Climber is first woman to bag gruelling Munro challenge

Mountaineer Anna Wells has become the first woman to have reached the top of all of Scotland's 282 Munros in one winter season.

The 34-year-old, from Inverness, took 83 days to complete what is called the Winter Munro Round.

Starting on 22 December, the qualified mountaineering instructor had to finish her challenge before the end of astronomical winter on 20 March.

Injuries, a bout of ill-health and 87mph winds threatened to scupper her bid.

Ms Wels on Cairn Gorm, her last Munro

A Munro is a Scottish mountain of more than 3,000ft (914m) - including Britain's highest mountain - Ben Nevis.

Only three other people had previously been recorded completing the Winter Munro Round.

The first was Martin Moran in 1985, before Steve Perry completed it in 2006 and Kevin Woods in 2020.

Ms Wells' bid was set around astronomical winter, which starts on the shortest day and ends with the spring equinox.

Different strategies are used to tackle the round, including travelling to the groups and individual Munros dotted across the Highlands and Islands in a van - and sleeping in the vehicle between climbs.

Ms Wells mainly based herself in Inverness, travelling out from the city to different locations.

The climber was blessed with some fine weather

Ms Wells said suffering a serious injury was one of her biggest concerns.

"That always made me the most worried or upset because it felt like it was totally out of my control," she said.

"My lowest moments within the round were two specific days where I had different foot problems that I thought were going to completely stop me."

Terrain and weather conditions were other major challenges.

She had to trudge through knee-deep snow to complete nine summits in the Fannichs.

Towards the end of her challenge she lost four days after getting ill.

She said: "I was lying bed while it was sunny outside and some of the best weather I'd had."

Her final push this week saw her get soaked while bagging three Munros near Ullapool, and on her last day - Wednesday - she managed to ascend Cairn Gorm and get down off the summit as winds gusted to 87mph.

Anna Wells was accompanied by friends and family on some of her ascents

Ms Wells said some of the best parts of her challenge were Skye's Cuillin summits and the mountains of Knoydart

Ms Wells' safety precautions included leaving details of her routes with her family, and carrying an emergency kit that had extra clothing, spare torch and compass and a device that can send an SOS at the press of a button.

Highs included traverses of Skye's Cuillin hills in snow, and climbing remote summits in Knoydart.

On some of her climbs she was also accompanied by friends and family, including Martin Moran's son, Alex.

Like his late father, Alex Moran is a highly-experienced mountaineer.

For Cairn Gorm, she was joined by 25 other climbers who wanted to share in her celebrations.

Ms Wells, who posted daily on Instagram @rocksandtrails, said the company she had was one of the biggest joys of her experience.

She said: "It was incredible to have so many people come and support me on the last Munro, and so many people helped me throughout the round as well."

She added: "Martin Moran holds the the record for the fastest time, which was 83 days.

"I managed to equal his record, which was a little pipe dream of mine."