SAFETY AND TRAINING
MCOFS WINTER SKILLS TRAINING COURSES 1997-98
The Glenmore Lodge Winter Skills Courses are again being offered to members. 71 places have been allocated for
each course. The intention is to offer two types of winter skills courses to cater for differing levels of experience. There will be an introductory/refresher course and a more advanced course for those who have attended previously or have more experience. Both levels of course will cost £75.00 per person and will be run concurrently on the same dates. Early booking is advised as places will be allocated on a first come first served basis.
Course Dates :
3 day course: Saturday 27th - Tuesday 30th
December 1997
2 day course: Saturday 3rd January - Monday 5th January 1998
2 day course: Tuesday 6th January - Thursday 8th January 1998
2 day course: Friday 9th January - Sunday 11th January 1998
Booking should be made on the enclosed MCofS Winter Skills Booking Form only (please photocopy for more)
and sent direct to Shona Anderson at Glenmore Lodge. Glenmore Lodge, Aviemore, PH22 1AV. Telephone enquiries can be made on 01479 861276. Please state you are enquiring about the MCofS courses.
MOUNTAIN FIRST AID COURSE
do you know what to do in the
event of an injury in the hills ?
could you help a fellow walker or climber in distress, miles from
the road ?
4 hours away from help ?
FIRST AID COULD SAVE A LIFE
This years MCofS weekend course in mountain first aid will again be held in November. It will be a residential weekend based at the Glen Coe Ski Lodge at Bridge of Orchy. It will take the same format as previous years . Participants need to bring sleeping bags and outdoor footwear as part of the courses will be held out on the hill. The price of the course includes all instruction and accommodation, but not food as this is self-catering. The course starts early on Saturday morning and accommodation is available at the venue for Friday night if required. Please indicate on the application form if you wish to book this and there is an extra cost of £5.00.
The course instructors will again be from the Arrochar Mountain Rescue Team and a donation of the proceeds will
be made to their team.
Date : 8/9 November
Itinerary :
Day One - British Red Cross First Aid course including Leisure Time and First Aid.
Day Two - Casualty management on the hill.
Certificate : Emergency First Aid Cert. of Competence & Voucher of Attendance.
Cost : £50 plus certificate costs
£5.00 extra for Friday night accommodation
Bookings : Applications should be made using the enclosed application form at the end of the Newsletter to :-
Ingrid Parker, 146 Hyndland Road, Glasgow G12 9PN
GLENMORE LODGE COURSES
Glenmore Lodge are offering the following 2 day courses, programmed for weekends during the autumn for which MCofS members will be eligible for a 25% discount. Cost of the weekend would normally be £99.00 per person - £75 per person with MCofS membership. There are limited places and they are offered on a first come first served basis.
Course Details :
Gaelic for Mountaineers 7th - 9th November 1997
Performance Climbing 7th - 9th November 1997
Navigation 14th - 16th November
Avalanche Awareness 28th - 30th November
Women Mountaineers 28th - 30th November
Young Mountaineers 21st - 23rd December
For more information about these courses and to
make bookings please contact Glenmore Lodge direct stating your
club name or Individual Membership number. Tel. 01479 861276.
ACCESS AND CONSERVATION
MAN FRIDAY HELICOPTERS OF LONDON
TURNED DOWN
BY LOCAL COUNCILLORS
The long running saga of Helicopters over the Skye Cuillin is over; for the time being at least. Man Friday Helicopters of London made their first planning application to build helipads at the Sligachan Hotel last November, but following massive opposition in the form of more than 1,000 letters of objection, that application was withdrawn. Their
attention then switched to a site at Crossal in Glen Drynoch, but opposition was still strong, and in trying to find a site without advice from any potential objectors such as SNH or RSPB, MFH made the mistake of choosing a site right next to an eagle's eyrie. MFH were on the run and fearful of the planning process which would have to take into account the scale of opposition to their plans. Their final, last gasp, attempt to by-pass the planning system was to apply to Highland Council to use the Ashaig airstrip near Broadford. The airstrip is an existing facility, and therefore doesn't require planning permission, but MFH needed the go-ahead from the Skye and Lochalsh Area Transport Committee in order to operate their flights from there. Local residents in and around Broadford joined the call to councillors to vote against the request from MFH. On June 2nd the councillors voted unanimously to reject it.
The MCofS campaigned ceaselessly for 6 months to defeat this crazy scheme which threatened to turn one of our
most treasured mountain areas into the backdrop for a theme park joy ride. It is incredibly alarming that an unknown company from London could arrive on Skye, quietly put together a plan with one or two local businessmen, then apply for planning permission at a quiet time of year when it stood a good chance of slipping by unnoticed. Even more alarming when you consider that this plan could have adversely affected the enjoyment of thousands of people, had a major impact on important protected wildlife, and severely reduced tourism spending on the island and the resultant effect that would have had on jobs and the economy.
Despite beating off MFH on this occasion, the threat from this kind of plan is still there. As is usually the case for conservation, the victory may only be temporary. The Skye Cuillin and our other prime mountain areas are no better protected than they were when MFH arrived on the scene. The MCofS will therefore continue to fight this case long after MFH have departed. We have written to the Secretary of State for Scotland to suggest 4 changes to current legislation:-
- The planning system should have more scope to consider the effects of the use of airspace. At present it is concerned with the use of land, so in the Skye case the Council could only look at the helipads, not the use they would be put to.
