Anna Wells can’t remember a time when she wasn’t chasing dreams, relishing life in Scotland’s high places and being exhilarated by the great outdoors.
With a background in indoor rock climbing from primary school age, she was one of the most enthusiastic members of a kids club at Inverness Leisure Centre, where she fell in love with the sport and spent most of her teenage years climbing and competing.
As time passed, the 34-year-old developed an aptitude for outdoor rock climbing, mountaineering and ice climbing, scaled peaks all over the world and spent a lot of time immersed in the beauty of the French and Swiss Alps. But when Anna tells you that most of her favourite days have been “here in Scotland”, you’re not inclined to disagree with somebody as fragile as a moose. (The Canadian, not the Burns version).
Anna’s place in the history books
And certainly not after her remarkable achievement in becoming the first-ever woman to reach the summit of all 282 Munros in one winter season; an exploit which saw this qualified mountaineering instructor transcending myriad obstacles, including injuries, illness and ferocious 87mph winds to cement her place in the history books.
The mountains, all of them higher than 3,000ft, include Ben Nevis. Prior to embarking on her odyssey, only three other people – Martin Moran in 1985, Steve Perry in 2006 and Kevin Woods in 2020 – had mastermined a strategy for negotiating them at an average of three to four every 24 hours, based around astronomical winter, which starts on the shortest day in December and concludes with the spring equinox in March.
It’s a gruelling schedule, with scant room for rest or respite, but Anna doesn’t seem the sort of individual who is interested in the possibility of defeat and, after basing herself in Inverness, she travelled from the city to different locations across the Highlands.
An unforgettable thrill
She did some of the ascents on her own and was joined by friends such as Alex Moran – the son of the late Martin – on other days, but ultimately, it was in her hands, knees and feet – and her head – that she managed to go where no woman had ever gone before.
And, now that the dust has settled and she has had the opportunity to reflect on the whole adventure, there’s a sparkle in her eye at her treasure trove of memories.
She told Your Life: “I honestly just had the best three months of my life, and loved almost every second of it. The intensity, difficulty and enjoyment of the challenge was more than I could ever have imagined.
“I have always had loads of energy and a confidence to just ‘go’ for things. When I was 24, my friend and I attempted to climb all the 4,000m peaks of the Alps in a three-month period. We failed, but we did climb 38 out of 82, which was pretty amazing.
‘I thrive off the sense of freedom’
“There’s a quote, something like ‘shoot for the stars and you might land on the moon’. I like that idea and love coming up with crazy mountain challenges, with a penchant for early starts, massive days, and squeezing in as much technical terrain as possible.
“I love days out with friends, but I also thrive off the sense of freedom and self-reliance that comes from big solo adventures.
“I first heard about the Winter Munro Round concept when I read Martin Moran’s book about his success in 1985. The nature of the challenge hugely appealed to me, and I realised it played to my strengths.
“Whilst I am not particularly fast, I recognised that I had a fairly unique combination of skills and personality traits that meant this suited me incredibly well: a love for massive days; and high energy levels when I find something that motivates me.
I had a reasonable ability to ‘suffer’
“I have great enthusiasm for planning and strategising; lots of experience in wintry mountains and understanding snow conditions; good navigation skills that meant I was comfortable alone in blizzards in the dark; and a reasonable ability to ‘suffer’ as long as there was a hot bath and warm bed to look forward to at the end of the day.
“The idea lingered in my mind for a few years, but after watching Kevin Wood’s film Winter 282 about his round in 2020, the spark ignited and I knew I wanted to do it.”
It was a period of frenetic activity which flashed by in the blink of an eye as she journeyed to a plethora of different locations and strove to stick to her schedule. Yet, even if adversity occasionally struck, Anna managed to turn it to her advantage.
She said: “Usually in a year, I might have a handful of mountain days where I think ‘I will remember that forever’, but honestly, I had about 50 days like that this winter.
“Days tended to be memorable just as much because of the weather with epic sunrises and sunsets or the company, with friends joining me for about a third of the time.
‘I was delighted to achieve that goal’
“I suppose a big highlight was climbing the Cuillin Munros in ‘proper’ snowy winter conditions. They are the most technically demanding ones, with lots of ridges and scrambling. It would have been easier to pop over and climb them during a snow-free period, but I was determined I wanted to climb them in full winter condition.
