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SAFETY & TRAINING
CLUB GUIDANCE SEMINAR 1998
Following on from the publication of the MCofS Guidance Notes to Clubs on Liability and Duty of Care and it's Supplementary Paper 'The Organisation of Club Affairs', there has been considerable correspondence from clubs about many of the issues these two publications raised. We have therefore arranged a seminar for the autumn to discuss some of these issues in more detail, answer queries about any new problems that clubs have experienced and share expert knowledge.
Date :Saturday 31 October 1998
Venue : Cotterell Building, A4 room, Stirling University
Time :9.30am - 5.00 pm
Cost :FREE
The outline programme is as follows :
9.30amArrival, Registration, Coffee
10.00amSession 1Introductions, Role & structure of MCofS, purpose.
10.30amSession 2SYNDICATE: Problems and issues -Concerns from clubs.
11.00amSession 3Organising a club, Officers responsibilities, programme design.
12.00amSession 4Gear pools - management, storage and life.
12.30 - 13.30LUNCH
13.30Session 5Alpine trips - illustrated talk.
14.00Session 6Clubs at climbing walls.
14.30Session 7Next steps, skills training and development, employment ofGuides/Instructors. Information to members.
15.30Session 8Open Forum: questions.
16.00Session 9Summing Up
16.15Tea/Coffee.
Clubs are asked to contact the National Officer with details of particular issues that are of concern to them. They should pose questions that have not been answered fully by the formerly issued guidance notes, so that these can be tackled at the Seminar.
Please make applications via the application form at the end of the Newsletter. For further information contact the National Officer at the Office.
1998 MCofS 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 : 7/8 November
Course content:
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 : £52 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 :-
MCofS First Aid, 4a, St. Catherine's Road, Perth, PH1 5SE.
MCofS WINTER SKILLS TRAINING COURSES 1998-99
The Glenmore Lodge Winter Skills Courses are again being offered to members at a discounted price. Approximately 60 places have been allocated for each set of dates. There are two types of course and they will run concurrently on the dates listed.
Winter Hillwalking Introductory/Refresher
This course will cover the basic skills of navigation, winter safety, avalanche awareness and winter walking with ice axe and crampons (conditions permitting); it will not involve any use of ropes. The staffing ratio will be 1:8 Cost £80.
Introduction to Winter Mountaineering Skills
This course will offer training in winter skills at a more advanced level and involve basic rope work and belays (conditions permitting). Those wishing to do this course should already have the basic winter walking skills; some experience of rope handling would be useful, but is not essential. It is not an ice climbing course, it is aimed at developing skills to undertake mountaineering routes such as the classic easy ridges involving some scrambling. The staffing ratio will be 1:4. Cost £120. We cannot guarantee that there will be suitable winter conditions but will provide relevant training on the 1:4 ratio. There will be a maximum of 16 places on each of these courses.
Course Administration.
The cost includes accommodation and food, instruction, equipment and transport from the Lodge to the hill. All courses begin at 2000 hrs. on the first day listed and although there is no evening meal on this day, bar meals will be available in the Lodge's Lochain Bar until 9pm. All courses end at 1630 hrs. on the last day listed after tea and cake; there is no evening meal, but bar meals are served until 9pm.
All equipment can be obtained from the stores, from waterproofs to ice axes, plastic boots and crampons. You will need to have an OS 1:50,000 map sheet 36 of the Cairngorms and a good map case (or a waterproof map), a good compass of the Silva type4 or similar quality and head torch batteries. These items can be purchased from the Lodge shop.
Full course payment is required at the time of booking. Any cancellation before four weeks prior to the start of the course will result in the loss of a £30.00 administration charge, the remaining course fee being returned. Cancellation within four weeks of the start date of the course will result in the loss of the full course fee, unless the place is able to be sold to another MCofS member, in which case the fee, less the administration charge of £30.00 will be returned. Any change of course or date will result in a £20 surcharge. If the course is cancelled for any reason Glenmore Lodge will return the course fee in full. (Glenmore Lodge Tel. no. 01479 861256).
Applications will only be accepted on the MCofS application form (or photocopy) found at the end of this Newsletter.
All courses start with an opening brief at 20.00 hrs. on the first day listed.
Course Dates
2 day course: Sunday 27th - Tuesday 29th December 1998
2 day course: Friday 1st - Sunday 3rd January 1999
2 day course: Tuesday 5th - Thursday 7th January 1999
2 day course: Friday 8th - Sunday 10th January 1999
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ACCESS AND CONSERVATION
ALLT A' MHUILLIN CAR PARK OPEN
The new car park for mountaineers heading to Ben Nevis via the Allt a' Mhuillin has been completed and is now open for use. Work on the car park and section of footpath leading to the existing route was finally completed at the beginning of July.
