The Mountaineering Council of Scotland

Issue 28 September 2005

BIVVI TALK Wind Farms: Dear MCofS Your correspondent Alistair Craig, like most others, are unaware of the limitations of windpower. He says, "Windfarms in the highlands do not make economic sense." Windfarms anywhere do not make energy sense! For the landowners, highland or lowland, they make huge financial sense but not for the subsidy paying taxpayer nor for those genuinely concerned about global warming. Windpower cannot replace conventional power because it cannot provide the electricity - immediate, continuous and stable - that we need. Wind power companies may say that when the wind is blowing, power produced by their turbines displaces a like quantity of fossil fuel electricity. But this dosen't happen because wind produced electricity is intermittent and consequently requires to be stabilised (backed up) by conventional power plants. Windpower needs from 62.5% to 100% backup with the normal running costs of these plants, and if coal or gas, the usual greenhouse gas emissions. What a waste and what an environmental cost!  A conventional power station needs a week or more to reach or reduce capacity. If only more people, especially councillors and politicians, were aware of this. The generation of electricity is only responsible for 20% of greenhouse gas emissions. Mr. A.R. Nelson, Lanark   Dear MCofS I'm a climber, and a writer on mountains, and as such have a very strong interest in the preservation, and promotion, of wild land. I'm currently incensed by the windfarm goldrush. There is to be a Cross Party Group meeting on Renewable Energy at Holyrood on 28th September. All details are on the Holyrood website. As well as a shortlist of MSPs, there will be literally dozens of power company representatives in attendance. This amounts to an incredibly strong lobby, practically unopposed. The environment is to be represented by SNH, FoE Scotland, Greenpeace and WWF Scotland...not organisations known for a critical stance on the wind factory free-for-all. Unless people like yourselves undertake some serious lobbying of your own, I fail to see how the findings of the group could be other than a foregone conclusion. So much for democracy! Why, I would like to know, is there to be no representative from SWLG, John Muir Trust, MCofS, the Ramblers, the BMC...? Yours Dan Bailey, Edinburgh   Dear MCofS More hot air being blown about wind farms and their alternatives, I'm afraid... Alastair Craig's endorsement of nuclear power in SM27 does rather gloss over some of the problems: there is rather more to burying nuclear waste than finding rocks stable for tens of millions of years, or there would be no problem dropping high level waste into the Thames basin's underlying geology.  As it is, I suspect the large population deriving their water supply from the aquifers there might have practical objections!  The geology must take into account potential for uplift, erosion and weathering over tens of thousands of years, ability of the rocks to dissipate heat and whether or not ground water is present, and that list leaves very few sites open for safe disposal.  While being no fan of windfarms in wilderness I am reminded that ~50 years ago we were promised nuclear electricity would be "too cheap to meter", and that suggests that one can't believe everything one is told by people trying to sell it to you! The first and most fundamental point of power is we need to work at using less, which would be relatively easy through efficiency measures rather than doing without it.  If we use less to start with then there will be less need for ever increasing generation capacity, however that is done. Regards, Peter Clinch.   Remembering Someone Special: Dear MCofS, On the warm and sunny afternoon of 14th May, near the summit of Aonach Beag in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, I lost my wonderful girlfriend Amy Larissa Rudge, when, before my eyes, she slipped from the North-East Ridge and fell 500 feet to her death. She was just 29 years of age. I scrambled down to where she lay, before heading for the col between Aonach Beag and Aonach Mor, where I was able to call for help. The reason for writing so openly about such an incredibly tragic event is to highlight the selflessness of the mountain rescue services. In this case it was the Lochaber MRT, assisted by Royal Navy helicopter pilots, who rushed to my aid and brought Amy down from the hill. It's important to understand that these fellow climbers, unpaid volunteers, are not only sacrificing their time but risking their lives to help those in distress, and often overlooked, freely subjecting themselves to traumatic experiences when they inevitably come face to face with a young person, like Amy, who has suffered multiple injuries. It's easy to take little notice of MRTs until you need them, but as climbing and other outdoor related activities continue to grow, so does the pressure on the teams. Nationally, tens of thousands of hours each year are being given for what is quite often a thankless task. However, through the seemingly limitless generosity of family, friends and colleagues shown over the past weeks, Amy will make a difference to mountain rescue with over £10,000 raised for the MRT. I hope those who read this can too. Amy was a kind and gentle soul, unassuming and understated. She was and remains my true love and I will miss her for the rest of my life. Yours Patrick Roman   Carn Dearg Memories: Dear Editor After receiving the June edition and seeing Graeme Ettle on the front page again I thought I must add a few comments. Greame and a few of his friends joined the Carn Dearg MC around 1984. They were wild but totally committed to all aspects of mountaineering. One of Graeme's friends, Simon, climbed all the Munros before his 18th birthday. I had my fair share of rock climbing when I was in my teens but when I watched them I realized I was only playing at it in comparison. One particularly memorable weekend with the club was in 1985 when Graeme and I traversed the Cluanie Ridge after spending a wet Friday night bivvied out on the lower slopes of the eastern end of the ridge above the Cluanie Inn. Graeme is 20 years younger than me and it certainly showed at the end of the day when we reached the campsite at Shiell Bridge after completing all the Munros on the ridge successfully. I went to my tent and slept and Graeme went to the pub. I wish Graeme all the best in his chosen profession and I respect greatly all the experiences we had on the hill. Photographs of Graeme and the Carn Dearg MC in the 80's can be found on 'http://homepage.mac.com/alanclark1/cdmc' along with a few well kent faces in the climbing fraternity at that time, many of whom are still going strong in the club to this day. Thanks, Alan Clark   Ghostly Faces in the Mountains Dear Editor I'm not sure how many folk have seen this apparition in the hills over the years, but for me it was quite spectacular! It was taken looking at A'Mhaighdean from above the Dubh Loch near Carnmore Crag in the Fisherfield area, where I was camping for the evening (May 7th 8-30pm); a case of me being in the right place with the right light and right weather. Best wishes for the continuing success of 'The Scottish Mountaineer'. Peter Braidwood

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