The Mountaineering Council of Scotland

Issue 9. September 2001

Disclaimer: The views expressed by independent contributors are not necessarily those of the MCofS. Participation and Risk: Readers of Scottish Mountaineer are reminded that climbing, hill walking and mountaineering are activities with a danger of personal injury or death. Participants in these activities should be aware of and accept these risks and be responsible for their own actions and involvement. The MCofS provides a range of safety and good practice advice and training for members and the general public.   COMMENT So you thought it was all over! ..... The continuing saga of Foot and Mouth by Kevin Howett On the 15th May, the Scottish Executive issued a statement that should have seen problems of access in the Highlands due to the disease come to an end. They stated that access was back to normal, that landowners and farmers who wished to close land must do so formally with a risk assessment, agreed to by Divisional Vet Managers, their local council, and the Scottish Environment & Rural Affairs Department (SERAD). However, the reality on the ground is that many landowners, farmers and crofters (and local councils) have maintained the signs. Whether this is due to a lack of information being given to them by the National Farmers' Union of Scotland and the Crofters' Union, or whether it is a deliberate act to continue to exclude walkers and climbers is not known on a case by case basis, although the Scottish Landowners' Federation advised their members to remove all signs not backed by local authority and veterinary advice. As a result we are receiving complaints from mountaineers of instances of conflict which we are following up. Examples include: At Loch Errochty in Highland Perthshire, walkers were asked to leave the hill by the stalker. At Reiff in Sutherland, an old Highland Council F&M sign stating 'no entry', remains despite the new advice and despite the Convener of Highland Council being a crofter in the area! At Ben Cruachan, the landowner applied for a closure from Argyll & Bute Council, but this was rejected as an unsubstantiated risk. The owner appealed to SERAD. A 'compromise' allowed one access route and signs were erected by the Council to discourage other access. This was a green light for the farm workers to become aggressive and abusive towards walkers. Traprain Law, near Edinburgh, managed by East Lothian Council, still did not open as advised by the Executive until July. The Pentland Hills Regional Park was 'officially opened' but remained 'apparently closed' until July. Other Rights of Way in Perthshire (e.g. at Amulree) are still blocked with unofficial 'closed' signs, and all over the country away from the usual Munros you'll find signs (e.g. Pat Wilson's Perth estate still carries signs on all access points near Inveralmond, complete with scull & crossbones!). Current situation: SERAD are now only listing those areas that are closed after having a risk assessment agreed (very few!). This applies to all 'Provisionally Free' and 'At Risk' areas of the Highlands, the Central Belt, Lothians, and Ayrshire. In the slowly shrinking 'Infected Areas' of Dumfries and Galloway there are still blanket closures around the infected farming areas, although places such as Glen Trool in the centre of the Galloway Forest Park have started to open walks. Get the full details from the MCofS Website . Our advice is that only the official 'Risk Assessed' closure signs should be adhered to. All others can be ignored in line with the Scottish Executive advice. If a farmer places an advisory sign which gives a reasonable alternative route, we would regard this as within the terms of the 'Comeback Code' and members can respect such requests if they feel its appropriate.

EXECUTIVE NEWS 2001 Annual Gathering Report It was another successful gathering despite the bad weather. Flocks of enthusiasts flew off to undertake various activities on the Saturday. Pete Hill (of "Highlander Mountaineering") did a sterling job volunteering to help with indoor climbing and a 'self-rescue' session, ably abetted by Kevin Howett, Beryl Leatherland and Laura Alexanda. Nick Halls did his usual 'scrambling', this time with help from Tim Sweeny and Duncan Ostler from Inverness. However, the full-on winter conditions (in June!!) curtailed objectives a little, although 15 hardy souls still had a great day out. Others wandered through the RSPB's Abernethy reserve and braved snow over Meall a' Buachaille with Andy Amphlet; some toured Rothiemurchus and were lashed by the rain and rapier wit of keeper Willie Anderson; others brushed up on their navigation with Nigel Williams (Training Officer at The lodge); and those with injuries stayed in doors for a lecture from physiotherapist Amanda White. The theme of the discussion was "risk", with speakers taking extreme views to prove a point. National Officer, Kevin Howett regaled us with his apparent disregard for safety and near death experiences, to ask that MCofS encourage and reward risk taking. Bob Sharp reported the findings of his accident research and explained how 'Munro bagging' was statistically more dangerous than climbing Everest (see his article in the Features section). Alfie Ingram (MRCofS) asked whether we all really had the right to expect to be rescued for free? As you can imagine, a lively discussion followed, tempered by our Artist in Residence, Neal Beggs's, presentation of