Scottish avalanche forecasts will start for the season on Friday, with the first forecast for 17 December. The Sportscotland Avalanche Information Service (SAIS) provides a daily avalanche hazard report for six Scottish areas – Lochaber, Glencoe, Creag Meagaidh, Southern Cairngorms, Northern Cairngorms and Torridon. The service usually runs until mid-April but is dependent on the snow conditions. Anyone planning a hillwalk during the winter is advised to check the avalanche service in the same way as they would routinely check the weather forecast and plan their route accordingly.

The Mar Lodge Mountain Film Festival has now become an annual event and will be held in February next year with tickets now available. The National Trust for Scotland’s Mar Lodge Estate, near Braemar, makes a great backdrop to the event. The organisers of next year’s event say the festival will feature six epic films which showcase mountain landscapes, extreme ascents in far flung corners of the world and the stories of the people who visit them. Friday the 10th February is an ‘Explore’ night and will feature The Last Great Climb, a mountain epic depicting Leo Houlding and his…

As snow and freezing conditions provide a winter playground for thousands of hillwalkers, climbers and mountaineers, Mountaineering Scotland (formerly the MCofS) is reminding everyone to plan for the challenges of winter when preparing a trip to the Scottish hills. The organisation say an examination of the fatal accident statistics for the last year shows it isn’t just novices getting into difficulties. Sadly, 20 people have lost their lives so far in the mountains this year. Ten of these were either approaching, or on, a technical climb. Three died as a result of avalanche. Three of the others who died had…

Mountaineering Scotland (formerly the MCofS) will again be hosting a series of safety evenings this winter. Heather Morning, Mountaineering Scotland’s Safety Advisor, will share her beautiful photography, videos, personal anecdotes and adventures, while discussing essential skills for winter navigation, avalanche awareness, route choice, equipment, mountain weather and much more. With a lifetime’s experience in the mountains, Heather has been a professional mountaineer for 25 years and was a member of Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team for 16 years. These entertaining and informative evenings will be held on the following dates and locations. Whilst free, you need to book a place, the…

This month sees the return of the UK’s longest continuous running mountain film festival. The Dundee Mountain Film Festival will take place from 24 – 26 November and will be showcasing an international programme of speakers, as well as award winning films and exhibitions. The Festival will kick off on Thursday evening at Discovery Point with a talk by Jamie Andrew, accomplished and inspiring Scottish amputee mountaineer. Other speakers include Andy Kirkpatrick, Felicity Ashton and Greg Boswell and these sessions will be held at the Bonar Hall, Dundee, DD1 4HN. The full programme and ticket prices/booking can be found on…