Scotland's Mountains Before the Mountaineers

The story of the Scottish Highlands at a time when the mountains were a sanctuary for Jacobites, bandits, poachers and illicit distillers, rather than the tourists and mountaineers of today. Who were the first people to ‘conquer’ Scotland’s mountains, and why did they do it? Which clergyman climbed all the Cairngorm 4,000-ers nearly two centuries ago? How many Munros did Bonnie Prince Charlie bag? Which bandit and sheep rustler hid in the mountains while his wife saw off the sheriff officers with a shotgun? According to Gaelic tradition, how did an outlier of the rugged Corbett Beinn Aridh Charr come to be called Spidean Moirich, ‘Martha’s Peak’? Who was the murderous clansman who gave his name to Beinn Fhionnlaidh? In this ground-breaking book, Ian Mitchell tells the story of explorations and ascents in the Scottish Highlands in the days before mountaineering became a popular sport – when Jacobites, bandits, poachers and illicit distillers traditionally used the mountains as sanctuary. The book also gives a detailed account of the early map makers, road builders, geologists, astronomers and naturalists, many of whom ascended hitherto untrodden summits while working in the Scottish Highlands. Scotland’s Mountains before the Mountaineers is divided into four Highland regions, whith a map of each region showing key summits. While not designed primarily as a guide, it is nevertheless a useful handbook for walkers and climbers. Based on a wealth of new research, this book offers a fresh perspective that will fascinate climbers and mountaineers, and anyone interested in the history of mountaineering, cartography, the evolution of the landscape and the social history of the Scottish Highlands. This new, revised edition brings up to date Mitchell’s further researches on the exploration of the summits since the work first appeared. This work tells the story of explorations and ascents in the Scottish Highlands in the days before mountaineering became a popular sport - when Jacobites, bandits, poachers and illicit distillers traditionally used the mountains as sanctuary.