The Mountaineering Council of Scotland

Issue 8 June 2001

OTHER NEWS Compiled by Kevin Howett Helly Hansen Mountain Adventure Award 2001 The Helly Hansen Mountain Adventure Award has been introduced to celebrate and support human exploration. The scheme has already been successfully piloted in America in association with the American Alpine Club. The award seeks to reward innovative teams of explorers dedicated to self reliant, human powered endeavours, with a respect for wilderness. Teams must demonstrate a commitment to adventure. The award will fund small, non-guide based expeditions. The award comprises a cash payment of £2,500 and a 3-layer system of dress. The Helly Hansen Mountain Award Committee includes the well-known mountaineer and guide Paul Moores. One expedition only will be chosen. For a copy of the Helly Hansen Mountain Award Application form write to: Helly Hansen Mountain Award, Marketing Dept, Helly Hansen UK Ltd, Regent House, Clinton Ave, Nottingham NG5 1AZ   A new Harvey map to help Border Rievers The popular walking area of the Cheviot Hills straddling Northumberland and Scotland offers some of the loneliest walking and finest cattle rustling in England. This typically detailed Harvey Map takes in the big lump of Cheviot and its partners Hedgehop Hill and Comb Fell. To the south, extending along the border (and Pennine Way) from Chew Green Roman Fort near the source of the River Coquet the map includes such delights as Bloody Bush Edge, from which there is no escape, to excellent detail of the Forestry blight of Kidland, which now allows one to make escape. Rievers can now easily find the sanctuary of the Hen Hole or get their cattle from Breamish to Cocklawfoot via Salters Road without disappearing into the Quickening Cleugh. Price £7.95. ISBN 185-137-3640   19th Dundee Mountain Film Festival November 23rd & 24th, 2001 Bonar Hall, Dundee Among the outstanding climbers and film-makers presenting their work at this year's festival are: Gavin Bate "The Seven Summits", Scott Muir "North Face of the Eiger", Laurence de la Ferriere "Alone in Antarctica", Cathy O 'Dowd "Just for the Love of It", Pat and Baiba Morrow "Footsteps in the Clouds". Films include Award Winners from the Banff Mountain Film Festival and NEW THIS YEAR a separate thrill packed film programme of extreme mountain activities. As always there will be displays and exhibitions and don't forget to enter our Photographic Competition. We need a Logo – and we want your help to design one. Elements to be included are film, mountains, Scotland/Dundee and suitable for printing in colour or black and white. Tickets for DMFF 2001 for the best ideas. DMFF, Gardenhurst, Newbigging, Dundee DD5 3RH e-mail DMFF@care4free.net   "Himalaya:  Alpine style" - A talk and slide show by Doug Scott Thursday 5th July at 7.30pm, in Lecture Theatre 4, Appleton Tower, Crichton Street, Edinburgh. The talk is part of a fund-raising effort for the Whole Works Trust, called the Himalayan Challenge. The Edinburgh-based Whole Works complementary health centre is celebrating 10 years of activity, and the Himalayan challenge is a 10 day trek to Nepal to celebrate and to raise funds for continuing its work. The funds raised will be going to the Whole Works Trust and to Doug Scott's charity, Community Action Nepal, part of Doug Scott's trekking co., Specialist Trekking Co-operative, who are organising the trek. Tickets are £5.00 and will be available from 21st May from: Nevisport, Edinburgh.  Telephone 0131 229 1197 Outdoor Trading Co., Edinburgh. Telephone 0131 6628057 Tiso, Leith. Telephone 0131 554 0804 Tiso, Edinburgh. Telephone 0131 225 9486 Whole Works Trust, Jacksons Close, Edinburgh. Telephone 0131 225 8092 For more information about the Whole Works Trust or the Himalayan Challenge contact the Whole Works complementary health centre. Details of Community Action Nepal from 01228 562358.   New Bunkhouse Project in Pitlochry Situated in its own two acres of ground, the Old Bank House Lodge is located in the heart of the picturesque town of Pitlochry. The Lodge is an excellent base for cragging - Dunkeld and Weem are within a very short distance. For the hillwalkers, mountaineers, Munro baggers and Corbetiers there are lots of options to choose from with Schiehallion, Ben Vrackie, Beinn a' Ghlo and all of the southern Grampians on the doorstep. The Lodge offers high standard bunkrooms; private en-suite double and family rooms; a large fully equipped self-catering kitchen (you can also have breakfast materials supplied for £1.50); a drying room and laundry facility and a hot bath. Situated right in the centre of the town with extensive parking space. The Lodge is a member of the Independent Backpackers Hostel Association. The manager, Heather Morning, is an active mountaineer and climber so don't hesitate to ask for advice on routes or walks if required. Price per person per night £10-£12. Contact: 01796 470022 or www.hmorning.co.uk/oldbankhouse.html.   Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal 2001 The Scottish Mountaineering Club journal will be published late June/early July. MCofS members can order the journal at a discounted rate of £11.20 (£9.70 + £1.50 P&P) by sending cheques made in favour of 'The Scottish Mountaineering Club' to: D F Lang, Hillfoot Hey, 580 Perth Road, Dundee DD2 1PZ   Lost & Found Found in the Chalamain Gap on 18th Janaury, a pair of spectalces with black frames in a black case with "S McNicholas Opticians" logo inside.  Contact 07718588231 to arrange return. Found on the Old Man of Stoer on May 6th 2001 – two ropes. Please contact Andy on 01738 813 798

