An Teallach Mountaineering Club, who lost three members in the avalanche tragedy in Glencoe on Saturday have issued a joint press release with the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, paying tribute to their friends and also emphasising where walkers and climbers can go to get weather and avalanche risk information.

A spokesman for the An Teallach Mountaineering Club said, “The members of the ATMC are very saddened by this terrible accident and the loss of our friends Eamonn, John and Brian. Our thoughts are first and foremost with their families and all other friends at this difficult time to whom we offer our sincere condolences.

All three men had been members of the club for many years and were experienced mountaineers. They were all great guys, good company and were wonderful supporters of the club. They had a love of the mountains and their sense of fun and friendship made a significant contribution to the life of the club. They had attended club events all over Scotland.

John and Eamonn had made regular trips with the club to the Dolomites in Italy. Their loss is a great blow to this small club and they will all be sorely missed and remembered with a great deal of affection by all in the club. The members would also like to thank the fantastic efforts of the mountain rescue teams, helicopter crews, police and everyone else involved in Saturday’s events.”

David Gibson, Chief Officer of the MCofS said, “ATMC is an active club with a 20-year history of climbing and mountaineering across Europe, and although small in numbers, a very sociable club, and one that has contributed much to Scottish mountaineering and the MCofS.

This was the most serious Scottish avalanche incident in recent years and is a blunt reminder of the fickle nature of Scotland’s snow and avalanche conditions. Mountaineering and climbing are activities with a risk of injury or death and avalanches are one of the hazards that may be encountered on the hills. However, it is important to recognise that thousands of people were out on the Scottish hills on Saturday and that the vast majority had a safe and enjoyable day.

Mountaineers and climbers develop self reliance through experience. It is essential that individual experience is further informed about avalanche and weather conditions through the specialist information and advice which is updated daily and freely available to all.”

David Gibson urged climbers and walkers to use the SportScotland Avalanche Information Service and the Mountain Weather Information Service to inform their decisions on when and where to walk and climb.

A Mountain Rescue operation is under way in Glencoe after a group of climbers were avalanched on Buachaille Etive Mor.

Helicopters from Lossiemouth and Prestwick have been scrambled to the scene of the accident, which happened at noon today.

UPDATE 8pm: 3 of the climbers have died after being taken to Belford Hospital in Fort William whilst a fourth has been treated shoulder injuries. Reports suggest that the avalanche occurred in Coire na Tulaich, the usual route of ascent for those heading for the summit of the Buachaille, and affected nine climbers in two groups. Further update: The dead climbers have now been named as brothers, Eamonn and John Murphy, aged 61 and 63 from Carrickfergus and Portrush in County Amtrim, Northern Ireland, and Scot Brian Murray, 46, from Monifeith, Tayside.

Red squirrels were last seen in the north and west Highlands about 30 years ago. That is all set to change with an experimental re-introduction scheme that has seen 32 of the creatures moved to the Dundonnell Estate near Ullapool.

The project has been planned by the estate’s owner, Sir Tim Rice, and is being undertaken through a licence scheme with Scottish Natural Heritage. The estate has permission to move 50 squirrels from number of location in the East Highlands to the Dundonnell estate. Some of the squirrels have been settled immediately in their new wild home, while others have spent time in specially constructed enclosures to give them a chance to acclimatise. The experiment is being closely monitored by SNH and the results will be used to inform decisions on any other similar projects. In the long term it is hoped that a viable community of red squirrels will be established to create a refuge as the grey squirrel, which spreads a deadly pox virus to the reds, continues to move northwards through Scotland.

The RBS Caledonian Challenge offers you ‘The Walk of Your Life’. The challenge is for teams of four people to complete 54 miles within 24 hours, whilst raising funds to help strengthen local communities.The epic journey will take participants through some of the UK’s most remote, rugged and stunningly beautiful landscapes. In just one day, participants will experience majestic views of Ben Nevis – the UK’s highest mountain, the splendour of Glen Coe, the wilds of Rannoch Moor and the scenic Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park.

