It’s International Mountain Day, and Mountaineering Scotland and Scottish Mountain Rescue are amongst a group of partner organisations launching the 2020 #ThinkWINTER campaign to encourage and help people to be safer in the outdoors and the mountains this winter. This summer saw a noticeable increase in the number of people heading for the outdoors and, with foreign travel opportunities still limited due to coronavirus, it’s likely that many will carry on their new hobby through the winter, domestic COVID restrictions permitting. The core messages from Mountaineering Scotland are: • Check the COVID protection measures where you live and where you…

Avalanche hazard warnings will be produced daily for all Scottish mountain areas from today Friday 11 December. Forecasts will be provided by the Scottish Avalanche Information Service (SAIS) for the following areas: Lochaber, Glen Coe, Creag Meagaidh, Southern Cairngorms, Northern Cairngorms and Torridon until mid April. As well as providing detailed daily forecasts which hillwalkers can use in combination with weather reports to plan their routes, the SAIS builds up a record of avalanche activity across Scotland. Last season there were 241 avalanches, 27 of them human triggered and one fatality; the previous year there were three deaths. Hillwalkers and…