A Scottish hillwalker has become the first person to complete an 'extraordinary' four-month mountain challenge.
Lorraine McCall, who has recovered from three types of cancer, hiked, cycled and travelled by boat non-stop to 231 peaks in Scotland known as Grahams.
Like the better-known Munros – Scotland’s 282 mountains of at least 3,000ft height – the Grahams are also defined by stature. The list includes all Scottish summits between 600 metres and 762m high that have a drop of at least 150m on all sides.
In total during her continuous round, which started on April 16, the 59-year-old Highlander walked 1,500km and ascended more than 120,000m - the equivalent of almost 14 times the height of Mount Everest.
In between, she cycled 4,000km and ascended 60,000m on two wheels, as well as kayaking and taking ferries where possible.
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She travelled as far south as Galloway, to the distant north of Sutherland, east to Angus and west to reach the many rugged mountains on the mainland and islands.
The most summits she “bagged” in one day was six near Luss in Loch Lomond during a 14-hour walk.
Ms McCall, who spent many nights sleeping in a tent, bothies or hostels, carried a heavy rucksack with all her kit, food and water.
Speaking on Thursday morning after reaching her final summit - the 612m-high Stac Pollaidh in Assynt, she said: “It is the hardest thing I have ever done by far. It has been much harder than I could have ever imagined.
“But I am so proud of myself. I have been close to giving up quite a few times but I kept going and I am now very happy that I did.”
To complete the feat, Lorraine then needed to cycle 80 miles back to her home town of Beauly.
Lorraine is no stranger to epic mountain circuits. In 2005, aged 40, she became the first woman to do a non-stop, self-powered round of the Munros on foot and by kayak.
Almost a decade later, she also set a record as the first female to link another huge list of mountains known as the Corbetts (mountains between 2500ft and 3000ft) in a similar way.
She added: “The Grahams round has been much, much harder than either the Munros or Corbetts rounds. I can’t even quantify how much tougher it has been.
“My body is older and a bit more worn out than it was on previous rounds and I have also had to deal with three different cancers – two bowel cancers and breast cancer – over the past 12 years. This has made me slower, more breathless and I have some toileting issues.
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“In addition, the Grahams, while smaller in stature than the Munros and Corbetts, are spread out much further geographically. They have very few paths because they are much less walked than other mountains and often thick with vegetation.
"The hardest stage of all was without doubt the seven Grahams on the Isle of Mull. The combination of difficult terrain plus terrible weather really came to a head there. It was so stormy and wet on the tops I could barely see."
Alan Dawson, the co-creator of the Grahams and the person who maintains the list, described Lorraine as “tremendously determined”.
He said: “There is a good reason why no-one has climbed all the Grahams in a continuous walk until now: They are hard work. About 10 per cent have pretty good paths to the top but that means over 200 are very tough going.
“The key issues are not navigation, exhaustion or even precipitation, but motivation and difficult vegetation.
“The concept of climbing them all in sequence, day after day, leaves me marvelling at the willpower, stamina and dogged determination required.
“Lorraine McCall has shown herself to have tremendous determination, a sense of purpose and presumably a sense of humour. Well done to her.”
Jamie Aarons who holds the record for the fastest self-powered continuous round of Munros, described Lorraine as “truly inspirational”.
She said: “Munros may have a bit more height, but Grahams take the cake for the road less travelled, not to mention having vast distances to get between them all.
“Lorraine took a silly idea that, as far as I know, had never been done before. She smiled through to the end despite many days of grim weather, mega bogs, hungry swarms of midges and no previous route to work from. I'm in awe of what she's completed.”
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