November 2001
Overdue walker found safe
A walker who was reported overdue on
Saturday, November 3, was found by mountain rescue teams in the Scottish
Highlands the following day. A search was launched at first light
on Sunday in the Beinn Tharsuinn area of Achnashellach after the alarm was
raised at about 2200 hours on Saturday. The Torridon Mountain Rescue Team,
assisted by a helicopter from RAF Lossiemouth, located the man shortly before
0900 hours. He was taken by helicopter to Raigmore
Hospital in Inverness to receive treatment for hypothermia. His condition is not believed to be
serious. The man is believed to have wandered into mist and
became separated from his group. After a futile search by the group they raised
the alarm with Torridon team. Team leader, Neil Hinchliff said: "We were
pleased to find him so quickly. It had been a wet and windy night and the
showers were becoming increasingly wintry."
Stranded walkers rescued in a flash
Two stranded hillwalkers used a camera flash bulb
to attract the attention of a rescue helicopter after becoming lost without a
compass in the Cairngorms. The walkers, both men from the London area, became
lost after snow and mist enveloped the peak of Ben MacDui. Police were alerted
by a mobile phone call from the walkers at about 2pm on Sunday, November 4.
John Allen, leader of Cairngorme Mountain Rescue
Team, said: "I spoke to them at 2.15pm and they were in the mist and cold
and didn't know where they were. Unfortunately they had a map but no compass –
without a compass it's impossible to navigate because the Cairngorm Plateau is
so featureless." To make matters worse, the two men had no whistle
and no torch, although one had a camera flash. Mr Allen advised the walkers to follow the descent
of a river to lower ground. The RAF Lossiemouth
helicopter crew were in the area on a training exercise and Mr Allen was going
to ask for their assistance when the aircraft was called away to Fort William to
pick up a male hillwalker suffering from chest pains in the Bridge of Orchy
area. Members of the Cairngorm and Braemar mountain rescue teams readied
themselves for a search for the men as darkness fell. However Mr Allen asked the helicopter crew to take
a look in the Cairngorms before heading off back to Lossiemouth and they saw the
flash from the camera near Loch Avon, where the men had managed to descend.
The walkers, who were not hurt, were picked up and
taken to Glenmore Lodge where they were told of the necessity of having and
being able to use a compass on the hills. Mr Allen said: "One of the men said they would
be going walking on Monday so he was advised to buy a compass from a local
climbing shop and to learn how to use it before going out. You should have a
compass with you at all times, and if you are going out in winter you should
carry a compass, map, whistle and torch. "It is unforgivable that they only had a map.
This is a timely reminder to people who ring us on mobile phones when they are
in trouble that we cannot direct them to safety if they don't have or can't use
a compass."
Missing walkers turn up safe
and well
A search by Skye Mountain
Rescue Team was stood down just as it was ready to begin on Wednesday night
after two men arrived safely back from a walk. The pair - a 56-year-old and
a 17-year-old - were reported overdue after setting out on the morning of
Wednesday, November 7, from Sligachan to walk to Loch Coruisk in the heart of
the Black Cuillin. They were due to return by
4pm but failed to do so and the mountain rescue team was assembled. However, the pair, who had no
food and water or waterproof clothing with them, turned up at 8.45pm. They had
not been equipped to walk after dark, having no torch.
New access and conservation trust
The Mountaineering Council of Scotland, the British
Mountaineering Council and the Mountaineering Council of Ireland are launching a
new Access and Conservation Trust - ACT. ACT will provide a focus for sustainable access to
cliffs, mountains and open countryside in order to support rural access and
conservation projects that protect access and promote sustainability; educate
and raise awareness and understanding of conservation and responsible conduct
issues; research the benefits and impacts of mountain recreation and tourism,
and train and support access volunteers. ACT will have charitable status, enabling it to
receive tax efficient donations. The broad geographical coverage will allow
money to be channelled into the areas that are most in need of support, be they
in England, Wales, Scotland or Ireland. With large scale support and sponsorship ACT will
be able to fund larger projects, increasing its effectiveness to ensure
sustainable use and conservation of our outdoor environment. ACT will be officially launched to the public at
the Festival of Climbing in Birmingham in December. The launch will focus on a celebration of the
natural environment and the importance of our freedom to enjoy it. During the
Festival of Climbing visitors will be invited to draw and write on the ACT
freedom mural, recording their vision of the natural environment and its
importance to personal freedom.
