Win £100!!
(MCofS Mountain Article Competition 2003)
There is still time to send in an entry
Entries have been coming into the office for this years writing competition. As the winners will be announced in the next issue of Scottish Mountaineer and we now produce 6 copies a year with the next issue due out on 7th August, we have a little more time and have extended the deadline to the end of June.
The two categories are Prose (max. 2000 words) and Poetry; the subject can be anything associated with walking, climbing, mountaineering and ski-mountaineering; people, events, adventures, mountains and mountain environments; the prizes are £100 1st and £50 2nd for the prose category and £50 1st for the poetry category.
Send your entries, either typed or on disc, to the National Officer, Kevin Howett at the MCofS Office. Or even better by email to info@mountaineering-scotland.org.uk.
The MCofS reserves the right to publish the winning entries, including on our website and in future editions of Scottish Mountaineer.
Scottish Expedition Awards
The MCofS has awarded the following Scottish based expeditions a grant from the sportscotland/MCofS grant for 2003:
- The Scottish El Gigante Expedition
Guy Robertson, Joanna Goerge, Trevor Wood, Esmond Tressidder will attempt a ground - up bolt free 'free' ascent on the 700m Rhyolite face of El Gigante, Barrancas Del Cobre, Parque National De Basaerchic, Mexico.
- The SMC Greenland Expedition
Stephen Reid, Colwyn Jones, Jonathon Preston, Hamish Irvine will attempt a lightweight Alpine style 1st ascent of Dansketind South Ridge (1000m)in the Staunings Alps amongst other objectives.
- The British Annapurna expedition
Pete Benson, Andy Benson, Kenton Cool and Ian Parnel will attempt the SW Ridge.
- The Scottish Lemon Mountains Expedition
Members of the Jacobites Mountaineering Club will visit the Hedghog glacier area to explore Lucy and Caultald glaciers and achieve at least one 1st ascent for each member of the party.
Insurance - Who needs it?
(civil liability explained)
by Kevin Howett
At the 2003 MCofS AGM on 21st June members are being asked to agree an increase in subscriptions to cover the increasing overheads of running the MCofS, but also an increase in the civil liability insurance. Despite the production of our “Civil Liability Insurance Scheme Information Sheet” some years ago, there remains a lot of confusion amongst members over what and whom the insurance covers. So what do we actually get for our money?
When and how much?
The need for civil liability insurance was accepted as a substantial benefit at the 1991 AGM and instigated at that time. The premium then was £1.04 per member, later increased to £1.10. It remains a major benefit for prospective clubs who cite it as the main reason for affiliating to the MCofS. The premium has not increased for nearly 10 years, although other association's premiums have. It will increase this year to £2.25, and next year to at least £3.00.
What does it cover?
The insurance is NOT personal accident or holiday insurance. It does NOT pay out money to you for injuries you sustain; Personal Accident insurance covers you for this. You can have and can claim on as many such policies as you can afford. The BMC's Activity Insurance covers you for holiday, gear, medical, rescue and also personal accident.
Our Civil Liability Insurance is operated through Perkins Slade, from Royal and Sun Alliance, and specifically designed to cover sporting and recreational activities. Perkins Slade cover many associations including football, swimming, Ramblers, Ski, Canoe and Orienteering as well as UK Sport and the British Olympic Association. You can only claim on one such insurance policy.
For MCofS, it covers our organisation and all our members, and affiliated associations such as clubs and various trusts (for Mill Cottage and the Henry Hindmarsh Trust), for everything that anyone who is a member does connected with our sport (MCofS, club committees & individuals). The amount insured is £5m. It pays legal expenses for fighting cases and damages awarded up to this sum. The incidents it covers are wide ranging from slander to a third parties reputation, legal protection for mismanagement, indemnity for a failure to act or give bad advice, liability for accidental injury to a third party due to goods sold or supplied, and accidental bodily injury to a third party and damage to property due to members activity. Members' property (MCofS huts and club huts) is also included but Buildings and Contents Insurance must be sought separately.
The insurance is designed to cover the whole organisation and the fees are spread across its membership. It is not possible to separate out various elements of the insurance or various members of the organisation, partly because the collection of the small amounts would be inefficient, but also because it is a fairer way of spreading the costs of the premium. Hence, the requirement to collect subscriptions from any ACTIVE member of the MCofS, who could be involved in an incident.
Some degree of Liability insurance is often included with personal House Buildings Insurance, but this is not designed for recreational activities such as mountaineering. Nor would it cover the actions of any Club you are a member of, or the MCofS as your representative or governing body.
Walking and Climbing are different to other 'sports'?
Our activity is not different in the eyes of the law to any other sport and there are precedents being set in defining negligence in sport. Examples include the following:
- A new club member fell 500ft and sustained serious back and pelvic injuries. The claimant felt that the club members were negligent in giving advice about the difficulty of the walk.