Although the greatest use of the Allt a' Mhuillin approach is in winter, walkers and climbers do take access via this route throughout the year, so the new car park will be available for use at all times of year.
The new car park will be known as the Allt a' Mhuillin Car Park and will be signposted from the A82 in Torlundy. The grid reference of the Allt a' Mhuillin Car Park is 144763. Directions to the car park are as follows. Turn off the A82 at Torlundy, cross the railway bridge, then turn immediately right onto the forestry road. Follow this road for about half a mile. The car park is on the left and is just after a left hand bend in the road.
The Allt a' Mhuillin Car Park will be launched officially in September by the MCofS and the Highland Council Ranger Service. In the meantime, the MCofS is keen to promote the fact that the car park is open and can be used over the rest of the summer season.
CAR PARKING NIGHTMARES
After lengthy negotiations at Ben Nevis it finally looks as though we have helped resolve one of the most difficult car parking issues in Scottish mountaineering. We all know there are others though, and we are keen to address as many as possible if we feel there is some kind of scope for resolving the current difficulties. In order to come up with a top 10, or should that be 20 or 40, worst car park problems in Scotland, could you jot down your nominations on the back of an envelope and send it off to the MCofS office. They needn't all be situated at the foot of a Munro. You might know of a problem at a crag, on an island or at the foot of a small hill somewhere. If you have several nominations to make, you could rank them in order of importance. Don't hold back. Give it some thought and send in your vote.
GLEN DESSARY ACCESS WARNING
The MCofS has been in correspondence (by phone and letter) in recent weeks with the new owner of the Glen Dessary Estate, Sir Patrick Grant. Sir Patrick has produced a draft Access Leaflet that contains draconian restrictions on access to the estate, and has asked us for our comment. We have pointed out that these restrictions are excessive and against the Access Concordat. We appreciate that he faces problems with visitors who abuse bothies and whose dogs chase deer, but we are emphasising that the vast majority of walking visitors will be well behaved and shouldn't be punished because of the actions of others. We have offered to meet with Sir Patrick to discuss the issues on the estate and to help find solutions to his problems. We are awaiting his next reply, and wait to see whether he takes up our offer of a meeting or chooses to publish the leaflet. If a leaflet is published for this year's stag stalking season it is likely to be the version, or something very similar, to the one we have commented upon. We have pointed out that the tone of the leaflet is inappropriate and that we would advise our members to ignore it.
We feel that we should warn our members about the possibility of picking up one of these leaflets, and maybe experiencing difficulties on the ground. If anyone picks up one of these leaflets, or has any difficulties taking access on the estate, could you write to us with as many details as possible. We hope that there won't be any problems, but the content of the leaflet has given cause for concern.
HILLPHONES 98
The Hillphones scheme that has been developed by the MCofS and SNH is about to enter its third season. The 1998 scheme sees further expansion with 2 new areas joining the system. The new areas are around Glen Shee and Drumochter.
For those who haven't used the system yet, Hillphones is a telephone answer-machine service giving information about the location of stalking in parts of the Highlands. Hillwalkers and climbers that call into one of the numbers can gather this information, adapt their plans if necessary and then head for the hills with confidence that they will be on a different part of the hill to the stalking party.
The Hillphones numbers are ordinary phone lines, usually in the stalker's houses. The calls are therefore charged at normal call rates according to time of day and distance from the number called. Unlike Weather Forecast numbers, the Hillphones do not use premium rate 0891 type numbers.
The Hillphones scheme runs for three complete months from August 1st to October 31st. The official dates for the stag stalking season are from July 1st to October 20th, although most estates don't start until late August, and some don't start until late September. A number of estates do stalk on Saturdays, but it is against the law to stalk on a Sunday.
The Hillphones leaflet that accompanies this Newsletter gives the dates of the season in the 6 Hillphones areas. The stag stalking season is followed by the hind culling season which runs from October 21st to February 15th, although many estates finish their hind cull by Christmas.
Although Hillphones are available in 6 areas, it is possible to gather information about the location of stalking throughout the rest of Scotland by using the publication Heading for the Scottish Hills. Copies of the 1996 edition of Heading for the Scottish Hills are available from the MCofS at a reduced price of £5 including P&P.
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The Hillphone numbers for 1998 are as follows:-
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1. Grey Corries / Mamore |
01855 831 511 |
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2. Glen Dochart / Glen Lochay |
01567 820 886 |
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3. North Arran Hills |
01770 302 363 |
| 4. South Glen Shiel |
01599 511 425 |
| 5.Glen Shee |
01250 885 288 |
| 6. Drumochter |
01528 522 200 |
BEN NEVIS LITTER PICK
Wombles With Altitude. Well, that's how the tabloids might see it. Can we give a final reminder that the MCofS is organising a Litter Pick event on Ben Nevis over the weekend of September 19th and 20th. Anyone wishing to take part should contact the office with their name and address and we'll send out details nearer the time. We've already had a good response from volunteer helpers, but we'd like a few more to swell the numbers and spread the tasks a bit wider. We would like to hear from you even if you can only help for one day.