“After carefully watching the forecast all winter, I was delighted to achieve that goal, with deep fresh snow, blue skies and sunshine.
“And another highlight was paragliding off the summit of Beinn Sgritheall!
“Probably the most memorable walk was climbing three of the Beinn Dearg Munros through the night before my final day. I had become determined to match Martin Moran’s fastest time of 83 days, but with a horrendous weather forecast, I realised that my only option was to push on through the night without sleep.
“That was already on the back of three huge days and so, in the final 72 hours, I racked up 11,000 vertical metres and 155km [more than 96 miles].
The finale was a spectacular night
“My friend Alex kindly joined me through the night. We were drenched to our skin within 30 minutes, then faced strong, icy winds for several hours, navigating complex terrain in the dark with some steep descents necessitating ice axes and crampons.
“But it was such a spectacular night; the combination of sleep deprivation, utterly wild weather and a growing euphoria that I had actually succeeded on the challenge was a potent mixture of emotions that I will never forget.”
Anna told me that her spirits are constantly being lifted by the sights and scenery of her homeland, the rugged wildness of the mountain terrain often complementing the transcendence of the views at the summit of so many of Scotland’s high places.
She has also been inspired by the record-breaking feats of other Scots, such as fellow Invernessian, Jenny Graham, who, in 2018, became the fastest woman to cycle around the world on her own, remaining stoical in often terrifying terrain, including a nightmarish sojourn to the twilight zone of the Trans-Siberian Highway.
Breaking down barriers
Anna was also hugely impressed by Jasmin Paris, from Midlothian who emerged as the first woman to complete the Barkley Marathons in Tennessee last month, but was so exhausted she slumped to the ground after finishing the race which covers 100 miles, involving 60,000ft of climb and descent – about twice the height of Mount Everest.
So, does it seem that more and more sisters are doing it for themselves?
Anna replied: “Absolutely! I am massively inspired by both Jasmin and Jenny, I think they are incredible role models and they are extremely impressive women.
She added: “I was also hugely inspired by Jamie Aarons [the Californian who moved to Scotland in 2005], who beat the (overall) Summer Munro Round record last year. I hope that these sorts of accomplishments can help encourage more women to get into the outdoors.
“A gender imbalance still exists, but I think that women seeing other women doing big things definitely helps to break that down a bit.
“Personally I would love to try and achieve a sub-five-hour Cuillin Ridge traverse this year. In 2017, I established the women’s FKT (fastest known time) in 6h 34mins, which was beaten by Kelli Roberts in 2020 in 5h 56mins.
“But, in the last four years, I have spent more than 200 days up on the Cuillin ridge working as a mountaineering instructor, and so I know the route much better now than I did before – it’s extremely complicated up there.
“I think that, if I improve my fitness, learn a few shortcuts, and get a good weather window, then I might stand a chance.
She is also keen on hill-running
“In addition to that, and on the back of my Munro [challenge], I have developed an appetite for hill-running, which is new to me.
“There are some 24-hour mountain challenges that exist around the UK, which involve huge ascents and distances. I would love to try and manage some of those this summer.
“To be honest, I just love the idea of running around in shorts and a T-shirt in the sunshine without having to worry about snow, blizzards, darkness and storms…although it is Scotland, so you never know!”
At the moment, she is reading and enjoying Jenny Graham’s book Coffee First, Then the World. One suspects these two Inverness residents are eggs from the same nest.
Anna’s advice for the high places
“First and foremost, I would emphasise that enjoying the outdoors can be for anyone and everyone. I think some people don’t know where to start, and that becomes the main barrier to access – taking the first step is always the hardest.
“I learned my skills through a combination of formal courses and learning from friends or clubs – there are lots of options.
Be prepared for weather to change
“In my early days, becoming competent with a map and compass was extremely liberating. It meant I could understand the terrain I saw on maps and plan my own routes, and have a sense of calm confidence in mist or darkness.
“I would strongly encourage people to build up skills in a safe and steady way, because the mountains can be very unforgiving and the weather changes extremely quickly.
“Also, don’t be obsessed by Munros – there are many other beautiful hills in Scotland.”
Further information is available from mountaineering.scot