One of our Munros is missing

MUNRO bagging just got a tiny bit easier. A new survey of a mountain in Wester Ross shows it doesn't quite match up to its previous status and should no longer qualify as a Munro - mountains over 3,000ft high.

Beinn a'Chlaidheimh, in the remote Fisherfield Forest between Loch Maree and Little Loch Broom in Wester Ross, was found to be 913.96 metres (2,997.7ft), rather than the previous map height of 916m (3,004ft).

It means the summit falls just short of the 914.4m Munro threshold and now becomes a Corbett, which are mountains between 2,500ft (762m) and 3,000ft.

Beinn a'Chlaidheimh, which means Hill of the Sword, is the most northern of a group of mountains known as the Fisherfield Six. It was previously classified as a Corbett but was elevated to the Munro list in 1974.

It was one of three mountains that were re-measured last month by the Munro Society. A team used the latest satellite technology, a much more advanced system than that used by mountaineer Sir Hugh Munro, who produced his first list of peaks over 3,000ft in 1891.

Beinn Dearg Mor (Big Red Hill) was re-measured as 906.28m (2,972ft) rather than 910m (2,984.8ft). It remains a Corbett. The third mountain, Ruadh Stac Mor (Big Brown Peak), was found to be almost the height given on the Ordnance Survey map - 918.67m (3,013.2ft) rather than 918.65m (3,013.1ft) - and therefore remains a Munro.

A Munro Society spokesman said: "In measuring the heights of mountains just below and just above 3,000ft, we believe we are following in the tradition of accurate measurement established by Sir Hugh Munro, who first produced the 'Munro's Tables' in 1891.

"Munro and his friends relied on aneroid barometers, the technology of the time; in 2011, we use satellite technology to achieve yet greater accuracy, but we seek the same objective."

The new data means there are now 282 Munros in Scotland. To date, more than 4,000 people who have scaled every one have registered their names with the society's clerk, who keeps a list on behalf of the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC), although many others do not register their details.

A spokesman for the SMC said: "We have been notified of these survey results and have undertaken to consider the implications for Munro's and Corbett's tables when the Ordnance Survey updates its map of the area."

Experts say the loss of Munro status will not deter climbers scaling certain peaks.

The Munro Society spokesman said: "It seems unlikely that the thousands who enjoy the Scottish mountains will be in any way deterred from climbing them if and when their status in the tables changes.

"All remain fine mountains in their own right and the experience enjoyed in ascending their slopes is in no way diminished."