Mend Our Mountains milestones

We would like to thank every member and every club that has donated so far, and, in so doing, supported the creation of sustainable walking routes and reduced environmental damage on two very popular Munros. There is loads of fundraising activity still to come and if you want to find out more about the campaign, check out www.mountaineering.scot/mend-our-mountains

£1 per metre

Particular thanks must go to The Munro Society which has donated £1. However that’s £1 per metre for the qualifying height of a Munro. When the Society, which is open to anyone who has climbed all the Munros, chose to support the campaign, they decided to give £3 for each of their 300 members – and then topped it up to make £914.40, that being pound-for-metre the metric height of a Munro.

David Batty, President of The Munro Society, said their members were delighted to support the appeal, which aims to raise £100,000 in Scotland for path restoration projects on Beinn a’ Ghlo in the Cairngorms National Park and Ben Vane in the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.

He said: “All our members will have climbed both Beinn a’ Ghlo and Ben Vane at least once – many of them numerous times – and know well what marvellous mountains they are and how vulnerable to erosion their paths are. This is such a vital project and one we feel is so important to support.”

Grampian Club

Just before we went to press we also learned that the Grampian Club, based in Dundee, has decided to make a donation of £500 – as well as numerous individual donations made by members. A great donation and hopefully a good example to other clubs.

How to get involved

Text to donate

Huge thanks to everyone who has donated to the Mend our Mountains campaign online or via cheque. There is now an even easier way to contribute to this worthwhile appeal – you can text a donation to the Scottish projects, where it will be divided equally between the Ben Vane and Beinn A’ Ghlo projects. Write MOMS01 followed by the amount (in format £xxx) and send the message to 70070.

Choose Amazon Smile

Do you buy things through Amazon? If so, you can choose to raise money for the Mend our Mountains appeal – with no extra cost to you – every time you make a purchase. Switch to Amazon Smile and Amazon will donate 0.5% of what you spend to your chosen charity. It’s very easy to do: click on https://smile.amazon.co.uk and select “BMC Access & Conservation Trust”.

A walk with a spade

Some of you who stay in bothies might be familiar with the term ‘going for a walk with a spade’, but don’t let that put you off! This is a more traditional use for a spade. If you would like to offer up a little muscle power to support mountain path repairs, rather than (or as well as) a donation, you can now get involved in on-the-go path improvements while walking some of your favourite hill routes.

The Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland’s ‘Mountains and the People’ project is organising mountain maintenance volunteering days this summer and autumn. These are basically nice walks with a difference. Join their team to climb a hill, armed with a spade and complete essential path work en route – like clearing drainage features to ensure they don’t block up. This work is vitally important to ensure the newly built paths are kept in a good condition.

There are 12 dates to choose from between mid-August and the end of October – from the Arrochar Alps to the Glen Clova hills. Check out the full list at themountainsandthepeople.org.uk/events and book at volunteering@themountainsandthepeople.org.uk

Crowd funding – coming soon

This is all about exchanging a wide variety of prizes for donations – there will be some excellent outdoor gear, unique experiences, or beautifully designed gifts. This stage of the fundraising campaign starts in September, so watch this space for more details.