2021 is the third year of the Progress Register, and the second for the Hall of Fame. A total of fifty-three people (forty-nine in 2020) and twelve deceased are featured in the Table for this year, with twenty-three recording poly-bagging of more than one hill or mountain. 

The 2021 Table contains 155 entries - 54 in the Hall of Fame, 100 in the Progress Register and one in the Roll of Honour– there was a total of 136 in 2020.  

There are a number of new features introduced for 2021:

• A separate Roll of Honour for those who were in the Progress Register but died before reaching the Hall of Fame.

• The year of death, when known, is given for deceased entrants in the Table.

• An expanded key is given at the bottom of the Table, with additional symbols introduced to indicate the minimum ascent range for the given hill or mountain.

The people with the most entries in the Hall were Alyson and John Kirk, with four for peaks in Colorado, USA, and Richard Wood, with four entries for peaks in the Scottish Highlands, UK.  The person with the most entries in the Register was Gordon Ingall, with thirty-eight for various peaks in the English Lake District, UK.

Continuing COVID restrictions across the world in 2021 again made poly-bagging a means to keep fit, and to continue to enjoy the ‘summit experience’.

There are now three new living entrants to the Hall of Fame in 2021.  The first is C. David Bertelson, for his regular ascents, mainly for botanical studies, of Mount Kimball in Arizona, USA.  The second is Gary Beck, for his ascents of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) in Wales, UK.  The third is David Levy, who entered the Hall with his first ‘peak’ – Hampstead Heath, London, England.

The late Eddie Campbell, a noted Scottish hill-runner who died in 1996, has been added to the Hall for his ascents of Ben Nevis, Scotland's highest peak.  There are also four new deceased entrants for Mount Le Conte, Tennessee, USA - Dave Scanlon, Paul Dinwiddie, Margaret Stevenson and Paul Adams.

Four participants entered Level III of the Hall, which opened for the first time in 2021 to accommodate them.  They are Mark Nicholls, Eddie Dealtry, Russell Campbell and ‘Habakuk Tibatong’.

Three people managed over three hundred ascents of their chosen peak in 2021 – Fran Rautiola, Mark Nicholls, and ‘Habakuk Tibatong’.  ‘Habakuk’ climbed his local mountain (the Großer Feldberg 879m, P666m, Taunus Range, Germany) every day in 2021, and three times twice in one day, whatever the weather and his state of health.  Three people also clocked up over two hundred ascents of their chosen poly-bagging peaks – Gerry Roach, Jobe Wymore and Henry Marston.

As stated last year, there are two types of poly-bagger in both the Register and Hall of Fame. The first type concentrates on one or two peaks. The second type concentrates on rounds of peaks, which may involve a number of different peaks bagged on the same day. To differentiate between these two groups, entries relating to peaks that are likely to be included in a round of peaks have the symbol ~ inserted after the second name of the person in the Table.

Mount Le Conte 2010m, P415m now vies with Green Mountain 2,482m, P160m, in Colorado USA,  as the most ‘popular’ poly-bagging peak, with four poly-baggers.  The lack of peaks with more than two poly-bagging entries continues to reflect the esoteric nature of poly-bagging.

It seems possible that Mount Monadnock 965m, P660m, in New Hampshire, USA may have been displaced as the peak up which the most multiple ascents have occurred.  In 2021 I received reports of claims to huge numbers of ascents of Camelback Mountain/Cew S-wegiom 824m, P406m and neighbouring Piestewa Peak 794m, P360m near Phoenix, Arizona USA. 

The late Nick Palomares (1933–2020) is said to have made over 6,000 ascents before his death.  Nick’s ascents are, however, rather modest compared to other claims.  Sam Wagman (see here), aged 85 in 2020, claims to have made over 34,000 ascents of Camelback.  Sandy Kloch, aged 74 in 2018, claimed at least 10,220 ascents of the same mountain by that year, and many of Piestewa (see here).  Others claim considerable numbers of ascents, including Jack Dunn and Joe Bartells.

Unfortunately I have been unable, despite various attempts,  to contact any of these people so far to verify the claims, and to obtain total year and all-time ascents.  If anyone reading this Report does have contact details, please email me at the address given at the bottom of the home-page on this website, as I would be very interested to get in touch with any of these people so they can be included in a later edition of the Table.