Newsletter no.36 August 1998
Executive NewsREPORT ON THE ANNUAL GATHERING 1998This years Annual Gathering was held at Glenmore Lodge on 6th June. We heard an excellent and professional illustrated talk by Scott Muir recounting his first ascent of 'The Throne' in the Kulu Himalaya with Gordon Lennox, Kevin Kelly, David Proudfoot and Malcolm McIlraith. The Edinburgh University Mountaineering Club's expedition to Bolivia's Cordillera Real and Apolobamba mountains was recounted by expedition member Paul Schweizer (who is a Lecturer at the University). They succeeded in making numerous first ascents. The main discussion items on the Saturday were the Cairngorm Funicular Management Plan and Access Legislation.
Cairngorm Funicular Management Plan by Bill Wright (Cairngorm Campaign) MCofS members attending Bill's talk were alarmed at the points of detail within the document, and especially the inequitable treatment of walkers and climbers compared to customers of the proposed funicular railway. Bill began by saying there are three ways of managing access. One is to say "Keep Out", a second is just to have an open hill and people take a walk if they wish, and the third is to actively promote an area by saying "Come to our mountain". This third approach is what is being proposed for Cairn Gorm. Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the Cairngorm Chairlift Company (CCC) are aiming to attract 200,000 to 250,000 visitors a year to this mountain by going out and marketing it. Bill explained "If you are to heavily promote a mountain and aim to attract a quarter of a million visitors every year, then you are going to have to manage those visitors. If a funicular is going to be built on Cairn Gorm, then aVMP of some kind is inevitable. It's no use, therefore, saying the VMP won't work, because if the VMP won't work it means that the funicular won't work". He continued "the two are linked and anyone who says they support the funicular, or are at least neutral towards it, but who oppose the VMP, should consider how they would manage the vast numbers of people". Perhaps the most telling comment that Bill made was this: "They are telling me, with my rucksack and boots, that I'm causing damage and I'm irresponsible for going up there, and yet it is OK for them to take tens of thousands of tons of concrete and steel onto the mountain, as well as bulldozers tearing away at the soils and sensitive vegetation. Now hang on, there's something wrong here." The newly elected MCofS Executive Committee was given unanimous backing from the Open Forum, which followed the AGM at Glenmore Lodge, to oppose the proposed Visitor Management Plan (VMP) at Cairn Gorm and asked it to make this a priority issue over the next year.
Access Legislation John introduced to members the consultation paper that has been distributed by the Access Forum as part of this process so that the views of the general public can be taken into account. There would also be a consultation paper issued by Government after this stage as a precursor to formulating any new legislation. There was also some discussion of the current consultation document about access in England and Wales. Nick Kempe then introduced the MCofS's position regarding access. Nick formerly launched the MCofS Access Charter which had previously been distributed to members for comment.
Nick also introduced a paper presented to the meeting which outlined the MCofS's view on the current Laws relating to access as it applies to open air recreation. The paper explained our thinking based upon recent research undertaken by Alan Blackshaw for Scottish Wildlife and Countryside Link bodies. Nick explained the Common Law position of Invitee, Licensee and Trespasser and how we believe that mountaineers should be regarded as Licensees and not Trespassers. He showed that it was important to look at Liability Laws as well as Property Laws when making statements on access. Nick then introduced the Outline Proposals of the MCofS for access legislation in Scotland. This hinged on access being regarded as a basic human right to include the right to walk over land which is not being cultivated, to camp, to climb and to picnic, swim, pick berries and fungi, to fish for wild trout and to cycle and ride horses. There were provisos included and he showed how there are already many powers to restrict activity such as littering, damage, disturbance by dogs, intentional disturbance to shooting activities etc. The main thrust however was clear - the right to enjoy the countryside (which should be defined as anywhere that is not someone's garden or a field with crops) as long as this is exercised with responsibility.
Announcement of New Executive Committee John Donohoe (President), Helen Geddes (2nd Vice President), Nick Halls (Honorary Secretary), Marieke Dwarshuis (Ordinary Member), Tom Prentice (Ordinary Member - Individuals), Roger Owen (Ordinary Member), John Davies (Ordinary Member), Malcolm Duckworth (Ordinary Member), Meryl Marshall (Ordinary Member), Scott Muir (Ordinary Member).
1998 Subscription Fees
The Great Debate Report
Mountain Article Competition 1998 Winners Our thanks go to the judges in this year's competition: Bernard Newman (Editor of "Climber" magazine), Dave Hewitt (Editor of "The Angry Corrie"), Graham Little (past MCofS President), Ingrid Parker (past MCofS Vice President) and Kevin Howett (National Officer). The winners were :
PROSE CATEGORY:
POETRY CATEGORY:
|
|
This page is part of the old website of the Mountaineering Council of Scotland. To visit the new website, click on www.mcofs.org.uk |
[ Home ] [ News ]
[ Safety and Training ] [ Access and Conservation ] [ Sports Development ] [ Council Matters ]
[ Search ] [ Info Service ] [ Membership ] [ Publications ] [ Links ]