A male climber was airlifted to hospital yesterday (6 March) afternoon after a fall in the Loch Treig, near Roy Bridge in Lochaber. The police reported that the climber was in a party of three. A Sea King helicopter from RAF Lossiemouth attended the scene. The climber and his companions were located and the casualty was evacuated from the hill and airlifted to Fort William. He was then taken by road ambulance to the Belford Hospital, Fort William, where he was treated for a head injury. The police have not given an update on the climber’s condition or identity.

The public agency which now runs the Cairngorm funicular railway has proposed that parking charges be introduced at the car park at the funicular to help fund running costs. Approximately half the people using the car park actually go on the funicular, the others being walkers, climbers and skiers.

The Scottish Parliament is due to release a report into the funding and running of the Cairngorms funicular railway today. Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) had to step in when the railway floundered under massive financial problems and has spent £19.42m in total towards the cost of building and running it. The development agency plans to spend a further £4m over the next 3 or 4 years to maintain the funicular.

HIE said the investment would bring the site up to a standard that would attract a new operator from the private sector. It has also proposed introducing charges at a car park serving the railway. This would affect walkers using the Coire Cas car park as the starting point for a number of walks, as well as summer users of the funicular and skiers. HIE said that about 400,000 people used the car park last year. Half of those visitors used the funicular.

The agency took the railway and CairnGorm Mountain ski resort over in May 2008. It followed agreements reached with Bank of Scotland Corporate and CairnGorm Mountain Trust on large debts owed by CairnGorm Mountain Limited (CML).

Highland Council also agreed to write off a £1m loan to CML. The Scottish Parliament’s audit committee reviewed the financing of the funicular following an investigation by spending watchdog Audit Scotland.

Explosions of a different kind were heard on Cairngorm yesterday as controlled blasts were used to remove a massive build up of snow from above the ski slopes where it posed an avalanche risk.

Police have named the two climbers killed in an avalanche on Buachaille Etive Mor as Christopher Walker, 29, an outdoor instructor from Keswick, and Robert Pritchard, 37, from New Malden. The two men were caught up in an avalanche as they climbed on Curved Ridge last wednesday.

Later in the week, two skiers had a lucky escape when they were avalanched and swept over 600 metres from near the summit of Meall a’ Bhùiridh where the Glencoe Ski Centre is situated. The Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team was called out to the incident, which happened on Saturday 26 February, but faced very dangerous conditions and a Sea King helicopter ended up airlifting the men, who had managed to dig themselves out, to safety. Although the two men were taken to hospital in Fort William their injuries have been described as minimal.

Police have confirmed that the two climbers swept away by an avalanche on Buachaille Etive Mor have died. The two men, who have not been named, were swept up in the avalanche shortly before 5pm today while climbing on Curved Ridge on the mountain in Glencoe.

The two climbers in Glencoe were with a third man, who escaped being carried down the ridge. A group of walkers behind saw what happened and called the emergency services.

The leader of Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team, John Grieve, told the BBC: “Two of the party set off a very small, slab avalanche that just took them off their feet, they fell a long way. It was very steep ground and they fell about 1,500ft, right down almost to the bottom of the mountain.”

He said the other group of climbers met the uninjured member of the party. “They climbed all the way down the mountain, checking areas where the two might be, until they found their bodies,” he added.

Earlier in the day a man was injured on the north face of Ben Nevis after apparently being swept from his climb by an avalanche. A man was found in Coire Na Ciste after falling several hundred feet from an ice climb. He was given medical attention on the mountain before being flown to hospital in Fort William and subsequently, to Glasgow’s Southern General Hospital.

Many trip reports submitted to Walkhighlands recently have mentioned the amount of hoar frost visible on the snow surface; such a layer once covered by fresh snow increases the danger of avalanches. Other climbers have reported seeing a lot of wind slab on the tops and therefore the Scottish Avalanche Information Service should be consulted before any trip into the hills in the coming days.

The proposed hydro-electric scheme for the Urlar Burn at Aberfeldy has been rejected by councillors.

Planning permission for the scheme, which is likely to affect waterflow over the falls at the Birks of Aberfeldy, a popular walking and tourist attraction, was passed in April 2009. But the town’s Common Good Fund, which owns the land, said it would not allow the development to go ahead unless certain conditions were met. The Fund wants to see the developers, Green Highland Renewables, reduce the length of the proposed lease and look into the affect on tourism.

The development would affect the River Tay Special Area of Conservation and Birks of Aberfeldy Site of Special Scientific Interest. Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) had previously raised concerns about the Birks of Aberfeldy’s small cow-wheat, a nationally scarce plant which is protected by law. The population at the Birks is the second largest in Scotland and provides seeds which are being used to establish new populations at other locations.

A spokesman for Perth and Kinross Council said: “The committee rejected it, but left the door open for the company to come back with a revised scheme once these criteria have been met.”

Neil Fraser, of Green Highland Renewables, said: “We will be happy to work with Aberfeldy Common Good Fund Committee and Aberfeldy Community Council to address the various issues that have been raised and we are confident there will be a positive resolution.”

Abandoned bogged down vehicle

Following repeated complaints from legitimate recreational visitors to the forest, Commission staff took action to intercept a group of ‘off-roaders’ last weekend (Saturday 13th February).

The group of 10 people, all in their 20’s and early 30’s, had illegally entered the forest with 4 motorbikes, 2 quad bikes and an off-road land rover. With the help of local police, the group were ordered to leave the site – after details of all of the participants and their vehicles were recorded.

A spokesperson for Forestry Commission Scotland said: “This sort of unauthorised motorised access to the national forest estate is entirely unacceptable. Not only is it illegal but it is also very intimidating for other forest users and could result in serious or even fatal injury.

“It also makes a mess of our forest trails and can result in local habitats being very badly damaged potentially with implications for forest product certification. We are not prepared to put up with it.

“When our staff quite properly asked this group to leave, they were subjected to abuse and threats and so had to call the police. We are not prepared to put up with that kind of behaviour towards other recreational users or our own staff and will continue to work with the local police to take robust action against this kind of activity.”

Neighbours and other legitimate users are encouraged to report all illegal/unauthorised motorsport activity in this, or any other forest in Aberdeenshire by calling the Commission’s office in the area on 01466 794161 or telephoning Grampian Police directly on 0845 600 5700. Details such as vehicle types and registration numbers would be useful but on no account should members of the public put themselves at risk.

Dave MacKinnon, Force Wildlife Crime Officer, Grampian Police said: “We work closely with our colleagues from the Forestry Commission on a number of issues including illegal off roading within FC woodlands. Persons engaged in this activity run the risk of being charged with various offences under the Road Traffic Act including Section 34 – Driving elsewhere than on roads. Offenders can also have their vehicles seized under Anti -Social Behaviour legislation.

“This illegal activity not only affects legitimate forest users but can impact on public safety and protected species or habitats.”

The Forestry Commission was keen to point out that it has good working relationships with a number of local motorsport clubs and organisations that enjoy legitimate access to Aberdeenshire’s forests.

The Commission spokesperson added: “It is definitely a minority, rogue element that needs to be tackled and we would invite legitimate off-road clubs to distance themselves from this type of behaviour.”