Anna Wells – Medicine, Mountains and the First Woman to Complete a Winter Munro Round in Scotland.
Anna Wells is a mountaineer, former doctor, and outdoor instructor based in Inverness, Scotland. Her life has been shaped by a deep love of the mountains, beginning with indoor rock climbing at the age of 12 and growing through years of study, sport, and exploration.
Although she followed a traditional academic path—studying maths and medicine and later working as a doctor—Anna eventually realised that her true passion lay in the outdoors. After time spent living in Chamonix and working as a mountaineering instructor, she made the decision to leave medicine behind and pursue a life more aligned with her values and love of adventure.
In this episode, Anna shares her journey from medicine to the mountains, including her time competing in ice climbing, navigating injury, and rethinking what a fulfilling life looks like. We dive into her incredible Winter Munro Round in Scotland, inspired by Martin Moran, where she took on the challenge of climbing all 100+ Munros in winter conditions over just a few months.
She talks about the realities of spending long days in the mountains, averaging multiple Munros per day, dealing with weather, injury, nutrition, motivation, and the mental challenges that come with endurance adventure. Anna also reflects on the kindness of strangers who supported her along the way, and the importance of flexibility, self-belief, and listening to your body.
More recently, Anna has stepped into a new chapter of life as a mother, exploring how adventure, skiing, and time in the mountains can evolve alongside motherhood.
Listen to this episode to hear what it takes to leave medicine for the mountains, how a Winter Munro Round pushes both body and mind, and why thinking outside the box can lead to a life that feels truly your own.
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Show notes
Who is Anna
36 years old
Based in Inverness in Scotland
Currently on maternity leave
Her love for adventure and being outside
Growing up in Inverness and not coming from a particularly outdoorsy family
Starting indoor rock climbing at 12 years old and falling in love with the sport
The Girl Guides and the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme
Being addicted to rock climbing and feeling everything click
Her progress in the sport
Meeting more like minded people at university in Aberdeen
Being a student for 9 years - studying Maths for 4 years and doing a medical degree for 5 years
Deciding to leave medicine after 2 years of working as a doctor and moving in a different direction
Spending 2 years living in Chamonix
Deciding to give up her license to practice medicine
Wanting to focus on ice climbing competitions
Dealing with a shoulder injury and not being able to climb that hard
Take a year and don’t force yourself to make any decisions
Starting to consider a career in the outdoors
Wanting to live a life that makes you happy
Thinking more about confidence
Working as a mountaineering instructor for a number of years
Wanting to do the IFMGA but deciding against it
Wanting to climb the Munro’s in Scotland
Moving to Edinburgh and working in a bank as a data analyst
A Winter Munro Round….
Inspired by Martin Moran who was the first to do this over 1984/85
Starting to think about getting 3 months of unpaid leave
Deciding in the October and starting in December
Figuring out the first 100 munro’s
Doing 65k and 4,400 m of ascent and being out for 19 hours
Doing an average 4.4 munro’s per day
Putting out a message on social media looking for help with accommodation
The kindness of strangers
Having a lot of self confidence with navigation, make sensible decisions and look after herself
Wondering if she would keep wanting it
Injury, weather and not wanting it anymore
Feeling low on motivation during her menstrual cycle
Dr Stacy Simms on the Tough Girl Podcast
Dealing with the low moments and keeping on walking
When your mood is low - walk with friends
Finding it logistically a lot easer to be on her own
Having a few foot issues
The magical moments from the experience
Writing her book - Breaking the Snowline
Nutrition and eating on the mountains
Getting addicted to Lucazade
Gear and making risk based decisions
Having an emergency bag - that went with her everyday
Working with Alpkit
Wearing trainers and waterproof socks and why it worked for her
Motherhood, mountains and adventuring with a new baby (Fergus)
Having different parameters for what a day in the mountains looks like
Getting back to skiing and the mountains quickly
How to connect with Anna online
Final words of advice for other women who want to spend more time in the outdoors
Start thinking outside the box
Social Media
Website: rocksandtrails.com
Instagram: @rocksandtrails
To buy my book: shop.rocksandtrails.com
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