- An indoor climber suffered neck injury due to alleged negligence of his belayer.
- A climber fell from a cliff face and may be awarded damages against his belayer.
- The Welsh Rugby Union and a referee were recently found negligent for a scrum collapse where a player suffered serious paralysis.
- A member of a mountaineering club had an accident during a hut work meet and may receive damages.
- A cyclist in Scotland on an event organised by a club affiliated to the cycle union has been awarded a staggering £4m after suffering total paralysis after a crash.
The Insurance is too high?
The premium is based on the perceived exposure to risk and the claims history (which is low but expensive) and market conditions. Compounded by the effects of September 11th and the poor performance of the stock market, and that the premium has been artificially low, over the past 5 year period the income from premiums has fallen short of the amounts paid out or pending on reserve, with a loss ratio of 146%.
So what should MCofS do?
Our Executive Committee discussed a range of options. The possibility of absorbing the increase in premium is unrealistic as we have little surplus finances and have no choice but to pass on the increase to our members. We looked into alternative insurance providers, but none cover all our activities or the activities of our clubs and individuals. Nor do they offer one easy method of administration, which is very important for MCofS when we are already understaffed and overworked. The advantages of continuing with the insurance were felt to be very important in light of recent claims and the activities we undertake. A high profile case by Diane Modahl against the UK Athletics Association led that organisation to bankruptcy and made it clear that as an organisation, we would be neglecting our responsibilities if we were not insured.
The Executive Committee hopes that members now have a better understanding of the need for the insurance.
BIVVI TALK
Victorinox
'Star Letter'
The winning letter published this month in Bivi Talk to receive a Victorinox "SwissChamp" Swiss Army knife (RRP £49.95) is Lisa Hutchinson.
Pull the Other Leg
Dear MCofS
I enclose a photo of a sign I saw recently. It is sited on a house gate which also accesses the hillside behind, in the remote village of Lochbui in southern Mull. I believe from speaking with the local postmistress, that the house belongs to Mr 'George Sassoon'. Although it may be intended to be a joke or a wind-up, it was sufficient to concern my non-scientific brain and those accompanying me.
Yes, DHMO is simply water. Perhaps the appropriate response would be another notice advising, as an antidote, liberal amounts of local whisky?
Best wishes
Lisa Hutchison
Gaelic Comments
Dear Editor,
May I apologise to your correspondent who I think misread my comments on the article written in Gaelic in the July 02 edition. It certainly was not my intention to cause offence. My feelings stem from personal experiences in which, when entering a public place such as a bar in Wales, the occupants who while speaking English, recognise the presence of 'outsiders', start to speak Welsh, and, as a Brit that made me sad.
On the other hand when I have visited Gaelic speaking communities in the Western Isles of Scotland, frequently, in similar circumstances, the incumbents would be speaking Gaelic but on recognising outsiders would start to speak in English, that, as a Scot that made me very proud and grateful.
I repeat what I said in my letter that if the writer of the article cannot write, or if any of the readers cannot read, English then I apologise even more profoundly for my comments. If on the other hand there is simply a desire for exclusivity then I consider it to be out of place in a club with a logo that embraces 'The Soul of the Gael' in a language that all of its members understand.
I find the articles of the club magazine to be interesting, or beautiful, or both but if those with the talent to understand the Gaelic wish to keep what they have to contribute to themselves then so be it.
Ian Aitchison
Dear Sirs
As a non-Gaelic speaker, I still regard Gaelic as part of my heritage. The little Gaelic that I do know gives a day in the hills greater pleasure. The Gaels who named our hills did not do so randomly. The names grew from a close association with the hills, by the people who lived and worked amongst them rather than by those who crash up them at the weekend. The names are mainly descriptive, but some describe the way that we or other mammals use them.
Beinn Laoigh, for example, is the hill of the calf, not bovine but cervine. Suddenly the name has meaning. We can imagine a hill with a remote, warm south facing coire where the deer can raise their young. Every hill name has a tale to tell and the original Gaelic gets closer than any corrupted form. The 1953 edition of Munros Tables had Beinn Laoigh on the cover; now the hill is listed as Ben Lui. In just 50 years we nearly lost another hill name.
I spent some three years researching hill names and pronunciations for The Munros Hillwalker CD. The insight into the hill names is now shared with thousands of others. My experience is that walkers enjoy knowing about the hills and crave authoritative knowledge. Here, I will take to task the MCofS for recently referring to Bidein a' Choire Sheasgaich by another, and meaningless 'name'. If we do not protect our heritage, it will be taken from
us. Those who write about the hills have an especial responsibility; one they should take more seriously.
Any backlash against Gaelic is a mere protection of ignorance. If Gaelic is lost, then Scotland will have lost a treasured jewel. Nay, it will have lost its very soul.
