Scotland's 'nearly Munros' poised to hit new heights

The Ordnance Survey has said it will consider revising the official heights of some of Scotland's mountains, if walkers surveyed the small number of peaks which are literally inches away from the magic 3,000 foot height needed to earn the coveted title.

They admit that the current official heights of the two tallest "nearly Munros" are only accurate to within two feet either way and that they might actually be tall enough to be Munros.

In addition, Scotland's mountains are actually growing by a couple of millimetres a year and so a new measurement using the best new technology might reflect the growth since the heights were last measured in the 1960s and 1970s, then using old fashioned mathematical surveying techniques and calculations from aerial photographs.

The two peaks which have tantalised climbers are Foinaven in north-west Sutherland, which has an official height of 2,999ft, or 914m, and Beinn Dearg in Torridon in Wester Ross, which is logged at 2,998ft, but at the same metric height of 914m.

Scotland's Munro baggers have queried whether the two might actually be tall enough to be Munros, but under the rules they are regarded as "Corbetts", the designation given to mountains between 2,500 and 2,999ft tall.

In October 1991, hosts of climbers gathered at the bottom of Foinaven in the expectation that it might be granted Munro status, only for their hopes to be dashed when the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) - which rules on the matter - decided that the Ordnance Survey data could not guarantee it was over 3,000ft tall.

A spokesman for the Ordnance Survey said: "If someone, or a group, were to use survey-quality GPS equipment to get a precise height for those mountains then we would consider their result, although we would probably want to check it out ourselves to make sure it met with our standards. Our surveyors are very busy working on a series of projects such as flood plains across the country, and so they are not able to respond to each request to measure each hill or mountain.

"However, if it were clear that there was a public demand, then that's something we would consider."

Dr Paul Cruddace, the chief geodetic adviser to the Ordnance Survey, who deals with land movements and their effect on the landscape and mapping, said: "The Scottish mountains are moving upwards at a rate of about 2mm per year, so that means they will have risen since the heights were measured in the 1960s and 70s.

"They are moving as a result of isostatic rebound, which involves the land slowly rebounding after being covered by millions of tons of ice during the Ice Age. All that weight pressed the land down and since the Ice Age it is moving back up. This affects Scotland more than England because being further north Scotland lay under more ice. Some parts of Norway and Sweden have an even more dramatic effect and they are moving up by as much as 12mm per year."

John Fowler, the honorary secretary of the SMC, said: "On a matter like this, we would take our cue from the Ordnance Survey - we tend to review the definition of a Munro only when they publish new maps with more accurate heights. As far as Foinaven is concerned, it's still a superb walk whether it's a Munro or not and deserves to be popular."