The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Female first as Anna bags Munros feat
Mountaineer Anna Wells has become the first woman to scale all of Scotland’s 282 Munros during a single winter season.
The 34-year-old, from Inverness, also equalled the record shortest time to complete the challenge, matching Martin Moran’s time of 83 days.
She is one of only four people to achieve the feat, alongside Martin in 1985, Steve Perry in 2006 and Kevin Woods in 2020.
Anna told The Press and Journal: “It really appealed to me as a challenge because I am quite goal-orientated.
“I like a clear objective and I absolutely love being in the mountains.
“I am an experienced climber and mountaineer so I knew I would have the skills to tackle it.”
She braved harsh winds, injuries and a bout of ill-health to achieve her goal, having started on December 22.
On the difficulties she faced, Anna said: “There were lots of times where the weather was really, really bad and I would be on my own, in the middle of nowhere, in the dark, in a blizzard, in 50mph winds.
“Those moments were where I became more resilient as it went on because I knew I could relax and look after myself, and know I could be OK.”
Injuries were the most worrying factor in completing the challenge for Anna.
She added: “There were two occasions where I had really bad foot problems and I thought that I might not be able to continue.
“Those were the only times I felt down doing it.
“About two weeks before the end I got unwell and I ended up losing about three or four days.
“I was in bed, it was good weather and it was so frustrating because I had been out battling storms earlier in the season and then I was lying in bed in the sunshine.
“I thought I had lost my chance to chase the record but then the last 10 days I did a ridiculous amount of mileage and height gain, with huge back-to-back days just to catch up.”
On parts of her journey Anna was joined by family and friends, including Alex Moran, the son of the first person to complete the Munro challenge, Martin.
Anna, who documented her journey on her Instagram account @rocksandtrails, described being able to equal the fastest time set by Martin as “really special”.
She said: “I kept that a very private goal, so I never really talked about that on my social media because I knew that if I said it, it would seem a disappointment if I didn’t manage it.
“I was the first woman to do it, which a lot of people have found notable as there are less women who take part in winter mountaineering.
“It felt extra special to be the first woman to equal the men’s record.”