The Walkhighlands website has been shortlisted for the Herald Digital Business Awards – having made it through to the final two in the Tourism category. The winners, chosen by a judging panel headed by David Milne, editor of HeraldScotland, will be announced on Friday 4th December.

These exciting new awards are to recognise businesses from all sectors that have seized the opportunities offered by digital technologies to drive success and competitive advantage. They are a chance to celebrate Scotland’s digital success stories.

Walkers and climbers are being asked if vehicle access should be allowed over certain Government-owned tracks, ending long walks to the start of ascents and crags.

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) has been asked to comment on allowing vehicles on the approach track for Ben Dearg near Ullapool and five tracks in Galloway. The MCofS has traditionally not been in favour of opening up access on tracks to cars and other vehicles, preferring the idea of the “long walk in”. The MCofS is asking if climbers and walkers are now generally in favour of opening up access to these tracks and if so, would it just be for a restricted group (eg. winter climbers), who would fund the maintenance of the tracks and deal with any problems arising from vehicle access, and whether there are other issues that should be taken into account.

If the MCofS was to respond in favour of vehicular access to the Government on these 6 tracks it would need to change its current policy on this issue. It is therefore asking for comments on this issue which can either be posted on the MCofS website or sent to the Access and Conservation Officer, Hebe Carus by 15 December.

Iona Abbey

The weekend of 28 and 29 November, just before St Andrew’s Day, has been chosen to give everyone the chance to enjoy these historic buildings and sites for free. The attractions included in the free weekend include the fascinating Dallas Dhu Distillery in Morayshire, Edinburgh Castle (which will also be open free on St Andrew’s Day), Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness, and Iona Abbey. A full list of the participating properties can be found at the Historic Scotland website.

Wild Boar (photo by vlod007)

Six wild boar – donated by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s Highland Wildlife Park at Kincraig near Kingussie – will be used to reduce bracken in an area of ancient birchwood on the estate, restoring a missing ecological process and facilitating the regeneration of native trees and woodland flowering plants.

Alan Watson Featherstone, Executive Director of Trees for Life, said: “Wild boar are an integral part of the Caledonian Forest, and their presence is crucial to the ecological health and balance of a natural woodland. We are very excited to be bringing them to Dundreggan, as they will play a key role in the restoration of the forest there.”

Trees for Life will build on the experience of the 2004-2007 Guisachan Wild Boar Project based on the edge of the Glen Affric National Nature Reserve. That project, in which the charity was a partner, demonstrated the importance of wild boar in forest ecosystems.

Ecologist Liz Balharry, who coordinated the Guisachan Wild Boar Project and is advising Trees for Life, said: “Wild boar are outstanding ecological engineers. Their return to Dundreggan will utilise the knowledge gained by my project and is exciting news for forest restoration in Scotland.”

The ancient birchwood on Dundreggan, like many woodlands in the Highlands, contains an excessive growth of bracken, which shades out flowering plants, inhibiting the regeneration of trees and creating a dense and impenetrable understorey.

Bracken grows rapidly through underground runners called rhizomes. Because its fronds are toxic to most animals, it is often ungrazed and so spreads unchecked. Boar provide a natural control by eating both the rhizomes and fronds. By rooting and exposing the soil, they also create an excellent seedbed for the germination of trees and other woodland plants.

The project will focus on a 12.3 hectare (30.4 acre) area, with the boar confined inside a secure enclosure. Volunteers on Trees for Life’s Conservation Volunteer Weeks will help to monitor the boar’s effectiveness in reducing bracken, and the project will form part of an educational experience for visitors, including school groups.

Steve House’s book, Beyond the Mountain, has been awarded this year’s Boardman Tasker Prize at the Kendal Mountain Festival.

The £3,000 prize commemorates the lives of Pete Boardman and Joe Tasker and is given to the author of an original work which has made an outstanding contribution to mountain literature.

On 17 May 1982 Pete and Joe were last seen on Mount Everest attempting to traverse The Pinnacles on the unclimbed North East Ridge at around 8250 metres. Their deaths marked the end of a remarkable era in British mountaineering and the two men left a long-lasting legacy of quality writing.

This year’s award attracted 31 entries covering many genres. Beyond the Mountain is an autobiographical book, detailing Steve House’s career as an extreme climber. In announcing the award, Phil Bartlett said, “I cannot think of a climbing book that better conveys the importance of friendship and mutual trust than this one. And
this is only one of its many subtleties. House rejects false modesty and also rejects the technique of lightweight humour that some other very talented alpinists have employed in their writing in recent
years. He is unashamedly serious. And yet he not only keeps our interest; he succeeds”.

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) has drafted a new code of responsbility for climbers and is asking for comments. The document has been drafted in response to growing concerns over liability for accidents, particularly from land owners, including many local authorities and other public bodies.

The MCofS has always taken the view that climbers and walkers should understand that these activities can pose dangers which go hand in hand with personal responsibility. The general participation statement says, ““The MCofS recognises that climbing and mountaineering are activities with a danger of personal injury or death. Participants in these activities should be aware of and accept these risks and be responsible for their own actions and involvement”.

The MCofS is now attempting to clarify what this actually means for climbers and landowners with a much longer draft statement. The statement attempts to allay landowner’s fears of liability by stressing what climbing actually involves and that climbers operate a code of self-reliance.

The statement outlines the full range of climbing activities (Traditional and Sport); the importance of the MCofS risk statement for putting up and documenting new climbs and liability for our own actions. It states that climbers must risk-assess everything from the quality of any fixed equipment (pegs, slings or bolts) to loose rock, to route descriptions and grades. Finally there are guidelines for the development of sport venues based upon previous consultations amongst climbers by the MCofS. You can read the full statement on the MCofS website where climbers are encouraged to pitch in with their own comments.

Although this code only relates to climbers, the MCofS recently launched a short video highlighting a number of accident black spots that primarily affect walkers. You can watch the video here.