The Scottish Avalanche Information service has begun its forecasts for the 2014-15 winter season. The forecasts began on Thursday, covering North and South Cairngorms, Glencoe, Lochaber and Creag Meagaidh; the Torridon service will begin on the 24th Dec 2014, this will cover holiday periods and weekends throughout the season. With considerable snowfalls this last week, the forecast for all the regions includes areas of ‘considerable’ avalanche risk for this weekend, so be sure to check the detailed forecasts on the Scottish Avalanche Information Service website. Link: SAIS

The Scottish Avalanche Information Service will begin producing daily avalanche forecasts for the 2014-2015 winter season from this Thursay, 11th December. Separate forecasts cover the main five operational areas – Lochaber, Glencoe, Creag Meagaidh, the Southern Cairngorms and the Northern Cairngorms. The forecast for Torridon will begin on the 24th Decemeber 2014; this will cover holiday periods and weekends throughout the rest of the season. The Scottish Avalanche Information Service is funded by SportScotland; it began operating as the Scottish Avalanche Project in 1988 when it covered two areas, the Northern Cairngorms and Glencoe. As well as the daily forecasts,…

With winter weather really starting to bite now in Scotland’s mountains, climbers and walkers are being advised of the best way to get help in the event of an accident. Because mountains and remote areas are beyond the road network and the reach of the ambulance service, any emergency call must be to Mountain Rescue. Heather Morning, Mountain Safety Advisor for the Mountaineering Council of Scotland said: “No-one likes to think it will be them who gets into difficulties in the mountains, but sadly people do, for all sorts of reasons, and on average each year Scottish Mountain Rescue Teams…

The charity St John Scotland and the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) have announced a joint initiative which will provide mountaineering instruction to university mountaineering clubs during the winter season 2015-16. St John Scotland will fund a qualified mountaineering instructor who will work directly with student clubs; instruction will be provided throughout club meets using climbers’ huts as their base, and potentially cover a range of activities including navigation, use of equipment, and techniques for safe passage in winter conditions. Commenting, David Gibson, Chief Officer of the MCofS said: “University mountaineering clubs can be a great way of introducing young…

The SportScotland Avalanche Information Service (SAIS) has confirmed that it will continue to run avalanche risk forecasts for the Torridon area this winter. Torridon was added to the five areas already assessed by the Service last winter on a trial basis. It will now join the regular forecast for Creag Meagaidh, Glencoe, Lochaber, Northern Cairngorms and Southern Cairngorms when the Service resumes in December. Last winter the SAIS recorded 350 avalanches, 25 of which were triggered by people. There were no avalanche-related fatalities in the 2013-14 winter season. Read more about avalanche safety here.

A photograph of a small, transient stream created by heavy rain and dwarfed by the might of Glencoe’s mountains wins top prize in this year’s search for the UK’s ‘Landscape Photographer of the Year’. Cumbrian-based photographer, Mark Littlejohn becomes the eighth person to win the overall title and the £10,000 prize. His picture was chosen, by the judges, from the thousands of entries that showcase the richly diverse landscape of the UK. From the evening sun slanting across the greenest of fields to ruined castles and starry skies, the winning photographs in the ‘Take a view – Landscape Photographer of…