'Asset to the nation'
A Scottish Executive minister has pledged that the
proposed Cairngorms National Park will be an "asset to the nation". But Rhona Brankin stressed the project's success
depended on striking a balance between commercial initiatives and
sustainability. During a visit to the area, the Deputy Minister for
Environment and Rural Development said the Executive is committed to
establishing Scotland's National Parks to ensure they form the basis for
thriving local rural communities. She also promised that the creation of the park in
the Cairngorms area – often described as Scotland's last true wilderness –
will be underpinned by a commitment to ensure local involvement in its
management. She said: "The Cairngorms National Park will
enhance the social and economic development of communities and ensure the
protection of our natural and cultural heritage. "Business opportunities will, I am certain,
also arise from the creation of the Cairngorms National Park. However, a
sensible balance must be struck between quality commercial initiatives and
sustainability." She added that the Scottish Executive is now
considering the terms of a draft Designation Order, which will be the subject of
further consultation with a view to ensuring the success of the park. During her visit, the minister met local people to
discuss issues surrounding the park proposals and to hear about local
eco-tourism businesses. Stewart Fulton, chief executive of Cairngorms
Partnership, was impressed with Ms Brankin's commitment to these issues. He
said: "The draft Designation Order is the most important legislation so far
in the creation of the park. There will be a consultation period in the spring
and after that work will begin on establishing the park. "Ms Brankin intends to make sure that the
people in the area find their way forward. It is good to see the minister's
commitment. It is a very nice feature of the Scottish Parliament to see the
ministers on the ground getting involved." During her visit, the minister also opened a new
display exploring the history and flora and fauna of the Highland's ancient bog
woodlands at Glenmore Visitor Centre. The
exhibition has been built as part of the Wet Woods Life Project, a £660,000
scheme to breathe life into rare fragments of ancient bog woodland and
floodplain forest. The new display explores the
world of bog woodlands and highlights the importance of protecting these
internationally recognised sites. Part funded by the EU Life Nature
Programme, the
work has been carried out by a partnership of Scottish Natural Heritage, the
Forestry Commission and its woodland management agency Forest Enterprise, the
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Highland Birchwoods. It is understood that the Cairngorms National Park
will start being established from the beginning of 2003.
Mountain rescue men honoured
Four heroes of the hills were honoured in the first
Scottish distinguished service awards for mountain rescue members at the
weekend.
All 28 mountain rescue teams in Scotland were
represented at Glenmore Lodge, near Aviemore, for the Mountain Rescue Committee
event on Saturday, November 10. And the four men honoured – two of whom have
30 years' service each – have experience that ranges from the highs of
successful rescues and treks to major disasters that affected the whole country.
Moffat Mountain Rescue Team member Andy Newlands
was the only one of the four honoured who was able to make it to the meeting –
the other three could not attend due to a combination of illness and being out
of the country. Mr Newlands (71), has 30 years under his belt as a
rescue-team member. But despite his years of service and work for the
hillwalking community, he still was not expecting to get the award. He said: "It came as a surprise when they said
they'd give it to me." Flight Sergeant Dave
Whalley, of RAF Kinloss
Mountain Rescue Team, was unable to receive his award due to illness. But he
said later: "The mountain rescue is a real part of each community, and I'm
proud to be involved. I accept this for the team." The other award winners, Bill Bain of Braemar MRT
and Angus Campbell of Lomond MRT, were also unable to attend. Although England and Wales have held such award
ceremonies for years, this is the first year that the Mountain Rescue Committee
has honoured its own members in this way. Mountain Rescue Service Scotland chairman Willie
Marshall, who is also head of Assynt MRT, said: "We felt that Scottish
rescuers deserved a similar award ceremony to the rest of the country. The
events won't take place annually – they'll be awarded periodically on an 'as
and when' basis. This time, we're catching up with the people who would have got
awards in the past." Mr Marshall presented certificates to Mr
Newlands,
and three MRT members who accepted the awards on behalf of the absent
recipients.
