Police have named the climber who died on Ben Nevis on Sunday as Daniel Rafferty. It is understood that Daniel was a student aged 19 and came from Alness. He suffered a fall into the Tower Gully on Sunday afternoon. Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team and a search and rescue helicopter from RAF Lossiemouth took part in the subsequent rescue operation.

Star gazers are in for a stellar event on Monday 13th December in Glentrool to co-incide with the Geminids meteor shower, usually the most spectacular of the year. The Geminds can produce up to 60-80 meteors an hour, so star spotters all over the country are expected to flock to Britain's first Dark Sky Park in Galloway. Forestry Commission Scotland is teaming up with the Royal Observatory in Greenwich to lay on a presentation and talk on craters, collisions and catastrophes. An outdoor meteor watch session is planned after the talk. Keith Muir of Forestry Commission Scotland said: “We are…

As the nation continues to shiver under snow and ice, conservation charity the National Trust for Scotland has released this rare image of Canna Bay freezing over. The charity, which has cared for the island since 1981, reports that this is only the third time in living memory that the bay has begun to freeze. The island is normally protected from extreme weather conditions by its sheltered location in the Inner Hebrides. Property Manager Stewart Connor said: “It has been unusually cold, but as the pictures show, spectacular. It’s unusual for Canna to experience such low temperatures. While the bay…

Walkers are being warned of the high risk of avalanches in the Pentlands and even Arthur’s Seat in the capital after heavy snow falls. The Scottish Avalanche Information Service (SAIS), which is currently providing weekend forecasts for two popular walking and climbing areas, has issued a hazard warning of high risk of avalanche in the Northern Cairngorms. Edinburgh City Council said walkers should avoid slopes which are most heavily loaded with snow, since the added weight could trigger avalanches. Arthur’s Seat, in the heart of the city, has had a thick covering of snow for a few days now and…

In view of the current snow cover and weather forecast the Scottish Avalanche Information Service (SAIS) will be providing weekend Avalanche Hazard reports for the Lochaber and Northern Cairngorms areas until the full service starts on the 16th December 2010. View the current forecasts for Northern Cairngorms and Lochaber at the SAIS website. There is heavy snowfall in these areas, particularly the Northern Cairngorms, and the avalanche risk should be assessed before planning a route. An early avalanche in the Cairngorms was captured on film and posted on the Walkhighlands forum ealier in November, the footage can be viewed here.…

The coalition government is planning to go ahead with plans to privatise the search and rescue helicopter service which operates throughout the UK. This service is currently provided by the RAF and Royal Navy, plus civilian helicopters through the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The previous government had been in talks for the service to be run by private consortium Soteria from 2012, however these plans were dropped when the new government came into power. The plan was to replace the ageing Sea King helicopters with new, privately-owned ones, to be operated from 12 bases across the UK. The BBC is…

A new emergency text service has been set up to allow people to text 999 when voice calls cannot be made but there is sufficient signal to send a text. Heather Morning, Mountain Safety Advisor at the MCofS, is urging walkers to register for the new service. She said, “You can now contact the 999 emergency services by SMS text from your mobile phone. This is going to be particularly useful for those needing 999 assistance in the hills when mobile reception is poor and there is not enough signal to make a call.” However you will only be able…