Home » Courses » Guided Charlie Ramsay Round
We’re the UK’s leading specialist in supported 24 hour ‘Rounds’. We’ve led dozens of successful Bob Graham rounds already, and from 2018 we are delighted to offer the same guided service for Scotland’s classic challenge: the Charlie Ramsay. The UK’s highest peak is just one of 24 mountains that you must summit in order to complete this one. Are you tough enough?
Charlie's navigation skills were so impressive when we did the Charlie Ramsay Round together. I'd have been lost several times without him, especially at night. Not only did he keep us on course, on terrain he hadn't been on before, but he'd find clever shortcuts via contouring to save us valuable time. It doesn't matter how fit you are, waste too much time on a 24-hour fell running round and you won't get round in time.
Damian Hall, May 2017
On Sunday 9 July 1978, Charlie Ramsay of Edinburgh became the first man ever to summit all the mountains of Lochaber in a single day, starting and finishing at the Glen Nevis Youth Hostel. Charlie’s record time – 23 hours and 58 minutes – remained unbroken for nine years.
His route, taking in 24 summits (of which 23 are classified as Munros) is as spectacular as it is brutal. To date, only 109 of the hardiest hill and fell runners – including Mountain Run team members Charlie Sproson, Joe Mann and Damian Hall – have successfully risen to the challenge to join the ranks of official finishers. The current record time stands at 16h 13, set by Jasmin Paris in the summer of 2016.
Bagging a Charlie Ramsay round is not easy. Running one Munro is no mean feat: taking on 23 in quick succession is serious stuff. But if you think you’ve got the fitness, experience and pure grit that it takes to complete the round, read on ...
The Charlie Ramsay Round can be completed clockwise or anticlockwise: the only rule is that you must summit every peak, in the correct order. We will guide you in a clockwise direction, breaking the challenge into three stages with a fresh guide for each. That means you’ll begin with the big one: summit the Ben first and head via Carn Mor Dearg to Aonach Mor, Aonach Beag and the grey Corries. Your first change is at Fersit Dam: in distance, you’ve hit the halfway point but don’t be deceived: another 14 summits still lie ahead. Leg two takes you into the three Munros lying east of Loch Treig and on up the valley to your final changeover at Loch Eilde Mor, ready to tackle the Mamores as you return to Glen Nevis.
Choosing a guided round with us is not an easy option: you will still need to call on every last ounce of determination and stamina that you possess, to become a Charlie Ramsay 24 hour finisher. What we can do, is take the worries of planning, navigation and logistics right out of your hands, leaving you free to focus on the challenge itself. Not only do we have the skills in navigation and mountaincraft to look after you in the hills; we also have the experience of completing this epic round behind us. We know how it feels to be in your shoes, and we’re by your side every step of the way.
Your safety is our first concern, so before we set a date for your Charlie Ramsay attempt, we want to make sure that you’re ready for the challenge ahead:
The cost of your supported Charlie Ramsay Round is £1400, payable in two installments: a £200 deposit is due at the time of making your booking (usually 6-12 months before your planned Challenge date); and the remainder is due the day before your round takes place. Our fee includes:
The cost of your supported Charlie Ramsay Round is £1400, payable in three installments: a £500 deposit is due at the time of making your booking (usually 6-12 months before your planned Challenge date); and the remainder is due 8 weeks prior to your round, then the final instalment is due the day before your round takes place. Our fee includes:
The terms and conditions below apply specifically to guided Charlie Ramsay Rounds. Please see our full Terms and Conditions section for general booking information.
Deposits
Your deposit is non-refundable due to costs incurred at the time of booking.
Postponement and cancellation
If we decide that it’s essential to postpone your round due to bad weather conditions, we will give you as much notice as possible and reschedule for the next mutually agreeable date. Your deposit will be transferred to the new date.
If you need to postpone your Round due to injury, please give us as much notice as possible. Additional costs may be incurred.
If you decide to cancel your round for any reason, any deposit(s) paid to date are non- refundable.
Non-completion
We cannot guarantee that you will succeed in completing your goal, nor that you will do so in 24 hours. We will do our utmost to enable you to do so, but ultimately it is up to you; your training; your mental preparation and your fitness. No discounts or refunds can be offered for non-completion.
Learn to use Trail Running Poles for walking and running in Ultra Race's and Challenges. In this course we will teach you the basics, go through some drills and then put in to practice what we have learnt. We'll supply Leki poles, so don't worry if you don't have any.
Let Mountain Run's seasoned skyrunning instructors help you to gain the skills necessary to take on your first skyrace or develop your skill further to excel in the skyraces you have booked this season.
Develop your Skyrunning skills to take on more advanced and extreme sky races in either the UK or abroad. Let Mountain Run's seasoned skyrunning instructors help you to gain the skills necessary to develop your skill set further to excel in the skyraces you have booked this season.
A navigation session for Trail and Ultra Runners - Beginner to Intermediate - delivered by Hugh Chatfield