BIVI TALK Ice axe length: We have received many letters on this subject and are unable to print them all. Here is a selection giving you a taste of opinion. Anyone wishing to follow the full debate can do so on our website page 'Pitch-in'.   Dear Editor Continuing the debate on size - I refer to ice axes of course, it really is what you do with it that counts! Concerning Mick Tighe's reference to accidents where walkers slip and still have their axes on their rucksack, if you don't have it out it doesn't matter what size it is. Personal choice is the name of the game and as Pete and Stuarts book advises, get your ice axe out before you need it. I also have the audacity to admit to glissading quite happily down hills with the thought of self-arrest to add to the thrill. If the Europeans don't do it that's there loss. I have been through my ML & SPA training in the last 11 months and faithfully swotted up using Langmuir and Fyffe. Both are big books. I was fortunate to have been trained by Pete Hill and had the privilege of seeing his book in draft. It is a godsend for anyone wanting to brush up specific areas. I can take it with me in my rucksack and it's much easier to read in the bath than Fyffe (no offence cos he is a great bloke). The photos are very clear and the language concise. I would advise anyone who is doing ML or SPA to get it as an additional, and ultimately quick, reference especially in between training and assessment. I think it will become a classic along with Fyffe and Langmuir. Oh! for the record I have to say that I do prefer a big one but my walking companion has a little one. J Mesarowiez   Dear Editor, Pete Hill and Stuart Johnston suggest seeking the opinion of any fully qualified and up-to-date professional. I am both, and I disagree with their advice that axes "have now settled at a length of 50cm or 55cm" and that "there is no difference in length between walking axes and climbing axes these days". The textbooks by Fyffe & Peter, Moran and Langmuir recommend the following lengths:- Fyffe & Peter 50cm - 80cm; Moran 55cm - 75cm; Langmuir 55cm - 65cm. Primarily the axe is a third point of contact with the mountain (along with you our feet) increasing stability and preventing slips. This is far more important than a self-arrest which may not work. The ideal length is determined by the steepness of the terrain. For moderate slopes a long axe is preferable. On slopes over 45 degrees a short axe may be better. For terrain in between, a medium length axe is best. A short axe causes the mountaineer to lean into the slope instead of standing upright and makes a slip more likely. Choosing the length is a compromise based on intended use and the mountaineer's height. Determining axe length on the basis of self-arrest places too much importance on a skill that is a last resort. A short axe has disadvantages anyway - the leverage you can apply on the pick is reduced and your hand is trapped against your body. In the "head first on your front" position you can't get your arm out to the side properly. A longer axe is also fine for all the other jobs we use an axe for, especially step cutting. The only time I prefer a short axe is for steep climbing – and then I use two. Roger Wild. Pete Hill and Stuart Johnston reply: We are very glad that our article has brought this topic into the light, it was obviously high time it was aired!  What is important here is for people to realise that there is a choice, and that nothing is set in stone. Some instructors use longer axes, some use shorter - we are all grown up and able to form our own opinions. Mick is very pro long axes, though when chatting to him recently (after the publication of his letter) he was telling me about someone having to self arrest on difficult ground, which they apparently did with style - and with a short axe! Everyone is entitled to do as they choose, but remember that any length of axe is useless if you don't know how to use it. Get trained and get safe!   Can You Help?: Dear MCofS My finance and myself, despite full time jobs, have walked 70 plus Munros together in 2000. We saw the Millennium in from Ben Ledi. The fireworks of Callendar and Stirling looked pretty good from there! We plan to get married in September 2001 and can think of nothing so suitable as to get married on top of a mountain. Are there any hill walkers out there who are also qualified to marry us? Yours Andy Hamilton & Pamela Brown   BMC Young Climbers Experience Log: Dear MCofS The proposal for a log outlined in SM7, should not be confused with a suggestion for a proficiency test or qualification. The absence of rules, regulations, uniforms, timetables, and proficiency qualifications are all part of the spontaneous freedom to enjoy climbing, hill walking and mountaineering. Young people and their leaders seek guidance on how to develop their skills and understand the risks. A rigid scheme could undermine freedom. However, I believe a flexible log book can protect that freedom while helping young people develop skills, and adults to understand the nature of the activities. If there are any comments or suggestions on the proposal these will be welcomed by the BMC's Youth Advisory Panel. Roger Payne BMC General Secretary   The Cairn Gorm Funicular: Dear Editor Bob Kinnaird's defence of this appalling and shameful development cannot be allowed to go unchallenged. He says, "Some people are still distracted by the pros and cons of this very controversial piece of civil engineering". However the arguments against are not a distraction but lie at the core of how we care for our mountains. The funicular is wrong in principle and will always be so. The fact that it is, sadly, nearly complete does not make it right. Restoring the damage will take a huge effort. Blasting away huge sections of mountainside, laying large areas of concrete and bulldozing new roads is not the way we should be treating fragile mountain landscapes. Only those who have no real feel for the mountains could possibly do this. To say, as Bob Kinnaird does, that "the Cairngorm Chairlift Company is totally committed to the principle of environmental sustainability" is breathtaking hypocrisy. The MCofS has run an excellent campaign against the funicular and should go on doing so until it is dismantled. Such developments go completely against the spirit of mountaineering. Chris Townsend   Back to Newsletter index     book reviews

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