Monday 2nd March 2026, 11:28am
At the end of each month, we take a look back at the work the team has been carrying out on behalf of our members. Read on to hear the latest updates from our CEO and our Access & Conservation, Mountain Safety, ClimbScotland and Member Services & Communications teams...
Catriona represented Mountaineering Scotland at the National Access Forum (NAF) on 18th February. It was a useful meeting which covered a variety of important topics. We were also joined by a representative of Historic Environment Scotland who spoke about their efforts to balance their responsibility to look after Scheduled Ancient Monuments in their care, like Holyrood Park in Edinburgh and the Calanais Stones on Lewis, against access rights, climate change and increasing visitor pressure.
Members may have seen our partners in the Scottish Outdoor Recreation Alliance (SORA) out promoting our joint manifesto at Scottish Liberal Democrats and Scottish Labour conferences this month, following on from our attendance at the SNP and Scottish Greens events last year. Together we are calling for the establishment of a Scottish Paths Fund to improve the quality and accessibility of recreational paths across Scotland. Find out more and read the full Manifesto here.
February continued to provide the mountains with a full range of winter conditions which has been very welcome in comparison to the last few winter. This of course means that it has reminded us of all those winter challenges that are part of adventures at this time of year – strong winds, snow, and therefore avalanche hazards.
All three of the Mountain Safety Advisors have been out and about running our popular winter safety programme, from 1-day winter skills through to the sell-out inaugural ‘Avalanche Companion Rescue’ course for those who wanted to understand or update their skills around avalanche rescue with transceiver, shovel and probe.
The end of February also saw the most technical of the student specific courses with 14 students staying at Mill Cottage for a weekend of winter climbing. Saturday had glorious weather, but that lasted only one day as Sunday brought strong winds, and rain to the summits (but that’s also good learning for real decision making!). Although the students pay towards the course, it is heavily subsidised by Braemar Mountain Rescue Team who generously support this event, as well as support from the Mill Cottage Trust – Thank you.
With a good helping of snow on the mountains, we are hopeful that, although we are theoretically in Spring, there is plenty of winter activity on the mountains for lots of adventures and our last winter courses still to come – snowsports touring and 2-day winter skills. If winter isn’t your thing, then you’ll be glad for the warmer longer days, but please remember that the high tops will still be winter.
There have been several highlights for the Member Services & Communications Team in February, but the biggest was definitely the Fort William Mountain Festival. As usual, we had a busy stand in the exhibition hall, and got to enjoy a few events ourselves.
This year Mountaineering Scotland hosted a full evening session – Your Hills – which celebrated the diversity of people and experiences that are to be had in the Scottish Hills. Mountaineering Scotland’s President and avid hill bagger, Anne Butler, started the evening with a humerous and heart warming A-Z of her experiences gained through more than 30 years of hill walking, during which she has achieved the Full House of SMC lists twice, and is now well on her way to a third. Anne then went on to interview Sean Green, otherwise known as Grizzly Munro Diaries, who in 2025 completed a round of Munros which saw him carry his bike to the top of every Munro and then cycle down. He spoke of his love and respect for the mountains, the highs and lows of his 8 year Munro journey, and how he wished it would never end. Lastly, we were joined by Joshua Adeyemi, founder of the Black Scottish Adventurers and content creator, who spoke about his own discovery of Scotland’s mountains when he moved to Edinburgh from Nigeria, and the joy he gets from being outdoors and supporting the BSA group to experience it too. Josh was joined by BSA member Ade Fakoya, who shared her own experiences and highlighted the importance of groups like the BSA which provide support and safe spaces for those coming from communities that are under represented in the outdoors.
Despite the weather, our staff and board members joined the BSA on the Sunday morning for a walk and talk, which was a great opportunity to find out more about their group and the people that make up their community of nearly 7,000 members.
The other highlight this month was the start of a series of online talks and webinars, beginning with a really engaging journey through time, looking at the geology of Scotland’s hills and mountains, and to mark World Gaelic Week, a one hour webinar with Eilidh Sykes on the meanings and stories behind the names of some of the most iconic and well know mountains of Scotland. There are several more talks to come, open to members and non-members, so have a look at the courses and events section of the Mountaineering Scotland website to find out more.
There’s been a real buzz around the ClimbScotland team throughout February, with a packed calendar of programme delivery, squad activity, and forward planning for major events later in the year.
Heather has been busy coordinating the Fun Comp qualifiers, which have been running across the country and will wrap up on 7 March. We’re looking forward to welcoming the finalists to EICA: Ratho on 28 March for what promises to be a fantastic celebration of young talent. Sticking with competitions, we also confirmed the dates for the 2026 Scottish Boulder Championships, with bookings set to open in the coming weeks.
Jack kick-started the squad year with two National Squad sessions. The first took place at Eden Rock in Edinburgh, setting the tone for the year ahead. The second session, hosted at Bloc 10 in Dundee, focused on “Boulders – Skill Development & Problem Solving,” giving athletes the chance to refine their movement and tactical approach. Jack also led the National Squad selection panels this month — huge congratulations to everyone selected. A big thank you as well to Head Setter Euan for creating outstanding problems for the Bloc 10 session.
Robert has been delivering a range of programme activities, including Advanced Belaying Workshops and FUNdamentals coaching workshops, supporting the ongoing development of climbers and coaches across Scotland. Jamie has been equally busy, responding to facility development enquiries and hosting the Climbing Advisory Group meeting in Stirling, helping to guide and support the wider growth of the sport.
All in all, February has been a productive and positive month, with plenty of momentum building as we head into spring.© 05/0 Mountaineering Scotland
ClimbScotland is a registered trademark of the Mountaineering Council of Scotland Limited
Mountaineering Scotland is a registered trademark of the Mountaineering Council of Scotland Limited
