What’s in a name?

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Cameron McNeish

DO you know what ‘Am Monadh Ruadh’ translates as? Yes, indeed, it means the red rounded hills, the name that the area we now know as the Cairngorms was historically called. And yet, Cairn Gorm means something different. The literal translation of Cairn Gorm is ‘blue pile of stones’, so why does the Cairngorms National Park Authority have Am Monadh Ruadh and Cairngorms on their letterheads and notice boards? Before we look at that it’s perhaps a good idea to look at the use of Gaelic names, especially in the context of our hills and mountains and highland place names,…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Isle of Harris Mountain Festival dates announced

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Helen Webster

The dates for the 2014 Isle of Harris Mountain Festival have been announced. The festival will take place between Saturday 13th and Saturday 20th September. Billed as “a week-long celebration of the mountains of Harris,” this is the fourth annual event run by the North Harris Trust. The programme will include: a range of guided walks, from stunning ridges & glens to glorious coastlines – including the return of the Clisham Horseshoe and a Golden Eagle Walk; talks & presentations from guest speakers, outdoor sports sessions, boat trips, film nights, a festival ceilidh and more. The full programme is likely…

Posted in News

Ramblers call for mutual respect on the hills

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Helen Webster

Ramblers Scotland has responded to a recent report in the West Highland Free Press relating to a new access policy issued by Ledgowan estate in Achnasheen. The report claims that, under the new policy, walkers are likely to be stopped and asked for their name and address, and if these are not forthcoming, photographs of the walkers and/or their vehicles will be taken. While this is said to be in response to recent thefts and poaching incidents, Ramblers Scotland condemns the apparent lack of respect for Scotland’s access legislation which gives duties on landowners to take proper account of the…

Posted in Access issues, News

Beaver Trial Wins Conservation Award

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Helen Webster

The Scottish Beaver Trial, the first ever licensed reintroduction project for beavers in the UK, has won Britain’s Best Conservation Project in the 2013 BBC Countryfile Magazine Awards. The Trial was up against two other conservation projects in this category: a basking shark tagging project aimed at understanding the world’s largest fish and a campaign against the use of neonicotinoid pesticides, which are having a detrimental effect on bee populations. A partnership between the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and Scottish Wildlife Trust, the five year study is now in its final monitoring year and fieldwork is scheduled to wrap…

Posted in Nature

Mountaineering Council objects to windfarm near Dingwall

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Paul Webster

A wind farm proposed near Ben Wyvis in Easter Ross would be “an unacceptable escalation of wind farm development in the area” – in the view of the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS), which has lodged an objection with Highland Council planners to the Woodlands Wind Farm proposed for a site between two hills near Dingwall, adjacent to the Ben Wyvis massif. ABO Wind UK Ltd has applied for consent to construct five wind turbines, three of 125m blade-tip height and two of 110m blade-tip height, at Woodlands Farm, Dingwall. While of limited impact on views from the summit plateau…

Posted in Nature

Bennachie car park and trail closures continue

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Helen Webster

Forestry Commission Scotland is urging people to follow instructions on site signage around Bennachie as work gets underway to clear windblown trees. The main Bennachie car park has been closed since storms felled a number of trees and caused some marked trails to be shut to the public. Other car parks and trail heads at Back o’Bennachie and Millstone Hill. Emily Holmes, Recreation and Communities Ranger with the Commission’s team in the area said: “December’s strong winds caused quite a lot of damage in the forests of Bennachie, and a number of the trails have been affected by wind blown…

Posted in Access issues, News

Heavy and Heather mountain safety evenings

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Helen Webster

The final lectures in the Mountaineering Council of Scotland's Winter Lecture series will be delivered at The Mountain Cafe, Aviemore, by mountain safety experts Heather Morning and Dave ‘Heavy’ Whalley. Heather Morning is the MCofS Mountain Safety Adviser. With a lifetime’s experience in the mountains, she has been a professional mountaineer for 20 years and for the last 12 has been an active member of the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team. ‘Heavy’ Whalley was a member of the RAF Mountain Rescue for 36 years. He was the Team Leader of RAF Leuchars, RAF Kinloss and Deputy Team leader at RAF Valley…

Posted in News

Cotton kills and how to avoid hypothermia

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Helen Webster

Cotton can kill. That's the stark message going out to mountaineers as part of a bid to stop people freezing to death. Each winter people die of exposure and hypothermia in the Scottish mountains. Heather Morning, Mountain Safety Advisor with the MCofS, advised that wearing cotton clothing can significantly increase your risk of developing hypothermia in the Scottish winter mountains. When cotton clothing gets wet, whether through rain, snow-melt or perspiration, it provides no insulation and will quickly cool the skin. Outdoor clothing manufacturers produce their garments from either man-made synthetic fabrics or wool, which ‘wick’ moisture away from the…

Posted in News

A82 closures this week

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Helen Webster

The A82 between Tarbet and the north end of Loch Lomond will be closed in both directions between 9:30am and 3:30 pm on Tuesday 21st January, Wednesday 22nd January and Thursday 23rd January. The closure is required to remove trees, identified as a risk to road users following recent storms. Up to 40 people will be working at the site during the closure periods. Transport Scotland say that it is necessary to do the work at short notice because of the nature of the task involved and to take advantage of a period of relatively good weather this week.

Posted in Uncategorized

Son of Tiso founders dies in Munro accident

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Helen Webster

Donald Tiso, son of the founders of the Tiso outdoor gear shops, has died in an accident on Ben Starav. The 50 year old fell on steep ground between Ben Starav and Beinn nan Aighenan, above Glen Kinglass on Friday 18 January. Mr Tiso’s walking companion raised the alarm and  Oban Mountain Rescue Team and the Police were called out as well as a Royal Navy rescue helicopter from HMS Gannet. Mr Tiso was flown by helicopter to Belford Hospital in Fort William, but was pronounced dead on arrival. Donald Tiso, whose parent’s Graham and Maude founded the outdoor gear…

Posted in News