King of the 282 Munros

The Grizzly Mission

All the mountains in Scotland over 3,000 feet (914.4 meters) in height are called a Munro. Named after Hugh Munro, the first person to compile a list of them in 1891, the legendary 282 peaks are all part of Scottish history.

Sean "Grizzly Munro" Green has been one of our long time USWE Athletes. A man on a grizzly mission; to descend all of the 282 Scottish Munro peaks by bike. Of course, this also means lugging his bike all the way to the top. A quite gnarly project that has been in the works for a few years!

Crazy challenges like these are what we live for, so when we heard about this we were eager to be a part of it. Now that the project is well under way, we felt like we had some catching up to do!

So take a seat, grab your favorite drink, and follow along for the ride as we have a sit down with Sean.

Why the name “Grizzly Munro”?

The ‘Grizzly’ aspect of the name actually carries over from many years ago. One of my employers used to call me ‘The Bear’’. I've always had an interest in streetwear and have dabbled in creating my own clothing. When thinking of a name for that venture, ‘Grizzly Independent’ was the result. Then when I started doing the Munros, I wanted to carry over the Grizzly Logo, so I decided to carry over the ‘Grizzly’ name aswell.

If you want to go down you first have to go up.

Riding where no one has ever ridden before

I originally began riding the Munros after being fed up of being confined to woodland trails. My favorite type of riding is flat out, natural and open. I started riding Munros that I had walked many times and even a couple I had already ridden. After exploring a bit further, a field on some new Munros, I wondered if maybe I was onto something. I have always been fascinated with riding hard to reach places, particularly places that no one has ever ridden before. After around 20 Munros I decided I would take my bike to the summit of each and every single one of them. If I can find a slither of golden singletrack, even 30m long, then the day is considered a success, especially if that 30m was a ridgeline with some awesome exposure.

To date, I have ridden down 222/282 Munros.

A day from a Munro

What has been the greatest challenge of Munro?

The hardest part of this challenge physically has been The Mullardoch Way. This is a route of 12 Munros, often split into three separate trips but one I turned into a bikepacking adventure last year. It rained for the entire duration. I was wet, I was cold, I ended up not eating for 24hours, I made a wrong turn which resulted in a rifle being pointed at me. All the elements of a good adventure.

What does a day of riding look like from start to end?

My typical day of riding starts at around 3am, where I will pack the truck with the bike and all my kit and set off. The first two stops are always to fill the tank and then more importantly, coffee. Once I have my morning coffee, the chosen Munro will be put into the Satnav and will be followed by a drive of 3-5 hours, depending on where in the country I am riding. I try to arrive for around 7am. Once on location I will get changed and organize my chosen pack for that day. Then the hikeabike begins, often 2-3 hours to the first summit.

More often than not, I try to ride more than one Munro on each trip but some are very isolated and/or the ascent and reascent of including others is not worth the effort. If I am riding a single Munro the benefit is I'm ultimately doing a trackwalk on the way up so I can see some of the potential lines/dangers. If I am doing multiple Munros my days riding will be blind.

Once at the summit I will grab a quick bite to eat, an energy gel and get some photos. All that’s left then is the descent. The fastest ive ever gotten off a Munro is sub 12 minutes with a few not too far behind that, but usually my descents will last from 45 minutes to 2 hours depending on the type of terrain. I will also session a few sections and set up the camera in multiple locations to stitch together an edit of my day.

Once back at the truck, I give the bike a quick a wash, change into some dry kit and hit the road for that 3-5 hour drive.

If you had to pick one cool MTB memory, what would it be?

That is such a tough question as this whole project has just been completely packed with amazing moments that will stay with me for life. It has allowed me to forge friendships for life, work with some of the best mountainbike brands in the world and progress myself as a rider.

If I was to really strip all that back though, I think it would come down to the countless Sunrises and Sunsets that I have experienced over the last 5 years. Absolutely nothing comes close to that feeling of standing at the summit of a Munro, watching the sun and being able to see for miles. Just the wind in your face and your own thoughts for company. Solitude.

Now that the Munro project is nearing its end, what other long-term projects are you dreaming about?

I still have a few little projects on the sidelines. In terms of those bigger ones, there are a few ideas I would like to explore. Some island hopping, a little more bikepacking, some alternative routes on some of the mountains that I have already explored. My biggest interest is seeing the world from the summit of each mountain, riding super exposed ridges and slithers of golden singletrack that have never had tyres roll on them. I guess my ultimate goal is to find a way to keep doing what I have been doing but on a much bigger scale.

What are your goals for 2023?

I am hoping to finish the project in 2023. That is my main goal. Hopefully things run smoothly this winter and I can keep ticking them off. Beyond that, im putting together another European adventure, which will hopefully get people just as excite as it has me. I also aim to dip my toes back into racing, some Downhill races and Enduros.

What pack do you use when riding?

My go-to pack for 60% of the year is the SHRED 25L. This is a good size for any spare clothes, spare parts, food and safety equipment that I need to take with me on an average day. It doesn’t move, its super comfy and teamed up with the NDM 2 Camera Harness and NDM 2 Phone pocket, I have everything I need in reach. Another of my favourite features is the hip pockets that hold energry gells and Jelly Babies perfectly.

The other 40% of the year is split between the height of summer where I can afford to downsize my pack to the Shred 16L and the depths of winter where I need more protection from the elements and storage for winter kit, where I opt for the HAJKER 30L.

Hajker

DAYPACK FOR SPEED HIKING AND HIGHSPEED ADVENTURES

HAJKER is a waterproof ultra-durable daypack with a rolltop opening, made for highspeed activities and gnarly expeditions. The Hajker Winter comes equipped with Thermo Cell technology to keep your hydration from freezing, made to face adventures in the cold.

Check out the Hajker Winter Collection here