The RBS Caledonian Challenge was founded in 1996. Since then, more than 12,000 people have successfully taken part and raised over £8 million to support the work of the Scottish Community Foundation. This is your chance to participate in Scotland’s premier outdoor team ultra-challenge in aid of charity.

* A satisfying physical endeavour

54 miles in 24 hours is tough. It is the equivalent of two full marathons and two ascents of Ben Nevis – all without sleep. But it is achievable. People from all walks of life and of all shapes and sizes take part. Just about anyone with the right preparation, a good team and a positive attitude can successfully complete the course. And we will support you every step of the way.

* A fun team exercise

Teams of at least four adults will start together and stick together throughout the course. We also advise teams to train and fundraise together too. A Support Crew is essential for providing practical assistance and encouragement at the event and every team is backed by a network of supporters, so there is a role for everyone. Whether you take part as a group of friends or workmates, by collaborating for a few months towards a common goal you will bond with your team mates and share an amazing experience together, whilst sharing some laughs along the way too.

* An invaluable service to others

An integral part of the Challenge is to raise a significant amount of funds to strengthen the communities close to the course and throughout Scotland. This provides a meaningful purpose to your endeavours and gives you an opportunity to help enhance the quality of life of thousands of people in some the UK’s most remote communities and disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

100% of the funds you raise will support the valuable work of the Scottish Community Foundation.

To reserve a team place, please visit
http://www.caledonianchallenge.com/register/
For more information, please visit www.caledonianchallenge.com
or contact us on enquiries@caledonianchallenge.com or 0131 524 0350.

Residents of Rum, one of the small isles off the west coast, will vote on whether to takeover ownership of the island and set up crofts. Rum, which is popular with hillwalkers, has been owned by Government conservation agencies since 1957. The present owner is SNH which has undertaken extensive studies of the deer on the island as well as other research and ranger activities.

17 adult residents will vote to decide whether to transfer the community hall, village shop, tea-room, campsite and land in Kinloch Village and Glen on the west coast island into local ownership. This would allow crofts to be established and for the local economy to be developed to try and encourage more people to move to the island.

In the early 19th century the population of Rum was 443, however the island was cleared of the 350 people living there by 1826 to be replaced by sheep as part of the Highland Clearances.

Following a similar local buyout on neighbouring Eigg, residents there began selling Eggs from Eigg, maybe in the future we’ll be able to enjoy Rum from Rum?

Walkhighlands has expanded its mountain database to include the hills of England and Wales.

Walkhighlands is Scotland’s leading website for walkers. However many of our users (50%) live in England and Wales. These visitors come to the site because of their interest in walking in Scotland, but they obviously walk nearer home in England and Wales too. Several had asked for the interactive part of Walkhighlands to be expanded so that they could record their ascents in England and Wales and write trip reports for them. This would mean they could write about all their walking trips and have them shown on their Walkhighlands blog page.

“This new expansion isn’t just for baggers, although they can record all their ascents on their own interactive maps,” said site co-founder, Paul Webster. “There are now pages on the site for each of these hills showing who has climbed each, and, as trip reports come in, these will appear on the hill pages. Having this functionality for these hills means Walkhighlands should in time become a good source of reference and reports for all the hills of Britain. GPS-using walkers can now attach the tracklogs of their walks in GPX format to their reports – if they do this, other users will see your route marked on a map in your post, and will be able to download it too. This can help the walk reports to become a guide to the English and Welsh hills in their own right.”

The hills added are in two new categories:

The Wainwrights are the summits of the Lake District, as recorded by the famous guidebook author A Wainwright. Climbing all the Wainwrights has become a popular aim in this area.

The Hewitts are the hills above two thousand feet, with 30 metres of descent all around. Walkhighlands has added all the Hewitts in England and Wales.