A climber has died after suffering serious head injuries in an 80ft (24m) fall in the Cuillin range on Skye on Friday 30 May.

His companion raised the alarm at 12:30 following the accident in the Whispering Wall area on Sgurr a Mhadaidh.

The Stornoway Coastguard helicopter was called and airlifted the injured man to Broadford Hospital on Skye, where he was pronounced dead. Northern Constabulary Police will now prepare a full report on the incident.

The financially-troubled company which runs the Cairngorm funicular railway has been has been transferred to the ownership of Highlands and Islands Enterprise in a deal which will reduce the Company’s debt. Highlands and Islands already owned the land and the railway and will now own the operating company, with the day to day management likely to be put out to tender.

The Company has been hampered by massive debt since it built the railway in 2001. Conservations bitterly opposed the building of the attraction because of the impact on the fragile and very rare ecosytem of the high Cairngorms. Campaigners now say the financial troubles of the railway prove that it was never viable financially and that it should not have been built and they oppose the further investment of public funds. One of the ongoing issues is that visitors to the railway cannot get out at the top, this was a conditions of planning permission imposed to protect the flora and fauna, however Cairngorm Mountain have argued that this has limited their operations.

Douglas Yule, HIE’s director of operations said: “We’re pleased to have reached agreement with all parties and thank them for the part they’ve played in developing this superb and successful facility over the last seven years. We’ll now be meeting with stakeholders to draw up plans which can secure the sustainable future operation of the funicular railway.”

“We are also delighted to be working with the team at CairnGorm Mountain Limited, who have done such an excellent job of managing this year-round visitor attraction. CML has continued to provide opportunities for Scottish skiing and, with strong partnerships, ensure the facility remains at the forefront of environmental sustainability, whilst continuing to support the tourism industry in Badenoch & Strathspey and the wider Highlands.”

But the Ramblers’ Association in Scotland called for a halt to any more public spending on the project. Director Dave Morris said: “Our view is that this was inevitable and there must be an investigation by Audit Scotland into the whole history of financing this project.

“HIE should not be allowed to invest any more public money in it until that investigation has been completed and the Scottish Parliament has had the opportunity to scrutinise its findings. An absolutely huge sum of public money has been spent on this, but when it started its life it was supposed to have been private-sector led. We always held it was built in the wrong place.

“The top station should have been at the lower end of the Ptarmigan Bowl, away from the European designated sites, then they might not have had to have a closed system which prevents people getting out at the top. It might have succeeded then.”

This year has been one of the best for sometime in terms of skiing on Cairngorm with lots of magnificent snow late into the year – however with climate change this success may not be repeated in future decades.

A Danish walker taking part in the TGO Challenge to cross Scotland was rescued on 12 May after falling ill in Glen Etive. Although only a few miles from the main road in Glencoe, Glen Etive is relatively remote and the walker was rescued after activating an electronic distress beacon. The signal was picked up 4,000 miles away in the States and passed on to the Police in Fort William and a helicopter rescue was co-ordinated by the RAF.

The RAF said it was the first time a SPOT satellite tracker device has triggered a rescue. The device uses GPS technology to pinpoint the user’s location and when activated can send a distress message to a response centre in the US who then pass on the details to the relevant authorities. The walker, who has not yet been identified was suffering severe abdominal pains, has been taken to the Belford hospital in Fort William where it is understood he is recovering.

The body of a beaver has been recovered from the shore at Eathie on the Black Isle. The dead beaver was found in April and police are now investigating whether it was released into the wild illegally.

Once native to Britain, beavers were hunted to extinction more than 400 years ago. It is illegal to release beavers into the wild, although there are plans to release them in Argyll under a licensed scheme. However there have recently been reports that beavers may have been released near Aberfeldy in Perthshire and also in Angus and Fife where damage to trees has been linked to beaver activity.

Conservations label beavers as a keystone species because of their importance to the ecosystem. They create habitats that allow a lot of other creatures to thrive – however it is that activity in creating pools and thinning young trees that sometimes sets them at odds with landowners and users. Has someone got frustrated by the long debate on this subject and taken matters into their own hands?

This Saturday (3rd of May) Tom Pendrey will pack his kayak with food, equipment and a solar panel and set off to paddle the length of the Western Isles to promote sustainable lifestyles. Committed to sustainable living, Tom’s 150 mile journey will leave little trace on the planet. Tom is one of three expeditions that are being sponsored this year by the John Muir Trust’s 2008 Bill Wallace Grant.

“Now in its second year the Bill Wallace Grant is for expeditions that raise awareness of and help to conserve wild places,” commented JMT Development Manager Dave Picken. “I wish this year’s adventurers the best of luck and hope that they have a great experience.”

In addition to Tom, two other awards were announced. Ilya Maclean has been awarded a grant to allow him to train rural Tanzanian villagers in bird identification and monitoring techniques. The Oxford University Tien Shan Expedition has been awarded a Bill Wallace Grant to travel to Kyrgyzstan, a former republic of the USSR, to make first ascents in an area that has not previously been visited by mountaineers. The Tien Shan mountain range that extends northwest through Kyrgyzstan and includes the two most northerly peaks over 7000m in the world.

The Bill Wallace Grant was set up following the sudden death in 2006 of Bill Wallace, one of the John Muir Trust’s guiding lights. Bill climbed extensively in Scotland and was involved in expeditions to South America, the Alps and Greenland in the 1950’s.

“We need new adventurers to follow in the footsteps of bravehearts like Bill Wallace,” concluded Dave Picken. “As well as having the trip of a lifetime the Grant encourages participants to help conserve wild places in Scotland or further afield.” The award gives between £500 and £2000 for wild places expeditions with an element of scientific or educational purpose. The deadline for next years’ grants is 15 January 2009.