Our Month: Mountaineering Scotland in November 2025

Our CEO Stuart Younie started the month attending the Mountain Safety Group Meeting (MSG) held in person at Ratho on the 3^rd Nov. Alongside the normal business of the MSG Director for Mountain Safety Brendan Hughes led an afternoon workshop on the draft strategy the group has been working on with a focus on how the high-level safety  "problems" which have been identified can be addressed. This work will inform the delivery of the strategy and ongoing discussion with the Scottish Government on how they may be able to support the promotion of mountain safety. 

Stuart represented Mountaineering Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Governing Bodies of Sport CEO Forum at a meeting with the Minister for Sport on 5^th Nov alongside the CEOs from judo and gymnastics. The meeting was part of a campaign to secure increased investment in sport and physical activity given the SNP manifesto commitment to double their investment from £50 to £100m during this term of office. 

The Board of Mountaineering Scotland met on the 6^th of November and key items on the agenda included the quarterly financial update, an update from Helen Gestwicki on the work of the Membership and Communications team including the new membership strategy and a discussion on the need to invest in a new website. The board also approved new child and adult wellbeing policies and an update to our financial procedures. 

In addition to preparing for the AGM on the 29^th of Nov this month Stuart was also asked to participate in a research project commissioned by the Scottish Government focusing on the impact of climate change on grassroots sport in Scotland.  A key focus for the discussion was the weather and how this has changed our approach to safety messaging as well as the very real impact on participation particularly winter activities. 

Early in the month Catriona attended the annual conference of the Scottish Outdoor Access Network. Access professionals from across Scotland gathered to reflect on 20 years of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. We heard from a variety of insightful speakers, including a presentation from Sweden on “Allemansträtten”, their right of public access to the outdoors. It was a great opportunity to share knowledge, discuss issues and come up with ideas and solutions.

Towards the end of the month, Catriona represented hillwalkers and climbers heading to Buachaille Etive Mòr at the first meeting of the Altnafeadh Parking Working Group in Glencoe. As many members will be aware, the parking available adjacent to the A82 at Altnafeadh, close to Lagangarbh is inadequate and increasingly dangerous. The meeting was attended by landowners Black Corries Estate and National Trust for Scotland (NTS) as well as Transport Scotland, Highland Council, Glencoe Mountain Rescue, SMC and Glencoe and Glen Etive Community and observed by a case officer from the office of Kate Forbes MSP. All parties are committed to finding a long term, sustainable solution and we look forward to working together in the coming months.

Catriona was also invited to the NTS Seabird Gathering in Dunbar to talk to NTS staff who work at properties across Scotland which are home to breeding seabirds. There was a good discussion about managing access for climbers on sea cliffs and sea stacks. NTS staff gained a better understand of climbing and outdoor access rights and shared their knowledge of sea birds and how climbers may cause disturbance. This will be invaluable as we refresh and update our nesting bird guidance for 2026.

November started with our very popular weather workshops for members, delivered by Garry and Dan from the Mountain Weather Information Service (MWIS). Both days were fully booked, and we are looking at more dates in 2026 for these popular courses.

Another sell-out were the new ‘Winter Unlocked’ events in Glasgow and Edinburgh where the Mountaineering Scotland mountain safety team (Ross, Kirsty and Max) were joined by guests Alison Thacker, Ross Creber, Dan Greaves and Kevin Woods for an evening of winter-related stories, discussion and high jinx! We were certainly inspired to get out and enjoy all that Scotland’s mountains have to offer this winter, and we hope the audience were too!

Final preparations for the launch of the annual ThinkWINTER campaign continued this month in partnership with our colleagues at Scottish Mountain Rescue, Glenmore Lodge, Mountain Training, Police Scotland and Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland. The campaign goes live on Monday 1 December, and will continue throughout the winter months. This year, we’re asking followers to sign up for regular emails from the ThinkWINTER team, covering everything from the basics of heading to the hills in winter for the first time, to more advanced guidance and information for more experienced people. Head to the ThinkWINTER landing page to sign up and find links to useful resources.

The latest issue of Scottish Mountaineer magazine, which came out mid-November has it’s own ThinkWINTER section along with a great mix of other features and articles including an update on the GB Skimo Team, a celebration of10 years of ClimbScotland, a history of the national huts,  Club Spot, Book Reviews, Gear News and more...

The First Weekend in November was a packed one! The Final regional round of the Youth Climbing Series took place at Transition Extreme in Aberdeen. The round was attended by 103 youth climbers from across Scotland, along with their families, friends and coaches who had come to support and cheer them on. The ClimbScotland team were there in force too, with Heather, Jack, Euan and Jamie in attendance. Massive well done to all the competitors taking part this year in the YCS and huge thanks goes out to the route setters, host walls, volunteers and our amazing Competition Coordinators who volunteer their time to ensure the competitions on the day run smoothly. Heather took them out for a nice meal in Aberdeen after the competition as a thank you, from us and the community. ?? Next up is the Youth Climbing Series Grand Final in Manchester on the 29-30 Nov at the Big Depot. We hope everyone will join us in wishing the Scottish Team the best of luck and hope they have an amazing time.

On the same weekend as the YCS, Robert was up at Glenmore Lodge supporting the 25^th Annual SMART weekend with our Mountain Safety Team and a load of highly skilled and experienced volunteers who’d come forward to share their knowledge and experience with the 65 student mountaineering club members in attendance.

The following weekend, Jack was with our endorsed coaches at the Climbing Hangar in Edinburgh for the End of Year session with the Development and National Squad. Megan also swung by and caught some of the awesome action for our socials. Great to see the squad climbing together and sending some of the toughest blocs the Hangar had to offer.

Robert delivered the first of our new ‘Advance Belaying Workshops’ at Above Adventure in Kilmarnock. The workshop was attended by 4 members, including a staff member from Glasgow Climbing Centre. Good feedback from those in attendance and Robert is excited to deliver the next workshop.