ACCESS LEGISLATION CONSULTATION
The Access Forum Legislation Consultation is now officially closed but it's never too late to express your views.The MCofS responded, as did a number of our clubs and individual members. A report on the consultation will be included in the Access Forum report to SNH in October. In the meantime, the Access Forum will be meeting once a month until October. Nick Kempe is continuing to represent the MCofS on the Access Forum, so our views are being well made in this important arena.
Nick and others on the Access and Conservation Committee produced three papers on access a few months ago. These papers were designed to develop MCofS thinking as we worked on our consultation response. The three papers were entitled "The Current Law of Access in Scotland", "Outline Proposals for Access Legislation in Scotland" and "Proposals for New Legislation in Respect of Footpaths and Tracks". A number of minor changes were made to the latter two papers after responses from members and committee members influenced the way we were approaching the issues. Copies of the revised papers are available from the office.
The MCofS has recently responded to the Access Consultation being run in England and Wales. The basis for our response was that mountaineers living in Scotland travel south to practice their activity, especially to areas like Northumberland and the Lake District. We expressed our concern for the wider freedom to roam, which exists as a de facto right in many areas of the north of England, and that we don't want to see this lost. The MCofS has been disappointed by the response from the BMC which didn't argue for a general right of access. It is interesting to note that the only body in England and Wales that has called for a legal right to roam has been the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI)!
Please send an s.a.e. to the MCofS office if you would like a copy of our three access papers, our SNH consultation response and/or our English and Welsh response.
ACCESS SYMPOSIUM 1998
Saturday 21st November
Bridge of Earn Village Hall
Footpath Management
How Can The User Help?
- Should the MCofS encourage its members to carry out simple path maintenance ?
- How can walkers become involved in building paths ?
- Should it be easier for us all to donate money to footpath charities and funds ?
- What standard of work should MCofS expect from the footpath industry ?
- What effect might change in Access Legislation have on footpath management ?
Prices
With Lunch£7
Unwaged with lunch £5
Without lunch£4
Unwaged without lunch £2
PATHWORKERS 'REACHING FOR NEW HEIGHTS'
by Mike Newbury
The British Upland Footpath Trust together with the Ross & Cromarty Footpath Trust held a conference at Glenmore Lodge between 10-13 May. Over 100 attended from all over Britain (with a few from Ireland), mostly footpath managers, consultants and contractors. Under the title 'Reaching for New Heights', the conference focused on the limits of present knowledge and skills, such as in revegetation at high altitudes, dealing with path erosion in high and remote places with minimum intrusion, the development of surfacing techniques for paths prone to scour, and the acceptable use of machinery.
The National Trust for Scotland, supported by Scottish Natural Heritage are piloting the restoration of the hideous bulldozed track up Beinn a' Bhuird. The key question discussed was, how far up the hill can the work be safely done by machine? MCofS clubs and members are invited to observe progress, then ask, where next? (under stated MCofS policies "MCofS will campaign to enhance the pool of remote land by seeking the removal of unnecessary hill tracks.")
Inspection parties went from the conference to see pathwork at Coire Mhic Fhearchair, Ben Lawers, Cairn Gorm, Lochnagar and near Aviemore. There was admiration of good work, also criticism in places of poor landscaping and lack of maintenance; and of course there was the pitching debate: when using small stones, should they be ramped, or grouped into near-flat random steps? Paths must be comfortable downhill or walkers will stray off and cause fresh erosion. Feedback please, to Mike Newbury via MCofS.
The party visiting Coire Mhic Fhearchair continued to the 'new' Munro and down Coire an Laoigh, where disastrous gully erosion was observed to threaten the headwall. Please tread carefully using existing tracks and do not slide. A route on the enclosing ridge is recommended to experienced scramblers in summer conditions, and to mountaineers in winter, particularly to avoid avalanche danger in the corrie.
On behalf of MCofS, Mike Dales contributed 'A Mountaineer's Perspective' on standards of pathwork. He referred to the 1996 user survey showing that 95% thought it important to repair eroded paths and 62% thought not enough was being done. He emphasised MCofS Footpaths and Erosion Policy and the need for regular maintenance. Mike Newbury presented a slide show on the BUFT 1997 Upland Path Award Projects.
A full report on the conference is expected in late summer. Copies will be available from BUFT via MCofS.
BUFT is a registered charity founded and supported by MCofS, BMC, RA and COLA (equipment traders). Interest and contributions via MCofS would be welcome.
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