his 'winter maps' of Ben Nevis and Glen Coe (more of which next issue). This year's entertainment was the stunning re-enactment of Shakleton's epic journey in Antarctica by Irish madman Frank Nugent. The Lodge again surpassed itself with a great welcome, free use of the facilities including the indoor pool and wall and an excellent buffet. We are going back again next year, so make a date in your diary now. The new committee We welcome Bob Sharp (IM), Alison Whyte (IM), Bill Crabb (The Grampian Club), Colin Simpson (Inverness Mountaineering Club), Fred Belcher (The Cairngorm Club) and Lezlye Gordon (Wyvis Hillwalking Club) onto the Executive Committee. Beryl Leatherland stood down, but remains co-opted. John Mackenzie was voted in as Vice President. He will chair the Access & Conservation Committee. Bob Sharp was voted in as 2nd Vice President and will chair the Safety & Training Committee. The '2000 for 2000' Membership drive The idea of increasing 'individual' membership numbers to the magic figure of 2,000 by getting current members to sponsor new members with the incentive of bottles of fine whisky almost succeeded with 1,800 registered individual members reached in March 2001. The winners were: Wendy Belk as the member receiving the golden 2,000 IM number, receives a bottle of MaCallum. Violet Small as the new individual member pulled out of the hat on a spot prize, receives a bottle of Famous Grouse. Graham Norrie (IM) the lucky sponsor drawn from the hat, receives a crate of The Famous Grouse. Thanks to Highland Distillers for their sponsorship. Name change: Last years AGM asked the Executive to investigate members' views on a change of name (through the website and this magazine). We were also able to get a student research project to investigate further. Of nearly 100 submissions, 40% supported a name change, but 60% did not believe it would affect the profile of the MCofS. No alternative names received majority support and most felt that the word 'Council' was important in defining the function and democratic nature of the organisation. The conclusion of the exercise was that changing the name did not receive widespread support, nor be of widespread concern to members. Although the consultation demonstrated a majority opinion that the logo did look dated the AGM felt it not worth spending scant staff time and resources on.   2001 Mountain Article Competition Winners The Judges this year were President John Donohoe, National Officer Kevin Howett, Editor of 'Climber' magazine Bernard Newman, and past Vice President and Teacher Ingrid Parker. There were 13 entries for the prose category and 12 submitted for the poetry section. Both categories were closely contended with several entries vying for first or second place. In the Prose category 'Munro-Bagging' won by a length, with a depiction of a day out that everyone will identify with. Second place was shared by two quite different articles; 'Pastimes' is a reminiscent repeat of a winter route which reflects on the changes in the climbing scene in the intervening time, 'The Wendy House' is almost a ghost story, but with a twist. Just missing out was a story of a 'Club Meet' by Lynda Woods of the Capricorn MC and a description of a meet in The Cuillin by Duncan Walker entitled 'Coruisk is a wonderful Place'. In the Poetry category the judge's views were quite apposite and as a result there were several that came close to winning; the descriptive poems of 'A Day on Stob Coir'an Albannaich' by Clifford Healy and 'Benighted' by Ian McCabe just missing out. 'The Lost Treasure of the High Sierra' by Lynne Long and 'Eight Thousand Meters' by Helen McLaren delved deeper into "why?" and were also very close contenders. Thank you to all who entered, making this years judging difficult and congratulations to the winners, particularly to Hamish Brown who gains a 'grand slam'! Hamish's winning poem is reproduced in our Features Section and the prose winners will feature in future issues (they are also on the website). The winners were: Prose 1st: 'Munro-Bagging' by Cathy Whitfield (receives £100) Joint Prose 2nd: 'The Wendy House' by Hamish Brown (receives £25) Joint Prose 2nd: 'Pastimes' by David Menteith (receives £25) Poetry 1st: 'Kirsty' by Hamish Brown (receives £50) What About Next Year? We have already had 3 submissions for next year's competition, so the pace is hotting up! The stories are varied and interesting. Don't be afraid to have a go. The MCofS reserves the right to publish the prize-winning entries. Past winners have been published in the MCofS Newsletter, Annual Report, Climber magazine or Journals (e.g. SMC Journal). The two categories are: PROSE - The subject matter can be about any aspect of mountaineering, rock climbing, walking or skiing; fiction or non-fiction. Maximum 2,000 words long, preferably typed, or written on double spaced lines and single-sided. 1st Prize : £100; 2nd Prize : £50. POETRY - On the same subject as long or as short as you like. Prize : £50 Members should quote their club name or individual membership number. The closing date is May 1st 2002. Send your entries to the National Officer MCofS, Kevin Howett, at the office. Enclose an SAE if you wish the article to be returned and the winners will be announced (possibly!) at the 2002 AGM.   