Iain R White.
Walkers Wanted:
Dear MCofS
Perhaps you could assist me. I am a paid up member of MCofS and have completed 138 Munros despite living in England. I am male aged just 56 (about 76 kgs and fit with stamina for a good day in the hills). Last year, on 3 week long visits I was in the area of Grey Corries, Dundonnell and Creag Meagaidh, was out every day and got the ascents planned. That was with my two usual companions. We stay in hostels/huts. This year I have further ambitions and can take mid week - mid week leave, mid July and mid September. Unfortunately, the other two are not available.
Accordingly, I wondered if any other readers would be willing to meet up with me over these periods so we can do ascents together. All areas north of Fort William are new to me, except the Fannichs, and I also wish to go to Skye and all hills east of Braemar, except Lochnagar, and most of the Cairngorms. So there is still a wide variety of stuff left as I commence on the remaining 146! Interested parties shoul contact me direct at home.
Very many thanks,
Howard Blackmore.
Paying for Access:
Dear MCofS
I should like to reply to Mr Douglas Halls letter in the February 03 issue. I think the ideal for Mr Hall is already a reality and you don't even have the inconvenience of a long trip into the mountains. Tesco provide a superb experience in the well managed, user friendly, visitor encouraging access with which he could feel totally at home, no mountain hazards, no erosion and no map and compass. The car park. Of course he may feel he is not really getting the best service because these car parks are free. Or are they? ask yourself the same question about the mountains.
If more people used map and compass we would probably have less eroded paths, there are many routes up mountains not just the one in the guide. Mr Hall enjoys the experience of "a high level of environmental management, excellent paths and good quality navigational aides."
Well the Highlands have been 'environmentally managed' for two hundred years, with some disastrous results, the most excellent path available is a metalled road to the summit, and the best navigational aides are signs. These are all things I have experienced abroad. We could import many things to encourage more visitors and make the mountains more "user friendly", such as tarmac roads, via ferrattas, bolted rock climbs, cable cars, sherpas, porters, bottled oxygen. All these would improve numbers on the hill and reduce mountain hazard. May I make a suggestion to Mr Hall, that he takes the railway up Cairn Gorm, then go and climb Anteallach and see if anything strikes him.
I do not believe this issue is about being a hard man, but it does have a lot to do with the century we live in. It is vital we protect our wildernesses, true they are not perfect but they are tough at times, hard to navigate give great challenge and hence achievement. We should raise ourselves to meet their challenges, not drag them down to appease our vanities.
Paying for access will not protect our mountains, Mr Halls vision may increase 'visitors' to the mountains. A road to replace the tourist path on the Ben would be very welcome to these mountain 'visitors'. Would it be so welcome to Lochaber Mountain Rescue? There is no substitute for experience. Training and education are very important, but climbing Scottish hills and routes is a long apprenticeship, so get out your map and compass and get in about the bogs and midges, there lies the peace and solitude.
Ranald Strachan
Mountain Developments
Dear Editor
With interest I read the articles about windfarms and I am glad you gave room to differing views as this is no easy subject. In my opinion, it is less a matter of whether and where wind generators are erected, rather their design and number. Like drystone cottages, traditional windmills have over the centuries fitted well into the landscape and even added to the beauty. What hinders modern designers to clad wind generators in a similar fashion? Regarding the number, I do object to extended windfarms with up to 100 generators in one place (Lewis?) and the inevitable pylons and wires leading from them. Would it not be possible for a town or cluster of towns have their own windfarm, as the Findhorn Foundation and other places have demonstrated? In this way, the individual design could even become an asset, like parks and gardens, monuments and market places.
Elke Kammer
Inverness
Dear MCofS
Further to M F Murchison's letter complaining about trig pillars; there is a simple remedy that does not entail removal of pillars. Build cairns over them. I would not advocate their removal for several reasons: satellite navigation may be hi-tech and accurate but a number of potential threats could render GPS and satellites useless. War or the threat of it is one. Another is possible damage from solar emissions and 'solar winds'. I don't mind trig pillars although the first time I saw a round one I thought it was a litter bin.
Yours Bob Robertson
Hi All
As we approached the summit of Streap recently it looked like somebody has totally demolished the cairn. The stones are spread over a 3 to 4 metre square area but looked more like the result of an explosion than of human dismantling. There is a massive gouge/ trench into the base of the remains of the cairn about 1.5 metres long and half a metre deep. The bare earth looks fairly recent and my partner Frank's theory is that the cairn has been struck by lightning. There were the remains of a metal fence post amongst the rocks with some odd marking on it so this theory may be correct. Has anybody been up Streap in recent months and if so what was the last known status of the cairn? Additionally can anyone offer other explanations or theories, as I do not believe this was just a case of cairn vandalism?
