A82 daytime road closures by Loch Lomond

Posted on November 5, 2017 by Helen Webster

Motorists are facing a 55-mile detour next month amid plans to close part of the A82 for nearly two weeks. The A82 between Tarbet and Crianlarich will be closed between 8am and 6pm on weekdays from Monday 6th November to 21st November. The road will be open outside those times, and at weekends. Road crews are gearing up to begin a major package of road improvements worth over £1M starting next week. Starting on Monday 6 November, works teams totalling over 90 operatives and associated plant and delivery vehicles will complete a number of schemes on the route over a…

Posted in Access issues

Get Ready For Winter In The Mountains: Facebook Live Q&A event

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Helen Webster

Next week Mountaineering Scotland is hosting a live Facebook Q&A session when an expert panel, led by Mountain Safety Adviser Heather Morning, will answer questions on mountaineering in winter. The panel will answer questions sent in both in advance and while they’re live ‘on air’, and offering essential advice to help people get the most out of Scotland’s mountains this winter, whether they’re venturing out into the hills under snow for the first time or could just do with a refresher or a particular piece of advice. The panel will be drawn from mountain rescue team members and experts from…

Posted in News

Review: Osprey Tempest 30l women’s backpack

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Helen Webster

RRP Price: £100 Weight: 86g Osprey’s Tempest 30 litre pack has been my all-year rucksack of choice for the last 4 years, except when carrying a tent. It has seen me through numerous hill and lower level walks, my Munro compleation in the Skye Cuillin, a 10 day Tour de Mont Blanc, and a number of other Alpine hut trips and Scottish bothy multi-days involving walking and scrambling. Whilst it probably has a couple more years wear left, my old pack had abrasion holes in the bottom requiring DIY duct tape repairs and a few holes in the mesh on…

Posted in Gear reviews, Magazine, Rucksacks

Strathfarrar Winter Access Arrangements

Posted on October 30, 2017 by Helen Webster

November 1st marks the start of the winter vehicular access arrangements for Strathfarrar. Since 2014 vehicular access (anyone can walk or bike along the private road) is only permitted for Mountaineering Scotland members for the purpose of hillwalking or climbing. Everyone in the car must be a member and walkers and climbers are required to give details of their contact details and objectives for the day which will be passed onto the Glenavon and Braulen Estates who own the road in Strathfarrar. Access through the locked gate is not allowed before 8am. To get the combination for the padlocked gate…

Posted in Access issues, News

Heavy Whalley to deliver Mountain Aid ‘Step Up to Winter’ talks

Posted on October 29, 2017 by Helen Webster

Mountain Aid have announced Heavy Whalley as speaker for their Step up to Winter talks series which will be held this November in Dumbarton, Kilmarnock, Dumfries and Cupar. Heavy was a member of the RAF Mountain Rescue team for 36 years and has been involved in over 1000 Mountain and over 80 Aircraft incidents in mountainous areas. He will present an evening of winter walking tales and tips that will leave you ready to get out into the hills this winter. The talks are open to all, and free of charge thanks to funding from Mountain Aid. No advance booking…

Posted in News

Mountain bothy book that might save a life

Posted on October 26, 2017 by Helen Webster

If you chance upon one of the 103 bothies in Great Britain that are maintained by the Mountain Bothies Association you might find a new book hidden amongst the mountain shelters – a 66-page newsprint publication that might just save a life – even if it means setting fire to it. 46 artists and writers, led by Edward Summerton, Senior Lecturer at the University’s Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, have created 200 copies of ‘Shelter Stone: The Artist and the Mountain’ and dispersed it among bothies and shelters in England, Scotland and Wales, as well as Iceland…

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Deaths of captured Beauly beavers prompt calls for protection

Posted on October 24, 2017 by Helen Webster

Reacting to news that two beavers trapped near Beauly have died in captivity, Trees for Life Chief Executive Steve Micklewright said, “We are deeply saddened that the Beauly family of beavers has now been split up and two of them have died in captivity.” Mr Micklewright added, “Beavers have been in the area for 5-8 years with no local concerns or controversy. Many people had no idea they were there.” Beavers have recently been recognised by the Scottish government as a native species. Mr Micklewright added, “Native species require protection. The government should have explored all other options before trapping…

Posted in Nature

Environment and outdoor groups call for safeguards for mountain hares

Posted on October 13, 2017 by Helen Webster

A coalition of ten environmental and outdoor organisations have repeated their appeal to the Scottish Government to introduce urgent safeguards for mountain hare populations. The group – which includes the John Muir Trust, Mountaineering Scotland and the RSPB – is asking for a temporary ban on all mountain hare culling on grouse moors until measures are put in place to ensure their numbers can remain at acceptable, sustainable levels. The Scottish Government has a duty to maintain mountain hare populations in a state of good health, otherwise it may be in breach of its legally binding international obligations for this…

Posted in Nature

Nan Shepherd biography to launch in Cairngorms

Posted on October 9, 2017 by Helen Webster

Best known for her masterpiece of mountain literature The Living Mountain, (first published in 1977) Nan Shepherd, who died in 1981 has been in the news recently. Her image now graces the new Scottish £5 note; The Living Mountain (about her experiences in the Cairngorms) has become a classic and sells in its thousands. Nan Shepherd lived all her life in Deeside, yet few people, even in Scotland, seem to have heard of her until recently. Now a new biography “Into the Mountain” by Charlotte Peacock unravels some of the mysteries, dispels some of the rumours and gives insight into…

Posted in Magazine, News

Aviemore Adventure Festival 2018

Posted on October 5, 2017 by Helen Webster

The organisers of the Aviemore Adventure Festival have announced the dates for next year’s festival as well as a crowdfunding appeal to set the Festival on a sustainable footing and expand the charitable aims of the event. The Festival has been run successfully for the past 3 years by a group of committed local volunteers who love the outdoors and are keen to share that passion. However they are looking to expand the festival and are seeking support to fund a new part-time worker who will help support the existing team to develop the festival over the coming years, attracting…

Posted in News