Natasha Lambert has completed one element of her latest challenge, Sea and Summit Scotland. She reached the top of the Cairn Gorm Mountain, just after 3pm on Monday. It took her just over five and half hours to reach the summit which is some 1245 metres above sea level, the sixth highest mountain in the UK. Natasha has athetoid cerebral palsy and uses a wheel chair. However, for this part of her challenge, she used a special device called a Hart Walker. This pulls Natasha upright and enables her to propel herself forward. Natasha also wears a lycra corset to…

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS), the representative organisation for hillwalkers, climbers, mountaineers and ski-tourers who live in Scotland or enjoy Scottish mountains, has announced that it will rebrand as ‘Mountaineering Scotland’ following consultation with members. Commenting on the change, Chief Executive Officer, David Gibson said: “The MCofS has represented the interests of its clubs and members since 1970. We are proud of our heritage and achievements, but we recognise that times are changing and tailoring our brand and communications to new audiences is essential.” The ‘Council’ in the MCofS title originates from when it was formed as a body…

Cnoc Coinnich – a hill on the Ardgoil Estate between Loch Goil and Loch Long in Argyll – has been promoted to Corbett status. The hill, whose previous height of 761m meant that it was one of the highest Grahams, has been resurveyed by Graham Jackson and John Barnard, with the support of the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC). They found the height to be 762.5m which means that the hill now joins the list of Corbetts – reportedly confirmed by the SMC. The new height has also been accepted by the Ordnance Survey. The hill lies across a bealach from…

Navigation in the Scottish Mountains can be challenging; particularly if the cloud comes down and visibility is lost. This is a time when many hill walkers will pull out their GPS, press a few buttons and confidently follow instructions from the small screen in front of them. Heather Morning, Mountain Safety Advisor with The Mountaineering Council of Scotland, discusses whether that GPS ‘safety net’ is indeed the panacea to solving all our navigation and safety concerns or whether we as a hill walking community are becoming so reliant on modern technology that we may be actually losing a part of…