the Polmont Hillwalking Club in Falkirk.
She said: “You don’t start out to do them all but the next thing you know it’s in sight. I absolutely love the hills and can’t imagine life without them.
“When Bobby died, it became a lifeline for me. It kept me going and the Polmont club is amazing.
“It’s impossible to pick a favourite but I do love the hills in the northwest. I will keep going but I don’t think I’ll manage them a fourth time.”
Secretary of Polmont Hillwalking Club, Andrew Govan, said: “Elsa is a great inspiration to us. We’re planning an informal celebration to mark her remarkable achievement.”