Fears
for the future of Feshie
The future of one of Scotland's most prized
Highland estates is in doubt because of a financial crisis facing its Danish
multi-millionaire owner, who made his fortune from a famous chain of fashion
shops.
Glenfeshie, a 42,000-acre estate in the Cairngorms,
is owned by businessman Klaus Helmersen who founded the Carli Gry fashion house.
The company's trademark cotton clothes, including Cottonfield and Jackpot,
earned him £90 million. But now, according to a report in the Sunday Herald
newspaper, Helmersen's business empire, which no longer includes Carli Gry, is
tottering because of a series of high-risk investments in the US. A high-powered
group of Danish banks and finance institutions are so worried that they have
launched an investigation to protect the millions of kroner they have loaned
him. This has sparked fears among environmentalists that
Glenfeshie could be put up for sale again, threatening its precious remnants of
ancient Caledonian pine forest. Helmersen bought the estate for over £6m in
1997, outbidding a powerful consortium of government and voluntary agencies.
''It's a scandal that such an important tract of
land is subject to the roulette wheel of international finance. There have been
attempts to bring the estate into public ownership since the 1960s, and still
the lottery continues to this day,'' said Dave Morris, director of the Ramblers'
Association Scotland. ''It highlights the need for MSPs to make sure that
the forthcoming land reform legislation can prevent this problem from arising
ever again, by making it impossible to trade such valuable land on the world
property market. If Glenfeshie does come on to the market again, the government
should move in with compulsory purchase powers.'' Helmersen left Carli Gry in 1999 but continued his
wide-ranging business through a company called St Frederikslund. In the past
three years the company has made a string of multi-million pound investments in
US firms. To make the investments Helmersen borrowed large
sums of money from Danish banks and financial institutions. But now, according
to the Danish newspaper Berlingske Tidende, they have had a crisis meeting in
Copenhagen ''to discover how close Klaus Helmersen is to being bankrupt''.
Glenfeshie is at the heart of the new National Park
proposed by the Scottish Executive and is famous for being the place where Sir
Edwin Landseer painted his well-known picture of a stag, Monarch of the Glen, in
the 1830s. The estate is owned by Helmersen through a company called Glenfeshie
Estate Limited, which is registered at 10 Blackfriars Street, Perth. Renowned among walkers and mountaineers for its
dramatic wild landscape, Glenfeshie has been a source of dispute for many years
because its ancient pine trees are dying out due to high deer numbers. In the
past the number of deer on the estate has been kept in the thousands in order to
make sure that there were plenty of stags available for landowners and their
guests to shoot for sport. Andy Wightman, an expert on land ownership, warned
that Helmersen's financial crisis could be the start of a whole new chapter in
the sorry story of Glenfeshie. He said: ''It has long been evident that public
ownership is the only way of ensuring the future of such important places. If
Glenfeshie is to be sold, the Scottish Executive should step in and declare its
intention to buy it through compulsory acquisition. It has the power to bring an
end to decades of appalling management and profiteering by successive private
owners.'' Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) said it was aware
of the reports of Helmersen's financial difficulties, though it had heard
nothing through official channels. The government conservation agency was
involved in a public bid to buy Glenfeshie in 1997. SNH has a legal agreement
with the estate aimed at protecting the Caledonian pine forest by culling a
significant number of deer. ''We are content with the way that the estate is
implementing the management agreement we have with it, and we would expect any
owner to do the same,'' a spokesman said. Karl Peter
Lyhr, the manager of the Glenfeshie
estate, admitted that Helmersen's business had a problem, but he insisted that
there were no current plans to put the estate on the market. He said: ''Even with these difficulties, Klaus
Helmersen is still a very wealthy man.''
