Walkers risk making serious navigational errors because items they are carrying can stop compasses working properly, says a Scottish mountain safety adviser. Heather Morning, who works for the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, warns that the number of incidents where compasses have been affected by ‘reverse polarity’ caused by metal in devices such as mobile phones, keys, crampons and even underwired bras, has been rising and are also more likely to occur in bad weather. With most mountain rescue call-outs resulting from navigational mistakes, the MCofS is keen to make hillwalkers more aware of the possibility of reversed polarity and what…

The search has resumed for a walker reported missing yesterday morning (Sunday 7 April) on the Isle of Skye. Oliver Smith aged 33 and from Fife was planning to climb Bla Bheinn, a Cuillin Munro, and then descend the south ridge and follow the coastal path to Elgol. Police are appealing to anyone who has seen Mr Smith to contact them. Mr Smith was reported missing on Sunday morning and a search was mounted including local mountain rescue teams, search and rescue dogs, and an RAF and a coastguard rescue helicopter. Police Scotland described Mr Smith as being 5ft 7…

Volunteer members of the Mountain Bothies Association (MBA) are getting geared up for a busy year of bothy maintenance. The Association, which looks after over 100 bothies for walkers and other outdoor enthusiasts, has a full programme of projects planned for the year ahead including: – new bothies in the Kielder forest in the north of England and the Elan valley in Wales; – the rebuilding of Glen Dubh-lighe bothy near Glenfinnan which was destroyed by fire in 2010; – major work parties at a number of Scottish bothies including Shenavall, Kinbreak, Invermallie, Uags, Strathchailleach, Uisinis, and Over Phawhope; – Faindouran…

Police are appealing for sightings of missing Inverness-based Clive Dennier who is believed to have gone hillwalking over the weekend. Mr Dennier, aged 50, who is a reporter for local paper the Strathspey and Badenoch Herald, failed to turn up for work at the paper’s Grantown on Spey office on Monday. Police believe Mr Dennier had spoken about going hill walking at the weekend but no one has heard from him since. There is no information about where he may have gone, although he is known to enjoy walking in the Cairngorms as well as on the west coast. Mr…

The Bristow Group, a company based in Texas, has been chosen to run the UK’s helicopter search and rescue service from 2015. The Department of Transport has confirmed that the US firm has been awarded the 10 year contract, worth £1.6bn, to take over the search and rescue function operated by the RAF and Royal Navy for the last 70 years. The ageing Sea King helicopters will be replaced by 22 modern Sikorsky S-92s and Agusta Westland 189s which will operate out of 10 locations around the UK with claims that the new service will reduce the time taken to…