Developing Mountain Services in the UK By Kevin Howett Historically, the MCofS and the BMC have had their own agreed spheres of activity, but operate 'reciprocal rights' for MCofS members to take up some of the services offered by the BMC (e.g. activity insurance). There were however, still some problems more typically associated with wider political British / Scottish issues. To help, some years ago, then President of MCofS, Nick Kempe, set up a group of Office Bearers of the MCofS, the BMC, The BMC Committee for Wales and the MCof Ireland. Its intention was to help coordinate activities. This group is known as the "Mountaineering Coordination Group for Great Britain and Ireland" (MCG). Changes in the structure of the Sports Councils to a more federal system (home nation and UK) also changed how funding applications were made. Home nation politics also changed with devolution; a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly. The MCG now allows the Councils to prevent duplication of effort, allows coordination and support for each other's policies and to better operate jointly on UK initiatives. There is also the very real prospect of a Mountaineering Council for Wales being formed soon with funding possibilities from the Welsh Sports Council. Recently, with input from the Mountain Training Boards, its main focus has been to develop more efficient and cost effective services to its members; that would also generate income for the 'good causes' and corporate plan work of all the bodies. All parties now agree the principle of a UK Mountain Services trading body and only the detail of the organisation is still to be thrashed out. Essentially, Mountain Services Limited (MSL, as it will be known) will offer members of all the national mountaineering bodies a comprehensive range of services. The Councils and Training Boards who become partners in the enterprise will appoint honorary directors (who have a background in successful outdoor business), who in turn will appoint a Chief Officer who will manage the company. The Councils and Training Boards will also appoint a 'disbursement panel' who will oversee the allocation of profits to the work of each body based on need (the formula has yet to be decided). MSL will handle memberships and sales for all the partner bodies. It will give MCofS members access to all the services from BMC (and vice versa), although in time, this may require an increase in subscriptions to give parity. MSL will become a one-stop shop for all your needs. This will be a good thing for MCofS as we are currently understaffed and struggling to cope with limited office volunteers, and it will also mean some of the money you pay for services such as activity insurance will come back to Scotland for the first time. The company is to be launched at the Festival of Climbing in Birmingham on December 7th-9th and we hope it will be operational by January 2002. We would like to hear member's views on this development. Write to the National Officer at the office or email us at info@mountaineering-scotland.org.uk.   Expedition Grants There is help from the MCofS to cut down the costs of a mountaineering trip abroad, including pure rock or pure ice climbs in less remote parts of the world. The MCofS administers the Sportscotland grant for expeditions (a total of £2,000 each year) whose objective is one of excellence and adventure and applications are considered both direct to the MCofS as well as in association with applications to the Mount Everest Foundation and the BMC. If you are planning a trip and you would like more information our Expedition Grant Information Pack will help you source more financial help, has an application form for the MCofS grant, and gives details of mountain libraries and other sources of information about climbing in all parts of the world. Send an A4 SAE (33p) for a copy. The deadline for applications for grant is the end of March 2002. (Screening occurs just afterwards).   Student Projects Philip Smith from the University of Northumbria recently completed a postgraduate diploma marketing project in which he looked at the marketing of the Henry Hindmarch Access and Conservation Fund. Philip is a cyclist and has been known around the Newcastle climbing scene in years gone by. Robert Shearman has made a study of litter in the Scottish Mountains as part of his MSc in Rural and Regional Resource Planning at the University of Aberdeen and the Robert Gordon University. His project has come up with some interesting results, which should be a useful reference source in the future. Susan Low has completed a Masters dissertation for her course in Environmental Studies at Strathclyde University. Susan's study looked at National Parks in New Zealand and Australia, with a view to learning lessons for use in Scottish National Parks. Susan wishes to thank all MCofS clubs and members who returned questionnaires during her research exercise. Lorraine Illingworth completed a dissertation on 'The Costs & Benefits of the Internet … for non profit Environmental organisations in Scotland' for her masters Degree in Information & Library Studies at The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. Finally, Richard Canham of the University of Northumbria conducted research on re-branding the MCofS as part of his final project for a post graduate diploma in Marketing, which included possible new name and logo. All these reports are available for reference from the MCofS Office. Please contact Pet Thomas before calling in.   Back to Newsletter index     next article

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