Mountain Aid will be running a series of free Winter Safety Talks next month. The speaker will be Mick Tighe, a professional Mountain Guide in Lochaber and for many years the national Training Officer to Scottish Mountain Rescue Teams.
21 November 2013 – Hosted by the Cioch Mountaineering Club in the Pitbauchlie House Hotel, Dunfermline at 8pm
22 November 2013 – Cotswold Outdoor Stores in central Aberdeen at 7.30pm
25 November 2013 – Cotswold Outdoor Store in central Edinburgh at 7.30pm
27 November 2013 – Glasgow University in Western Infirmary Lecture Theatre at 7.30pm
The talks are free, at Dunfermline just turn up on the night, at all other venues you can guarantee admission on the night by calling in at your local Cotswold store to collect your tickets.
A Mountain Aid spokesman said, “Mountain Aid seeks to promote the safe enjoyment of the hills. At the forefront of this, especially after last year’s tragic accidents in Scottish Mountains in winter, is the need to ensure those venturing on the hills are suitably briefed and equipped for the conditions they will face. The wonders of our hills in winter can be magnificent, but the margins for survival are much less than those of summer hill walking and the differences need to be recognised.”
The Mountain Aid evenings complement the Winter Safety Evenings put on by the MCofS on the following dates.
26 November – Cotswold, West End Retail Park, Glasgow
27 November – Cotswold, Rose Street, Edinburgh
4 December – Tiso, Longman Estate, Inverness
5 December – Cotswold, Guild Square, Aberdeen
10 December – Tiso, Highland Gateway, Perth
11 December – Tiso, Rose Street, Edinburgh
Talks at both Cotswold and Tiso will open at 7.30 p.m. The talks at Tiso stores will be free to attend, although a donation bucket will be passed around for the Mountain Safety Trust. At Cotswold there will be a nominal £2 charge for tickets, which will go to the Mountain Safety Trust. Places should be booked in advance for all the talks as demand is expected to be high, and those wishing attend should contact the relevant shops direct by email.
Heather Morning, MCofS Mountain Safety Adviser, will deliver the talks, which will provide advice for people taking to the Scottish mountains in winter conditions, and will look to improve people’s awareness and knowledge of topics such as navigation, equipment, route choice, avalanches and weather conditions.
With a lifetime’s experience in the mountains, Heather has been a professional mountaineer for 20 years and for the last 12 years has been an active member of the Cairngorms Mountain Rescue Team.
The lectures will be illustrated by beautiful photography and full of anecdotes, with a focus on how to make the most of the mountains, offering practical advice on how best to prepare for a winter expedition and how to adapt skills and techniques.
The main series of lectures is being delivered in partnership with outdoor shops Tiso and Cotswold, who will be providing venues for the talks, and funds will be raised for the Mountain Safety Trust.
There will be a further two talks in February, both at the Mountain Café, Aviemore and sponsored by the Munro Society. Heather Morning will deliver the first lecture on 12 February, while the second, on 19 February, will be delivered by ‘Heavy’ Whalley, a mountain rescue legend, who put in 35 years with RAF Mountain Rescue and is still active in sharing his knowledge and expertise.