UKHillwalking have published an article on the survey of Creag na
Caillich and Mullach Coire nan Cisteachan conducted by G&J Surveys. The original article and a link to it on the
UKHillwalking website appear below.
These two hills were previously surveyed by Alan Dawson and our results
confirmed his findings. As a result the
Scottish Mountaineering Club has amended the list of Munro Tops with Creag na
Caillich taken out of the list and Mullach Coire nan Cisteachan included as a
new Munro Top.
One New Munro Top Found;
Another Is Demoted
by John Barnard, Graham Jackson & Myrddyn Phillips 11/Sep/2015
G & J Surveys, the team
of hill surveyors behind several well publicised revisions of mountain heights,
have been busy in the Scottish highlands. The result is one brand new
Munro Top, and one demotion. Mullach Coire nan Cisteachan above Drumochter
is the first new Munro Top to be identified since the last official revision of
Munro’s Tables in 1997. However one hill's gain is another's loss, and a survey
of Creag na Caillich on the Tarmachan Ridge has led to its removal from
the list. For now then, the total number of Tops remains the same at 255
(in addition to the 283 Munros). Here's how they came by their
results.
When, in 1891, the Scottish Mountaineering
Club (SMC) published what is now known as Munro’s Tables, the highlands of
Scotland and their 3000ft mountains were first listed. This list comprised
538 hills and differentiated between Separate Mountains (with 283 listed) and
their Subsidiary Tops (with 255 listed). These are known nowadays as
Munros and Munro Tops respectively.
Over subsequent years Munro bagging has become very popular with over
6000 people now officially registered with the SMC as being 'compleatists'
[sic], and probably many more that staunchly keep their completion between
themselves and good friends.
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| Using a level and staff to determine the high point of Creag na Caillich, formerly a Munro Top |
Our surveying in the Scottish Highlands has concentrated on The
Munro Society’s (TMS) Heighting Project with many of the heights of marginal
Munros and high Corbetts now having been measured accurately by us. Since
we invested in our GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) surveying
equipment that is capable of height measurements to a precision of 5cm or
better, the Scottish Highlands has also attracted the attention of Alan Dawson,
who invested in similar GNSS equipment in 2012. Alan is well known as a
hill list compiler with a multitude of prominence based lists to his credit,
including the Marilyns, and his surveys are focussed on improving the accuracy
of these lists. It was the results from surveys of Creag na Caillich and
Mullach Coire nan Cisteachan that were conducted by Alan that interested us
this time, since both these surveys also suggested status changes to the list
of Munro Tops.
Nb. The latter name of Mullach Coire nan Cisteachan was adopted by the
SMC through local enquiry and map study, as the hill is unnamed on current
Ordnance Survey (OS) maps. It has also been known as Carn na Caim South Top.
Creag na Caillich (NN562376) is positioned at the western end
of the Tarmachan Ridge and is easily accessible via a track that gains height
around the southern part of the ridge. The day we ventured onto this hill
proved almost ideal, as only an occasional shower materialised over the
mountains and these were quickly pushed eastward by a brisk breeze. We
parked on the minor road close to the position of the now demolished Ben
Lawyers visitor centre, and set off along the excellent track. The route
essentially traverses west under the southern flank of the Tarmachan Ridge
before reaching an old quarry. At this point it was a question of finding
the most suitable route up the steep grassy flanks to reach the col and the summit
ridge path to the east of our target. This was tough going with all the
equipment, and we very much contributed to the already high humidity, but one
could not avoid admiring this lush green corrie!
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| John Barnard at the summit of Creag na Caillich |
The summit of Creag na Caillich is quite pronounced and is an excellent
view point to look back along the ridge and also to admire the great scenery in
this part of the Highlands. As we knew the measurement would be critical,
we first used a level and staff to determine accurately the highest point before
assembling our Leica GS15 over it. This now remained in place for the
minimum two hour data collection period required by OS for them to verify the
data. The summit was surprisingly windy and we were pleased to be
sheltered behind a small rock outcrop while the all-important data were being
collected. Once the job had been completed it was a return to the car by
the same route and, with more time, a chance to admire some of the flora and
fauna as well. A rare butterfly, called a Mountain Ringlet, was just one
of the highlights.
The following day we had arranged to meet representatives from the SMC
and members of TMS just off the A9 for an ascent and survey of Mullach Coire
nan Cisteachan (NN663806) currently on OS maps with a height below
3000feet. The SMC were represented by Rab Anderson and Andy Nisbet and TMS
by a number of members including Iain Robertson who had instigated the
Heighting Project for TMS.
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| Immersed in a bog - surveying the bealach of Mullach Coire nan Cisteachan |
The ascent of this hill is straightforward as a vehicle track ascends
one of the bulky westerly whaleback ridges to within a few metres of the
summit; so it’s a question of heads down and go for it! Many would agree
that Drumochter is not the most scenic part of the Scottish Highlands, but the
altitude of the A9 does mean fairly short ascents. Weather conditions on
the summit were perfect with clear conditions and a light breeze. Again
once the high point had been located accurately with level and staff, the Leica
GS15 was set up for its two hour data collection. During this time a
number of the party took the opportunity to visit the parent Munro of Carn na
Caim, whilst we inspected the area of the bealach, or col if you are a
Sassenach. A key factor for the SMC in deciding the status of a Munro Top
is “topographical significance”, although the drop of a hill was something that
Munro never took into account in the creation of his Tables. Topographical
significance was based by Munro on subjective judgment rather than any
formulaic method. e also planned to confirm the drop from the summit to
the bealach which Alan had previously measured to be over 30m.
The bealach consists of an unsavoury looking peat bog, which although
sticky in places and messy on our footware, never proved too difficult to
negotiate, and nobody disappeared into it! Once our initial inspection was
complete we returned to the summit and waited the few remaining minutes for the
two hours of data to be collected before taking the surveying equipment back
down to the bealach. Using the level and staff in the bog proved
interesting particularly for the holder of the staff who finished the survey
six inches taller! However, the critical position of the bealach was
located as before and the Leica GS15 was set up over it to collect GNSS
data. All that remained was to retrace our steps back over the summit and
down to the A9 where our cars awaited.
The results for these surveys were sent to OS who subsequently verified
the data and maps will be accordingly updated with the Creag na Caillich result
of 914.3m being rounded down to 914m on maps, and the Mullach Coire nan
Cisteachan result of 914.6m being rounded up to 915m on maps.
This information was forwarded to the SMC and as the all-important
figure of 3000ft for Munro Top status is 914.4m, it means that the SMC has
taken Creag na Caillich out from the list of Munro Tops. But more pleasingly as
one hill departs the list another enters, and the SMC will include Mullach
Coire nan Cisteachan into the list of Munro Tops. This is the first new
Munro Top to be identified since the last revision of Munro’s Tables in 1997.
Here are two videos of the hill survey days:
Please click {here} to see the
original article published on the UKHillwalking website