- There should be an assumption against the overflying of National Scenic Areas.
- The planning system should identify, and treat differently, planning cases which are likely to be of national interest, by giving a longer consultation period.
- That consultants carrying out Independent Environmental Impact Assessments should be chosen by an independent organisation, and not by the developer.
Our argument would be backed up if members were to write to their MP's as well as the Secretary of State to
support these principles.
Many people helped defeat the MFH proposals, and not all of them were mountaineers. This case emphasises the importance of consumer pressure, and the results that can be achieved when we write in to oppose something we believe to be wrong. To all those who wrote letters to Highland Council in Portree and Inverness, the MCofS staff and committee members would like to say a very big thank you for all your efforts.
FORTHCOMING STALKING SEASON
by Mike Dales
The Hillphones system that was trialled by the MCofS and SNH in 1996, is to operate again this year with an extended service now operating in four areas. The leaflet enclosed with this Newsletter describes how the system works, as well as giving the maps of the areas and the Hillphone numbers. We believe that this method of liaising with estates is a natural progression from Heading for the Scottish Hills. 'Hillphones' doesn't cover the whole country, but where it does exist, you are able to make a quick, cheap call to a recorded message which can help you plan a walking route which will avoid any stalking which is taking place in that area.
One point that has emerged from the discussions we have held with stalkers and land managers in setting up
Hillphones, is that conflict between walkers and stalkers most commonly occurs in corries, usually as walkers drop off the ridges late in the day. A direct route back to a car can be the reason for taking such a route. The advice that the MCofS is giving to walkers during the stalking season is to be aware of the possibility of disturbing a stalk in a corrie, and to be prepared to follow the line of a ridge or spur that bit further in descent. How much further is a matter of judgement for those on the hill at the time, but being aware of other people who might be on the hill, and giving some extra thought to your descent route could avoid unwanted confrontation.
George Louden, the Kinlochleven based stalker who records the messages in the Grey Corries/Mamore Hillphone area, made the following comment: "Although a corrie may appear to be empty, a stalking party could be in a hidden position somewhere. Knowing the dates of the stalking season and being aware of the likely position of a stalking party are useful skills for a walker to develop."
We still have copies of the new edition of Heading for the Scottish Hills available for £5 (Include. p&p). This represents a saving of £1.95 on the retail price. If you would like a copy please send your cheque payable to "MCofS" to our office.
1997 ACCESS SYMPOSIUM
This year's Access Symposium will be held on Saturday November 22nd. The topic for discussion will be Access Legislation. The venue hasn't been confirmed as yet, although Linlithgow is the most likely option at the moment. The next newsletter will contain full details and a booking form. Please keep the date clear if you are interested in attending.
TELECOMMUNICATION MASTS
by Mike Dales
At the present time Telecommunication masts below 15 metres in height are termed as "Permitted Development" and don't need to go through the normal planning system. We believe they should. As these masts spread northwards through Scotland they will threaten more and more of our mountain landscapes. One company is already looking to place a mast in the Glen Coe area. The MCofS is expressing its concerns
to Scottish Office ministers and you might wish to do the same. To help us on this issue we would suggest writing to your MP and Malcolm Chisholm, Scottish Office Minister for Planning. The address to write to is The Scottish Office, Regent Road, Edinburgh, EH1 3DG.
CAIRN GORM FUNICULAR -
WWF/RSPB LEGAL CHALLENGE
On May 27th the World Wide Fund for Nature and The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds launched legal action at the Court of Session in Edinburgh claiming that important areas of Cairn Gorm have been wrongly excluded from protection under European law. Their action is against Highland Council, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Scottish Office. The judge has now set a date of November 18th for this case to be heard. This legal challenge is aimed at ensuring proper implementation of the EU Habitats Directive in the UK and also at reversing planning permission for the proposed funicular. Over and above this legal challenge, these organisations strongly urge the Secretary of State for Scotland to order an open review of all the development options with a view to securing a better deal for the environment, the local economy, the visitor and the skier.
The MCofS is supportive of the action that WWF and RSPB are taking, and we are asking walkers, climbers and
skiers to write to the Secretary of State asking him to call an open review of all the options available on Cairn Gorm. The address to write to is The Scottish Office, Regent Road, Edinburgh, EH1 3DG.
NATIONAL PARKS
Scottish Wildlife and Countryside Link (SWCL) has produced a booklet entitled "Protecting Scotland's Finest Landscapes - A Call for Action on National Parks for Scotland." Nick Kempe and Mike Dales were involved in the preparation of this book which was mainly written by Bob Aitken. The book was produced for the event that SWCL held at Luss on May 28th to launch its "Call for Action on National Parks for Scotland." An order form is enclosed.
GLENCOE MEETING REPORT
A report of the meeting that we hosted jointly with NTS on April 12th is now available from our
office. To obtain a copy please send £2 to the MCofS office.
ACCESS SYMPOSIUM 1996 REPORT
The report of last year's Access Symposium held on November 23rd at Kinlochlaggan is also available now. A free copy is being sent to all those who attended. If anyone else would like a copy, please send £1 to the MCofS office to help cover p&p.
LINK SCOTTISH ENVIRONMENT AUDITS
The SWCL publications list also mentions the Scottish Environment Audits Number 1. The 2nd publication in this series will be 'Access, Recreation, Wild Land' by Bob Aitken. This report is scheduled for release in
August and will cost £4 from SWCL. Further details will appear in the next newsletter.
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