davekeiller wrote: I think the original comment by Heather Morning has been taken somewhat out of context. If she said it at all, it will have been a light-hearted remark in a talk on keeping safe in the outdoors.
In that case, you could be right, Dave. Perhaps she felt the need to assert her opinion because she knew fellow professionals had different views, rather than being condescending to non-professionals.
From the book: Hillwalking, Mountain Leader Handbooks Volume 1, Steve Long wrote (quote):-
"Other, less obvious but still significant behaviours that detract from the sense of wildness in the hills are the creation of fire rings, stone circles where tent pegs have been weighted down, walking in large groups, and using brightly coloured clothes and tents. It is astonishing how a green tent is all but invisible even at close range whereas an orange one stands out like a beacon."
So both Heather Morning and Steve Long are entitled to their respective professional opinions, and I fail to see why it's unhelpful to this thread to draw attention to both. Absolutely I agree people new to hillwalking benefit from the advice of experienced professionals, and those of us who are experienced can do well by being ready to re-evaluate our own opinions sometimes. To sum up, different professionals have different views and nobody has a monopoly on the best advice.