New
bothy planned at Slugain Lodge
The
Mountain Bothies Association looks set to press ahead with plans to create a new
bothy at Slugain Lodge, in the hills to the north of Braemar. The
lodge, which lies at the foot of Meall an t-Slugain on the Invercauld Estate, is
currently ruined. However, the MBA made an initial approach to the estate with a
view to renovating the building and has received the green light from the
landowner. The
project has, however, create something of a split amongst MBA members. The
Eastern Highlands area committee, in whose patch Slugain Lodge lies, rejected
the proposal at their autumn meeting. Concern
was expressed about taking on new projects when there was plenty of work to be
undertaken on existing bothies in the area. Fears
were also voiced that a bothy at Slugain Lodge may lead to the existing track
being extended further up the glen and that a bothy there could have a
detrimental impact on existing howffs in the glen. The
question of re-opening Corndavon bothy on the same estate was also raised but
the estate has made it clear they do not want to see this happen, although do
open the building during the TGO Challenge and make the key available to MBA
members on request. The
Eastern Highlands area committee decision looks likely to be over-ruled by the
MBA Management Committee. It has stated it sees no valid reason why the project
should not go ahead. In
a letter to members, chairman Colin Scales confirmed that the MBA has already
been actively seeking funding for the project. ''Before
it was destroyed, Slugain Lodge was regarded as a valuable access point for Ben
Avon and Beinn a Bhuird and was not considered obtrusive,'' he states.
''The
existence of a 'secret' bothy in the vicinity is not the concern of the MBA, nor
is the closure of Corndavon, although in that case we were in fact consulted and
our members assisted with shuttering up the windows. The reasons for its closure
were legitimate in that it was being used by an undesirable element and there
was evidence of drug taking.''
Glendoll hostel up for sale
An Angus youth hostel has been put on
the market after falling victim to a restructuring by the Scottish Youth Hostel
Association. Glendoll House, a former 19th century
shooting lodge located at the head of Glen Clova, is for sale at £120,000.
The move follows a review by the SYHA
carried out in response to the foot and mouth crisis and changing tourism
trends. Glendoll hostel has provided a base
for walkers and climbers in the popular glen for around 50 years. It is the second accommodation
facility in the glen to be lost. The nearby Forestry Commission campsite closed
during the foot and mouth outbreak and has still not re-opened.
Nevis strategy launched
A new 10-year plan providing an environment and
visitor management strategy for Ben Nevis and its surrounding area has been
launched. The Nevis Strategy was devised jointly by Highland
Council, Scottish Natural Heritage and Lochaber Enterprise, along with financial
backing from the European Regional Development Fund. The vision was developed by the Nevis Working
Party, following a number of consultations in 1999 with the local community,
land managers and wider interest groups. The result is a framework action plan
which aims to safeguard and manage the local environment and maximise the number
of visitors to the area. The detailed strategy covers a large number of
issues, from car parking to reviewing planning policy. Rhona
Brankin, Deputy Minister for Environment and
Rural Development, who launched the Nevis Strategy in Fort William said it was
significant that both local and national organisations have come together to
develop a plan which is vital for the future of the area. She said: "Denying local stakeholders access
to the management of their own areas is tantamount to ignoring the valuable
expertise that these groups have to offer. The level of understanding that local
people have of local concerns and issues needs to be tapped into if areas such
as Nevis are to grow and prosper in a sustainable way. The Nevis area, like so many other parts of
Scotland, is both unique and significant to our natural heritage and it is of
vital importance that a plan is put in place that safeguards the environment of
the area for future generations, not just our own. The Nevis Strategy will go a
long way towards achieving this and I wholeheartedly welcome its publication and
look forward to witnessing the improvements to the area that its implementation
will bring about." Fort William councillor Neil Clark, chairman of the
Nevis Working Party, said he was looking forward with confidence to the benefits
that partnership working will bring over the next 10 years. He added: "A total of 13 different
organisations and agencies are members of the Working Party, which was formed
two years ago. Ben Nevis and Glen Nevis are cherished by the people of Lochaber
and all who visit us. The conservation and environmental management of the Nevis
area is essential to safeguard the area for the future." Mr Clark also stressed that a sustainable balance
was needed between the area's outstanding natural heritage and landscape
qualities on one hand, and tourism and recreation activities and pressures on
the other. Representatives from Highlands of Scotland Tourist
Board and the John Muir Trust, which owns part of Ben Nevis, also attended the
meeting to welcome the strategy. However, local author and naturalist Niall McKillop
rejected the plan, suggesting it was a pre-emptive move towards a national park
which would eventually cover the whole Highland Region. He said: "There is no need whatsoever to ‘manage'
this area of the Highlands. The plan is in danger of being taken over by
un-elected bureaucrats, for example the conservation groups involved with it.
