Monthly Archives: June 2017

Review: AKU Alterra GTX walking boots

Posted on June 29, 2017 by Paul Webster

Recommended Price: £180 Weight: 670g AKU may be an unfamiliar brand name to UK walkers, but the Italian company has 30 years experience making boots. Although based in Treviso, Aku also have a second production base in Romania where these Alterra GTX boots are manufactured. AKU Alterra GTX boots are full-height boots that actually sit somewhere between the lightness and flexibility of trail shoes and the support of heavier boots. Much of the uppers are made from suede, with a stretchy synthetic material used for the ankle cuff and the tongue. This stretchiness means no tongue gusset is needed and…

Posted in Footwear, Gear reviews, Magazine

Our pick: Multi-Munro routes

Posted on June 28, 2017 by Helen Webster

If you are into bagging Munros, there’s nothing more satifying than completing a walk that includes several of the prized 282 summits. Not all Munros are equal, and whilst some solitary Munros involve a great deal of effort, there are many places around Scotland where you can tick off multiple Munros in a single day’s outing. Here’s our picks – including some real epics… The Ring of Steall The Ring of Steall is one of Scotland’s great classic hillwalking days – a horseshoe of narrow ridges that takes in four Munros (though it used to be five before Sgor an…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Our picks

Growing in the Open Air

Posted on June 25, 2017 by Linda Cracknell

‘Now I see the secret of making the best persons, it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth.’ Walt Whitman ‘Here’s a question,’ the Geography teacher leading our group said. ‘How many words can we think of for the sound a burn makes?’ We now had something to focus on as 14 teenagers and four adults picked our way silently up a steep section of the burn from the shore of Loch an Daimh (Glen Lyon) towards the corrie where we’d eventually find Lochan na Cat reflecting a bright disc of blue,…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Schiehallion helps launch charity appeal

Posted on June 23, 2017 by Helen Webster

The John Muir Trust hosted a family day on Schiehallion last week to launch an appeal to raise more than £500,000 to help children with cancer in Scotland. Professor Brenda Gibson launched the Schiehallion Appeal last weekend by leading a group of patients and families to the top of Schiehallion. Organisers from Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity said, “It was a fantastic day and such an amazing experience to climb Schiehallion with children who have overcome cancer and their families. The John Muir Trust were a great help too, and had lots of activities at the foot of the hill for…

Posted in News

Met Office enhances its mountain weather forecasts

Posted on June 22, 2017 by Helen Webster

The Met Office has today made major changes to its mountain weather forecasts. The new style forecasts divide Scotland’s mountains into five areas – Northwest Highlands, Southwest Highlands, North Grampians, South Grampians and Southeast Highlands, replacing the previous forecasts which featured only an east-west split. The details now include the percentage chance of cloud-free summits – similar to the Mountain Weather Information Service familiar to many – but also split the forecast into three hourly periods through the day, have traffic-light colour coding for weather hazards, and provide a summary forecast up to 5 days ahead. Richard Orrell of the…

Posted in News

Study to assess damage to Scotland’s hills from bulldozed tracks

Posted on June 21, 2017 by Helen Webster

Conservation bodies are calling on outdoor enthusiasts to help them assess the damage caused to Scotland’s iconic mountains by controversial vehicle tracks. The Scottish Environment LINK Hilltracks group wants hill-goers to photograph or video any instances of upland tracks that are harming the landscape or environment. Anyone who comes across what they think might be a new or expanded track should email hilltracks@scotlink.org or tweet using hashtags #Hilltracks or #NoMotorsUpMountains. This evidence will help the group – which includes many of Scotland’s biggest outdoor and conservation organisations – compile a new report in spring 2018 into whether current legislation is…

Posted in Nature

Indebted to a damselfly

Posted on June 17, 2017 by Ben Dolphin

The insect world is a bit marmite really. I’ve met a good number of people who adore insects more than they adore the furriest, softest koala bear. But then I’ve met plenty of people who loathe insects with every fibre of their being, who would purge the entire planet of every last creepy crawly if they could. Of course, the entire planetary ecosystem would collapse if they got their way so let’s just be thankful that none of them have found a genie in a lamp and wished all those bugs away. But my general impression is that the majority…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Keep it Wild campaign launched as Scotland’s Wild Land Areas come under threat

Posted on June 13, 2017 by Helen Webster

One of the UK’s leading conservation bodies has today launched a new national campaign for greater protection of Scotland’s Wild Land Areas, amid concern that a significant legal case will threaten the future of Scotland’s unique landscapes. A recent YouGov poll found 4 in 5 Scots back greater protection for Wild Land Areas. The John Muir Trust’s “Keep It Wild” campaign calls on the Scottish Government to use the forthcoming Planning Bill to give Wild Land Areas protection from industrial-scale development, similar to the protection already in place for windfarms in National Parks and NSAs. The campaign comes as the…

Posted in Nature

Warning issued over Goat Track in Coire an t-Sneachda

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Helen Webster

Events last weekend in Coire an t-Sneachda in the Northern Corries of the Cairngorms have highlighted the need for all hill-walkers and climbers to be vigilant when climbing on or passing below mountain crags. Two separate teams over the weekend were injured by rock fall. On Saturday a team on a route known as Fingers Ridge had a very lucky escape when a large slab of rock gave way. Ironically they were clearing loose rock from the route when the accident happened. And on Sunday a team were injured on Pygmy Ridge, in the same Corrie. Walkers and climbers are…

Posted in Access issues, News

Campcraft and hill skills – open fires

Posted on June 12, 2017 by David Lintern

As we move into peak walking and camping season, I wanted to spend some time on what seems to be a controversial subject; camp fires. There’s a huge range of attitudes towards when, where and why it’s acceptable to make a fire outdoors, even among experienced outdoors people and professionals, but there’s also a lack of public discussion which seems to me to be much more harmful than useful. I’ve also seen a fair amount of ‘social shaming’ dished out to folk posting pictures of campfires online, regardless of their age or experience… and of course the more you tell…

Posted in Access issues, Features, Magazine