Technical challenges presented by smaller summits, or even large boulders, can be greater than those of routes on bigger peaks but altitude remains a prime parameter for most mountaineers and improving one’s personal best is a lifetime ambition. The highest peaks of a country, such as Ben Nevis and Mont Blanc, or continent - “The Seven Summits” - are natural magnets with Everest the ultimate loadstone. Unfortunately the attendant costs of climbing also mount both with rising altitude and number of ascents.
In Scotland a day’s excursion into the Highlands amounts principally to the cost of transport while wilderness camping on weekend or longer trips can eliminate any accommodation charges. Nevertheless the total expenditure on a round of the Munros is still significant. However this tends to be “drip-feed” over the years rather than lump sum expenditure.
Venturing into the European Alps is more expensive with the overhead of mountain-rescue insurance cover and the high tariffs for the overnight stays in huts involved in most ascents. Carrying up your own tent, food and cooking equipment can save money although most will choose to take advantage of cable cars, rack and pinion railways or any other form of mechanical uplift to save their backs and feet but not their pockets. If affordable, the hiring of a professional guide to ensure success and safety may be deemed desirable.
Access to climbs in the USA can incur substantial entrance fees to National Parks such as Yosemite while the popular Mt.Kinabalu in Sabah in East Malaysia and Kilimanjaro in Tanzania are integral components of the local tourist industry with restrictive practices imposed regarding minimum sizes of groups and mandatory employment of staff resulting in increased costs particularly for independent travellers.
National economies are also involved in the charging structures for peak and route fees in the Karakorum and the Himalaya. In Nepal any excursion outwith the Kathmandu Valley has previously required a trekking permit but these have recently been abolished for the Annapurna, Everest and Langtang regions - the ones most frequented by independent backpackers. However there has also been a change in charges for entry visas to counteract loss of revenue. Hefty entrance fees for the National Parks in these three areas remain in place and trekking permits are still required in the restricted areas of Upper Dolpo, Kangchenjunga, Manaslu and Mustang.
For ascents of the majority of significant summits in Nepal climbing permits are required ( in addition to the appropriate trekking permit for the area involved ) with two categories ( from different government agencies ) being issued; one for the list of so-called “trekking peaks” and another for “expedition” peaks. While fees for trekking peaks ( some are more difficult than expedition peaks ) are less than $300 those for expedition peaks range from $1000 ( although some are of comparable heights to trekking peaks ) to some $50,000 for Everest.
Trekking peak fees are not unaffordable, allowing groups of up to nine members, but those for expedition peaks are anomolous and prohibitive - particularly for small groups of two or three members.
Even for solo climbers it is accepted practice to engage support staff and porters to transport food and equipment to base camp and on top of basic wages payment of baksheesh is both customary and expected. Some members of organised trekking groups can be extremely, not to say over, generous in this respect while impecunious climbers are some of the worst employers. Three Sherpas who physically carried an exhausted French client to the 6400metre summit of Mera Peak - one of the highest trekking peaks - were each rewarded with the miserly sum of 20 rupees ( about 20p ).
Essential rest days ( or weeks ) for acclimatisation in an itinerary represent extra costs of high-level ascents as does a requirement to equip and pay a liaison officer.
High altitude mountaineering moreover demands the best possible protective clothing and climbing equipment. Rather than paying the inflated prices pertaining in the UK or USA for such items Al Burgess, one of the well-known climbing twins, recommends the purchase of the good quality, but astonishingly cheap, Korean gear available in Kathmandu. A “Goretex” anorak I bought for a few pounds as a replacement for one stolen on trek gave sterling service in the rain-forests of New Zealand’s South Island and subsequently on Scotland’s Munros. Even better bargains can be obtained, provided you know how to haggle, in the many secondhand, trekking-equipment shops in Thamel, the traveller’s area in Kathmandu. The Sherpa proprietors are shrewd traders and well aware of the original, high costs of their wares in Europe.
At the end of the day, regardless of the total expenditure on an expedition, the successful achievement of crossing a high pass or reaching a summit soon starts one scrimping and saving for the next objective. Confining horizons to the challenges of the Scottish peaks would certainly curtail climbing costs.