First Chinese person to climb UK’s 1,124-mountain ‘full house’ reflects on her journey from poverty to final peak on China National Day

Sunny Huang has become the first Chinese person to climb the UK’s “full house” of mountains, with her achievement capping an incredible personal journey.

The 50-year-old Edinburgh nurse is only the 77th person ever to complete the feat – and her determination mirrors her effort to lift herself and her family out of poverty in China.

To complete – or “bag”, as it is often called – a full house you must tick off the six major lists of mountains in the UK – totalling 1,124 mountains. It consists of:

• 282 Munros – mountains in Scotland over 3,000 feet (914 metres)

• 227 Munro Tops – peaks on Munro mountains over 3,000ft that are not sufficiently prominent to be a mountain themselves

• 34 Furths – mountains in the rest of the UK and Ireland over 3,000ft

• 222 Corbetts – mountains between 2,500 and 3,000ft in Scotland

• 219 Grahams – mountains between 2,000 and 2,500 feet in Scotland

• 140 Donalds – Scottish Lowlands peaks 2,000ft high with a drop of at least 50ft between each elevation and any higher elevation

Huang climbed the Pap of Glencoe on China National Day on October 1, to complete the full house, and a goal she has been pursuing since 2020.

“After this, I knew it would hit me on Monday. I feel a bit lost. The whole of my lifestyle is going to change, and I don’t know if I’m going to cope with this,” she said.

Huang grew up in poverty in Dandong, North East China. As a child, she would often go hungry and still has a habit of eating everything on her plate, not wanting to waste a single mouthful.

She and her siblings wore shoes made from recycled materials by their grandmother, and were teased at school for their old, donated clothes.