Three Glencoe avalanche victims named

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Helen Webster

Three of the four climbers killed in an avalanche on Bidean Nam Bian on Saturday have been named by police. They are Una Rachel Finnegan, 25, from County Antrim who was a junior doctor living in Edinburgh, Tom Chesters, 28, who was a PHD student at Hull University living in Leeds and 24-year-old Christopher Bell, from Balderstone near Blackburn in Lancashire, who was studying for a PHD in Ocean Mapping in Oban. A fifth climber, a 24-year-old woman from the Durham area, is in a critical condition in a Glasgow hospital with serious head injuries. The following Statement was released…

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Queen's View visitor centre closed

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Helen Webster

Queen’s View Visitor Centre is now closed for the winter but work will soon start to prepare the site for the ground works that make up the first part of the Visitor Centre refurbishment programme. Part of the preparations will include some felling work, which will take place over the winter, and site signage will soon be in place to remind people to keep out for their own safety. Hamish Murray, for the Commission’s team in Tay, said: “This is the start of the effort to refurbish the Visitor Centre so all things are go – but it’s important that…

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Fort William Mountain Festival programme

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Helen Webster

The full programme for the 2013 Fort William Mountain Festival has now been announced. The line up includes speakers made up of top climbers, mountaineers and extreme sports men and women, together with adventure film screenings and mountain workshops. This year’s festival will be staged in and around Fort William from Thursday 21 to Sunday 24 February 2013. Mike Pescod, Chairman of the Highland Mountain Culture Association, organisers of the Festival, said: “The 2013 Fort William Mountain Festival is one of the most popular events in Scotland’s outdoor adventure calendar and everyone attending will be inspired, energized and entertained. This…

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Future of Kinloch Castle, Rum to be secured

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Helen Webster

A new initiative has been launched by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) to explore options for the future of Kinloch Castle on the Isle of Rum. SNH owns the castle and most of the island which is home to the Isle of Rum National Nature Reserve. Although going beyond SNH’s remit, the management and upkeep of the castle comes as part of the ownership responsibility, something that the organisation has invested more than £1m in over the past few years. The castle was built for the Lancastrian industrialist George Bullough in 1897. Luxuriously furnished, its heyday took place before the First…

Posted in Nature

Cash for upgrades to West Highland and Great Glen Ways

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Helen Webster

Parts of the West Highland Way long distance route will be upgraded following an injection of £750,000 of government funding. The cash is part of £3.15m being given to Forestry Commission Scotland to improve Scotland’s forest estates. Over £1m will be spent on 11 miles of new paths and upgrading surfaces on the Great Glen Way which links Fort William and Inverness. Environment minister Paul Wheelhouse said: “We want more Scots and visitors to enjoy and have access to Scotland’s great outdoors. This funding boost for the Forestry Commission Scotland will help towards achieving that. “The projects will not only…

Posted in Access issues, News

Mountaineers call for halt to Dalnessie wind farm

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Helen Webster

Mountaineers’ representatives in Scotland have called on councillors to make a stand to defend a national beauty spot whilst accusing the First Minister of making misguided statements. Council planners are recommending that councillors do not object to a proposal by major power company SSE to build 27 huge turbines at Dalnessie, Lairg. The final decision rests with the Scottish Government. The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) which, along with Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) objected to the proposal, has warned that if the council does not reject the proposal, and the Scottish Government subsequently support the project, the outcome will be…

Posted in Access issues, Nature

1st Scottish Winter Climbing Meet set for Feb

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Helen Webster

Ben Nevis in winter offers some of the world’s most challenging and renowned climbing, with many classic routes at different grades. This winter sees Fort William host the inaugural Scottish Winter Climbing Meet, organised by local mountain guides and instructors with the support of the Mountaineering Council of Scotland. The Meet will be held on 2 and 3 February with space for about 60 to 80 participants. The Scottish Winter Climbing Meet will be a celebration weekend of winter climbing and gives climbers a chance to meet, chat and climb together on an informal basis. It is hoped that this…

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Magellan eXplorist 610 GPS

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Helen Webster

Magellan eXplorist 610 GPSRRP £399 GPS devices appear to be the Marmite of outdoor equipment – their use scorned by some walkers who fear the loss of traditional map and compass skills, but adopted by many others as a great aid to navigation and safety (see our article on the dos and don’ts of gps navigation). The earliest units had only very basic maps (some simply showed route lines) and were mostly used to get a current grid reference or to record tracks – but gradually GPS units have become much more sophisticated. Satmap made the first unit able to…

Posted in Accessories, Gear reviews

Gleann Dubh Lighe bothy to be rebuilt

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Helen Webster

The bothy at Gleann Dubh-lighe, near Glenfinnan, which was burnt down in 2011, is to be rebuilt. Volunteers from the Mountain Bothy Association (MBA) will undertake the extensive work in April this year. The fire, in August 2011, resulted from a faulty seal on a screw-in gas cylinder which allowed gas to escape under high pressure and be ignited by a candle. No one was injured as a result of this accident but the building was largely destroyed, with only the walls left standing. An MBA work party carried out some work later that year to ensure that the remains…

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Easier way to find your holiday cottage launched

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Helen Webster

Walkhighlands has the largest database of self-catering holiday cottages in Scotland – with over 2,500 cottages featured on the site. Last year – despite gloomy predictions – the number of visitors to Scotland was actually slightly up on the previous year, meaning it remains key to book early for the peak summer period to be sure of getting the cottage you really want. Until this week, cottages could only be browsed by looking through the listings for each region. We’ve now launched a new search facility, allowing visitors to more easily find cottages which matches their requirements for facilities –…

Posted in Walkhighlands news