They have a larger agenda than simply the conservation of Ben Nevis, and
ultimately are looking for more power and control."
Lost fungus raises its head in Deeside
By Steve Page
A rare fungus, which scientists feared may have
been extinct in Britain because it was not seen for nearly four decades, has
resurfaced in a Caledonian Pine Forest near Braemar. The Boletopsis, which has a
black-brown cap, grey pores and fine orange, woolly hairs at the base of the
stem, was found as a result of a fungal survey funded by Scottish Natural
Heritage, as part of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. The species is associated
with ancient and primeval forests, so its presence is thought to reflect the
antiquity of Scotland’s original Caledonian Forest. This is the first time that the Boletopsis has been
found on Deeside. It was last discovered on Speyside in 1963 by an eminent
British mycologist rumoured to have happened as he ate his picnic lunch. He took
one glance at it and thought it was just a common toadstool and threw it over
his shoulder. As it flew threw the air, he realised he had made a mistake and
scrambled to find the treasured specimen. Fungi are a key element in maintaining biodiversity
in the environment. Invertebrates and mammals also use them as a source of food
and around 80 per cent of plants and trees rely on fungal association to help
them thrive on poor soils. Fungi aid the decomposition process by breaking down
complex organic compounds and releasing minerals into the soil, which trees then
take up. Fungi like Boletopsis form an intimate relationship with the roots of
trees such as the Scots pine. Nutrients which they scavenge from the soil are
made available to the tree and nutrients made with the aid of sunlight in the
tree canopy are in turn thought to supply the fungus. Stephen Ward, advisory officer for SNH said: ''Fungi
play a valuable role in the ecosystem but scientists are still uncovering the
extent to which they are threatened.''
New climbing centre in West Highlands
A new indoor rock and ice wall climbing centre is
set to open in Kinlochleven next year.
It is proposed that the facility will include a 70
foot high climbing wall, overhanging in places by up to three metres, an ice
wall, a dedicated multi-pitch training bay for instruction, a drying room, cafe,
sauna and jacuzzi, lecture and meeting rooms plus 6,000 sq feet of retail units.
The project, which will be housed in the town's
former aluminium smelter complex, has the backing of the Mountaineering Council
of Scotland and sponsors include Gore-Tex and Red Bull.
Planning consent has been granted and the centre is due to open in autumn 2002.
New bridges provided
The Scottish Access and Rights of Way Society has
reported that there are now new or replacement bridges at five locations in
Scotland where either there were no bridges before or those which existed were
in an unacceptable condition. The society has been directly involved in all of
these projects and has contributed financially to four of them. A second bridge has just been completed near
Clashgour (GR NN 238 421), making passage safer along this route westward from
Loch Tulla to Glen Kinglass and Loch Etive. This work was supervised by Argyll
& Bute Council and contributions to the work are recorded on a plaque on the
bridge. These include the Society and Garrion Ramblers, one of its affiliated
clubs. Perth & Kinross Council have just confirmed
that the bridge (towards which the society made a substantial contribution) has
just been replaced over the Allt Eigheach (GR NN 435 604) on the Road to the
Isles. The route between the two recently completed
bridges in Glen Feshie has been waymarked and plaques recording contributions to
the building of these two bridges will be added shortly. The society made
substantial contributions to the cost of both these bridges,
installed on the Drumguish to Stronetroper right of way, to the west of the
River Feshie. They cross the Allt Chomhraig and Allt Mor. This project was
initiated by the Scottish Rights of Way Society because of difficulties and
dangers experienced in crossing the two watercourses. Earlier in the year, Borders Council proved very
willing to replace a particularly ramshackle structure at Manorhead. Sandy Valentine of the society said: ''We feel we
have to stress that bridges are built almost exclusively where a threat to human
safety has become apparent, as in the case of the society's first venture into
bridge building in Glen Tilt in 1886 following the drowning of a young visitor
from England. ''Last year the Society made a substantial
contribution to the cost of refurbishment of this Bedford Memorial Bridge over
the Tarf Water where it joins the River Tilt,'' he added. Another dramatic bridge built by the society in
response to potential loss of life is to be found at NN 914886 (OS sheet 43),
700 metres upstream of the point where the dramatically beautiful but dangerous
Eidart joins the River Feshie.
