Chinese nurse climbs all 282 of Scotland's biggest mountains

Sunny He Huang (middle) and her son (left). [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

An Edinburgh nurse is believed to have become the first person from China to have climbed all 282 of the highest mountains in Scotland.

The mountains, all more than 914 meters, are known as Munros.

Sunny He Huang, from Liaoning province, started the 70 Munros Challenge two years ago to raise money for the charity Christian Aid. But it turned out to be something she really enjoyed and she was determined to climb all 282.

"When I heard that I was the first person from China to have officially climbed all 282 Munros, I was in tears and so emotional," she said. "It was just so exciting and I couldn’t sleep the first night."

Huang climbed more than 100 on her own and others with friends, spending almost all her weekends and days off climbing.

Huang discovered her love for hill walking when her son went to university and, feeling at a loose end, she started walking on the Pentland Hills, south of Edinburgh.

She climbed her first Munro, Ben Narnain in July 2015 and she completed her final one, Meall Chuaich on Nov 18, with a large group of friends, colleagues and family. For many of them, including her 21-year-old son, Zhou Botao, it was their first Munro.

"What I enjoyed the most about these walks is when you reach the summit," she said. "If you get a good view, it feels like you have cleansed your mind, you forget all the worries at work, your life, and just don't think about anything at all. You just enjoy all this nature and mountain fresh air and the view at the top is just breathtaking."

Forty-five-year-old Huang said she wanted to raise money for Christian Aid because she has always wanted to help people living in poverty.

"When we were growing up, we were very poor. I am not rich now, but at least I have enough to feed myself, my family, and have a roof over our heads," she said. "This is why I'm supporting Christian Aid, to make their vision — to help end poverty — become reality."

Huang came to the UK in 2004 and works at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary as a cardiac theater nurse.

She said her next challenge is to walk the length of Hadrian's Wall and climb some of Scotland's small mountains.