2013-11-13

A mountain in Scotland is six inches shorter than previously thought, meaning it is no longer classified as a Munro Top.

In Scotland, Munros and Munro Tops are mountains which are over 3,000ft.

Knight's Peak on the Isle of Skye had been listed as 3,0002ft.

However, surveyors using GPS technology found it to actually be six inches too short to qualify as a Munro Top.

A Munro Top is a subsidiary of a nearby Munro. Climbers do not regard them as having the "sufficient gap" from a neighbouring mountain to be considered as a Munro proper.

Scottish mountains are also grouped into Corbetts and Grahams.

Knight's Peak on Skye demoted from Munro Top status

BBC News
13th November 2013


Knight's Peak is a challenging climb on the Isle of Skye

A rocky peak on Skye's Pinnacle Ridge is shorter than previously thought, according to a new measurement.

Knight's Peak had been listed as a Munro Top, with a height of 3,002ft (915m).

Munros and Munro Tops are mountains of more than 3,000ft (914.4m). They are prized by hillwalkers and climbers.

Knight's Peak, however, has lost its status after surveyors using GPS technology found it to be 6in (16.5cm) too short to qualify as a top.

A Munro Top is a subsidiary of a nearby Munro. Climbers do not regard them as having the "sufficient gap" from a neighbouring mountain to be considered as a Munro proper.

The classifications take their name from Victorian climber Sir Hugh Munro, who began writing a list of Scotland's highest mountains in the late 1800s.

Knight's Peak, a subsidiary of Sgurr nan Gillean, was named after W Knight, who made the first recorded ascent of it 140 years ago.

John Barnard, one of the surveyors involved in calculating the new height, said GPS allowed measurements to be made down to a few centimetres.

He told BBC Scotland: "It doesn't take anything away from the hill. The hill is still there and it is a fantastic hill. It is just the categorisation that has changed."


Knight's Peak on the Isle of Skye is a subsidiary of the mountain Sgurr nan Gillean (Scottish Gaelic for "peak of the young men")


Isle of Skye

Alistair Milner, who coordinates height records for The Munro Society, said new technology made it "inevitable" that some peaks would lose their status.

He added: "We want to make the list as accurate as we can.

"Sir Hugh Munro was a stickler for accuracy. We are just carrying on his tradition."

Mr Milner said that because of the challenging route up to Knight's Peak climbers would still want to tackle it.

The same survey team also found that another Munro Top on Skye, Basteir Tooth, was 4ft (1.2m) higher than previously recorded.

Last year, Beinn a'Chlaidheimh (Scottish Gaelic for "Sword Hill"), a Munro near Ullapool, was demoted to Corbett status following a fresh measurement of its height.

Corbetts are Scottish hills of 2,000-3,000ft (762m to 914.4m).

Also last year, two peaks that had twin Corbett status because mountaineers could not determine which was taller were separated by new measurements.

Buidhe Bheinn above Kinloch Hourn and Sgurr a' Bhac Chaolais, overlooking Glen Shiel and linked by a ridge, were previously thought to be 2,903.6ft (885m).

But modern survey equipment recorded Buidhe Bheinn the higher at 885.50m. It now solely holds the status as a Corbett.

Scotland's hills and mountains

A Munro has to be 3,000ft (914.4m) or higher. There are 282 Munros and 509 tops

Corbetts are hills of between 2,500ft (762m) and 3,000ft (914.4m) with a drop of at least 500ft (152.4m) between each listed hill and any adjacent higher one. There are 220 listed

Grahams are hills of between 2,000 and 2,499 feet (610 and 761 metres), and which have at least a 150 metre drop between them. There are 224 Grahams

Source: Scottish Mountaineering Club

BBC News - Knight's Peak on Skye demoted from Munro Top status

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