Climbing centre to open soon
Scotland's Adventure Centre is set to open in
January 2002. It's combined facilities represent a bold step towards providing
both Scotland and the UK with a high profile centre for adventure sports
development and practice. Whether a first timer, recreational activist or an
Olympic class athlete, the Adventure Centre will allow people of all ages and
abilities to fulfill their potential in a safe, exciting and unique environment,
preparing them for enjoyment of these challenging sports in the outdoors. It
will be home to the National Rock Climbing Centre of Scotland, the Adventure
Sports Gym, the National Judo Academy and Deep Blue Scuba. The site lies in the centre of Scotland's motorway
network within an hours travel of 3.5 million people, at the east end of Silicon
Glen, the largest concentration of IT computer manufacturing businesses in the
UK. It is ten minutes drive from Edinburgh's International Airport and three
minutes from the large motorway interchange at Newbridge roundabout, linking
Glasgow, Livingston, Edinburgh, Stirling and Perth. The unique configuration of the site with its
impressive natural rock surfaces is situated in established deciduous woodland
near Ratho Village and provides a splendid natural setting for the centre. The
quarry forms a huge amphitheatre, 130 metres across and 20 metres deep and has
an average cliff height of 18 metres. It will be one of the most unusual and
spectacular climbing and sports training venues in the world. The aim of the centre is to act as a focal point
for the climbing and adventure sports communities in Scotland, the north of
England and beyond. The project will provide teaching, training and dedicated
facilities for adventure sports at every level and will provide Scotland with a
national rock climbing facility of world-class standard and renown. It will be home to the largest climbing arena in the world, sporting 2400m² of
artificial wall surfaces including over 400m² of bouldering area. The walls
will provide teaching and training areas for rock climbing in all its forms, and
will cater for climbers of all abilities - from beginners through to competition
level. The bright and spacious design of the hall results in a cliff-like
ambience. Following competitive tendering, the Austrian company, Red Rooster was
awarded the contract to build the walls, having achieved the best mix of high
tech expertise, climb-ability, and aesthetics.
The search to find a suitable site for the Adventure Centre began in 1994 and after looking at various locations, Ratho quarry on the outskirts of Edinburgh was identified as the perfect spot. It offered scope for excellent natural climbing facilities as well as space for the unique architectural plans that were a key part of the project. Ratho quarry is first recorded as a quarry of Sienitic Greenstone but by 1907 it had evolved close to its current form, with much of the stone having been utilised and shaped into kerbstones for London bus stops. Climbers soon spotted the potential of the quarry and began to visit the site. The activity was at first sporadic but then really took off in the late 1970s when members of the Jacobites Climbing Club made some notable ascents. Over the years various plans had been mooted for the site, including a shooting range, total destruction and in-filling. In 1995 whilst looking for a site to build a climbing centre the three founder directors of the project formed the Ratho Quarry Company Ltd and acquired the site in order to secure it as an asset for climbers. All three were convinced that it would provide an exciting platform for the proposed new centre and following an approach to the original owners, the site was bought in May 1996. During the creation of the indoor climbing arena 250,000 tonnes of blast material was removed from the oldest portion of the quarry that had been back-filled during the later stages of the mineral extraction. The majority of this stone is now being reused for the Centre's development and is being utilised within the building and surrounding grounds. Upon its completion in January 2002 The Adventure Centre and associated facilities will comply with the criteria for Olympic Accreditation, and will form an integral part of the Scottish Institute of Sports Elite sports training systems. For more info log on to www.nrcc.co.uk