Next January, the MCofS will be running a series of one-day “Avalanche Awareness” courses. Aimed at the general winter hill-walker, the courses are non-certificated and will be suitable for anyone wishing to increase their knowledge of snow and avalanches, learn which areas to avoid and improve their understanding of reports and forecasts. Each course will consist of an indoor introduction to avalanche theory followed by a practical session on the hill. The courses will be delivered by qualified and experienced instructors at a ratio of 1 tutor to 4 participants. Basic winter skills will NOT be covered. It is essential…

The search for a hill walker reported missing after a day walk in the Monadhliath range, near Newtonmore, has successfully found the missing woman.  The alarm was raised shortly after 10pm on Saturday night and the Cairngorms Mountain Rescue Team, search and rescue dog handlers and an RAF helicopter had been searching the area until the walker was found shortly after midday on Sunday. The woman in her 30’s had been forced to camp out having got lost in poor weather conditions. The search team said that she was well-equipped and it is understood that she was well and did not require…

Winter 2010 sees the introduction of a new expanded MCofS Winter Lecture Series. Following on from the success at the Clachaig Inn each winter, the free lectures will now run from three different locations. The Clachaig Inn, Glencoe (Tuesday evenings) The Mountain Cafe, Aviemore (Wednesday evenings) The Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team Base (Thursday evenings) The focus of the lectures is to entertain and educate on winter mountain safety. The MCofS has chosen an inspiring array of who are guaranteed to provide an entertaining night out. All the speakers have spent many years in the mountains and will draw upon their…

A man has died after falling on Beinn Eighe in Torridon. It is understood that the party of 4 spent the night on the mountain and that one man fell, sustaining head injuries, and two female companions became stuck on a ledge. A fourth man managed to raise the alarm and the Torridon Mountain Rescue Team and the Stornaway Coastguard helicopter were sent to the scene early this morning. Sadly it was found that the man had died of his injuries and the helicopter recovered his body along with the two women who are understood not to be badly injured.…

The BBC are to show their new documentary ‘Munro – Mountain Man’ next Sunday 20th September at 9pm on BBC4. It tells the story of Sir Hugh Munro, the magnificent mountains that bear his name and the people who have been possessed by them. Little over 100 years ago, the Scottish mountains standing at more than 3,000 feet were virtually unknown. Today they are familiar terrain to many thousands of climbers, thanks to Hugh Munro’s determination to list the high peaks which now define the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The birth of the Munro-bagging obsession is a twisting tale…