“I finished what Dad started”: Paul Choat completes all 282 Munros in memory of his Father

Last month, Paul Choat stood at the summit of Perthshire’s Schiehallion, and bagged his final Munro. He was joined by family and friends, including his six-year-old daughter Skye, making Paul’s last Munro Skye’s very first one.

Beyond the physical feat of having summitted all 282 Munros (Scottish mountains which stand at over 3,000 feet tall), doing so marked the culmination of a five-year challenge in honour of Paul’s Dad, David.

David was a passionate hillwalker, who died from motor neuron disease (MND) in 2021, just 15 peaks short of becoming a Munro compleator himself. He had spent over 20 years steadily working his way through Scotland’s highest peaks, starting with Ben Nevis in 1998 with his wife Judy, and Paul, who was just 12 years old at the time.

David took Munro ‘bagging’ very seriously: “He ticked each off the list and was very strict,” Paul recounted. “If you didn’t get to the very top, it didn’t count.”

David managed to tick off 267 Munros, but shortly after retiring he started to experience a weakness in his hands. Struggling with simple tasks others take for granted, he was diagnosed with MND towards the end of 2017. The progressive nature of the disease meant it was impossible for David to head back into the hills to climb his final Munros, as he was left unable to walk or use his hands and arms properly, and became a full-time wheelchair user.

“It was devastating,” Paul said. “The frustrating thing was that it felt like, ‘Here’s your diagnosis, that’s it.’ There wasn’t really anything that could be done.

“That inspired us to think about whether there was some small part we could play in moving things forward.”

Like so many families affected by MND, the Choats were determined to find something positive to focus on, and by the end of 2019, they decided they would go on to complete David’s remaining Munros on his behalf.

Although David couldn’t walk up the hills, he joined the family on their trips around Scotland for as long as he possibly could. Accessible accommodation in remote areas was booked, and whilst the family were out bagging Munros, David would sit with maps and books to follow where they were, and would get a FaceTime call from them at the top of every mountain.

“It brought everybody together, probably more than we otherwise would have been,” Paul admitted. “The biggest thing was just being able to spend that time together.”

Paul, his three siblings Matt, Adam and Becky, and their Mum Judy, successfully completed David’s final 15 Munros, and they all celebrated with a party, cake and whisky. David sadly died around two months later.

Determined to honour his Dad and raise money for vital MND research, Paul decided to carry on and complete all 282 Munros himself. As a result, his and his family’s efforts have now raised over £117,000 for My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.

Paul returned to the hills the year after David’s death, fitting climbs in around family life and his work as a company director, tackling some of Scotland’s most breathtaking and demanding mountains. His challenge took him from the formidable Cuillin mountain range on Skye, to the remote Fisherfield Munros in the north-west Highlands, through Knoydart, Mull and beyond.

There were moments where he questioned whether he would finish, but Paul battled through a fear of heights on exposed ridges, endured a 13-hour climb in a heatwave for the Fisherfield 6, and took on another fundraising challenge that saw him tackle Scotland’s four most northerly Munros in less than 24 hours.

Paul’s completion of the Munros makes him the 8,361st person known to have done so since Sir Hugh Munro first compiled the list in 1891.

Reflecting on that, Paul said: “It’s hard to put into words. There was almost a sense of relief because there were numerous points when I doubted whether I’d actually be able to do it. But mostly I was really pleased for Dad. It felt like I was able to finish what he started.”

And when the time came for his final Munro, Paul deliberately chose Schiehallion, near Aberfeldy in Perthshire, so that several generations of his family could join him.

Relatives ranging from his two-year-old niece to his 98-year-old grandmother gathered in Aberfeldy for the occasion, before about 35 family members, friends and people connected to the MND community trekked with Paul to his final summit.

Among them was Skye, who was just two-years-old when her grandfather died, and she remembers David largely through photographs.

Paul had decided several years earlier that he wanted his final Munro to be his daughter’s first.

The weather did its best to make things difficult on the way up Schiehallion. Heavy rain swept across the mountain, soaking the group as they climbed, but Skye pushed on to the summit alongside Paul, and her Mum, Becca.

Reflecting on the day, Paul said: “I thought about Dad pretty much the whole day. Having my Mum and Skye there made it really special. As we’ve got closer to finishing, she’s understood much more about why I’ve been doing it and what we’re raising the money for.

“I don’t think she quite knew what she’d signed up for, especially when the heavens opened!” He remarked. “But she was brilliant.”

David’s MND diagnosis came the same year that our founder, Doddie, announced that he was living with MND. Paul, a huge rugby fan, was at Murrayfield in Edinburgh back in 2017 when Doddie famously delivered the match ball before Scotland played New Zealand, officially launching My Name’5 Doddie Foundation as a charity. At the time, Paul had no idea his Dad was going through the process of being diagnosed with the same disease that Doddie had.

That connection later became a personal one after Paul got in touch with us following David’s diagnosis. Doddie personally reached out to David, and emailed Paul to congratulate the family as they worked their way through the mountains.

“It felt very personal,” Paul explained. “Doddie sent video messages to Dad while they were both going through it, and I’d get emails from him congratulating us when we were climbing. So supporting the Foundation just felt like an obvious match.”

Paul believes MND awareness and research has significantly moved forward since his Dad’s diagnosis, but even after completing the Munros, he is determined to keep fundraising.

“What Doddie, Rob Burrow and others have done is put MND on the map,” he said.

“I try to keep abreast of the research and there are positive strides being made. We haven’t got there yet, but it feels like things are moving in the right direction.”

Paul Thompson, our Director of Fundraising and Engagement, said: “Paul and his family have achieved something truly extraordinary. Completing all 282 Munros is a remarkable feat in itself, but doing so in David’s memory - and raising more than £117,000 for MND research along the way - makes it incredibly special.

“The personal connection between David and Doddie reflects the spirit at the heart of the MND community. We are enormously grateful to Paul, Skye and the entire Choat family. Their determination will help fund the research needed to change what an MND diagnosis means for families in the future.”

To support Paul’s fundraising, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/team/schiehallion