Graham Ingram
Dear Editor
The white paper on energy, recently published by the UK government is high on environmental tokenism and low on technological reality. This is a lavishly illustrated document, with highly romanticised images of windmills set against the setting sun. It is a rather nauseating attempt on the part of the government to earn its green credentials whilst dodging the real issues. With available technology, wind energy can only be a small component of our portfolio of energy sources; in a few years time the UK will have an energy crisis unless it tackles the issue of renewing our nuclear capacity. Wind can only provide an intermittent supply and so cannot replace a single fossil fuel or nuclear power station. A recent report by the Royal Academy of Engineering makes this abundantly clear (see www.raeng.org.uk). The government's avowed targets for up to 20% of electricity generation from renewables will have no significant effect on global carbon dioxide levels.
Unfortunately, so that the government can give the appearance of doing something about global warming, we will have to live with the fact that our last few remaining wild spaces will soon be bristling with windmills the height of 30 storey towerblocks. It is clear that landscape or tourism issues will have little influence over planning decisions- witness the recently approved plans for a massive wind farm at Edinbane, Isle of Skye.
We can now rest assured that every mountain top in Britain will soon be in the line of sight of a wind farm- the current generation of wind turbines are 300 feet high and they are getting bigger! The environmental lobby has shot itself in the foot on this one. Because of their unwillingness to countenance a future with nuclear power we will instead have to destroy our wild places, divide communities and destroy our tourist industry- all for no effect.
Per Bullough,
Derbyshire
Poles, Axes, GPS and Safety
Dear Editor
I have often dreamt of a special invention of pole cum ice axe. Would it not be possible to manufacture an adjustable trekking pole with an axe head which, when pushed together, has the length and stability of an axe shaft? The axe head, when not in use, could be covered for additional comfort and safety, and the tip of the pole also. Especially on long distance tours in the Alps, when my rucksac has to hold provisions for a week plus climbing gear, I have often wished to reduce the wight by not carrying both poles and axe. Equally, it would reduce the risk of using poles where an axe is required, if it was easy to change from one to the other quickly. I would be please if someone took this suggestion further!
Elke Kammer
Inverness
Dear MC of S,
The GPS article in issue 13 left me with a feeling that while highlighting potential pitfalls of GPS, didn't do what it might have to show "best practice". I also felt it suggested that map and compass are somehow inseparable items, where in my opinion it's the map that's the really important bit, showing us what's where, and the compass is "merely" a reference to enable us to correlate it with the ground. I see no particular reason why a GPS cannot be used for the referencing job, so although I agree about map skills being fundamental I don't see why that should not be in conjunction with a GPS, *if* the user understands the unit and its limitations.
The problems highlighted are all real problems, but the article overstats them by not contrasting them to other methods' drawbacks: for example, yes, a GPS is awkward to use wearing double mittens, but so is a protractor compass; yes, you are at the mercy of your batteries, but so is the torch you may need to read the map, and so on.
The suggestion of possibly "losing the plot" using a PC to transfer waypoints to a GPS baffles me. Transferring waypoints of the targets from a computer is just another side of studying the map in advance given appropriate software.
The summary point that technology possibly allows ill-informed users to get out of their depth is well taken, though of course it applies to all technology: spring loaded camming devices, banana picked pairs of ice tools, plastic telemark boots, lightweight gear etc. all let us do things more easily, though are not substitutes for skill and judgement. "Avoid the quick fix" should be a universal mantra for all mountain skills, not just navigation technology!
I don't take my GPS walking very often: the compass does what I need. But ski touring in whiteout, where keeping on a bearing may be impossible in descent, where timing is very hard due to variable speeds, where pacing is out of the window, where there are no landmarks to speak of and slope information confused, given the choice I'd take the GPS as simply a better tool for the job in hand (why not take both? I do, but I *could* do the day with the GPS instead of the compass as long as I use it with the map properly, and I would be less likely to have a navigational faux pas as a result).
Regards,
Peter Clinch
Lost & Found:
Dear Members
I lost a pair of leki treking poles on Moruisg on Tuesday 14th Januaray 2003. If anyone found them and can return I would be indebted. I can be contacted via e-mail on davienicol@aol.com or by phone on 01355901323.
Thanking you,
David Nicol
A hip flask found in Coire an t'sneachda over hogmany (full!) full description to Pete Hill at 01807590250, pete@highlandermountaineering.co.uk
I found an exposed film between Meall a' Buachaille and Creagan Gorm near the top of the path that leads down to Loch Morlich (OS 36 - 985 116) on Saturday 22 Feb. It hadn't been lying there long and had probably been dropped that day. The film was not a bog standard Kodak but was clearly used by someone keen on high standard photography. Give me a phone on 01569 762377 to arrange return.
Cheers
Ian Chalmers
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