Organisers of the Fort William Mountain Festival are delighted to announce that Stephanie McKenna (22) from Fort William, an inspirational campaigner who works tirelessly to empower members of the Lochaber community to engage with nature, the environment and outdoor activities, is the ninth recipient of The Scottish Youth Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture, sponsored by UHI West Highland. The festival’s youth ambassador award, established in 2015, celebrates adventurous young people, the landscapes they choose to explore and the outdoor pursuits in which they excel.  The young winner needs to have shown resilience and determination to succeed within their chosen area of expertise, shown…

Organisers of The Fort William Mountain Festival have announced that David Whalley, one of the UK’s most experienced mountain rescue experts, whose distinguished service at the forefront of mountain rescue and mountain safety education in Scotland has spanned more than 40 years, is the 16th recipient of the Scottish Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture, sponsored by JAHAMA Highland Estates. David Whalley known to most by his nickname, Heavy, was a member of the Royal Air Force (RAF) Mountain Rescue Service for 37 years.  The team’s primary task was to attend to aircraft crashes, whilst training in the mountains all over Scotland.  He was Team…

Following the results of a survey, Mountaineering Scotland have launched new guidance for those who use their phones, or GPS devices, for navigating in the hills. As part of the survey, some 4,000 hill users were asked if they used mobile phones or GPS for navigating when spending time in the hills and mountains, and if they had experienced any issues while doing this. A huge 87% of people said they used an electronic device for navigating at some point on their walk, and 40% of those said they had experienced a situation where their device had stopped working in…

A new bothy, Ruighe Ealasaid, The Red House has now been officially opened and is available for overnight stays. The bothy is situated in the southern Cairngorms, to the south of White Bridge, in a prime location for hillwalkers bagging the two Munros at the head of the Tarff. It is also in an important position for several long distance routes through the mountains including Linn of Dee to Blair Atholl via Glen Tilt, Kincraig to Blair Atholl via Glen Tilt and the Scottish National Trail. Chair of the Mountain Bothies Association (MBA), Simon Birch said “I want to thank…