Our Month: Mountaineering Scotland - November 2024

November is always a busy month for our CEO Stuart Younie preparing for the Mountaineering Scotland Annual General meeting. More on that below, however as an organisation with a key focus on promoting safety it was definitely the right call to cancel the in-person event and move it online and we are grateful for everyone who managed to join the meeting. As well as a presentation on the annual report all the formal business was passed with three Directors stepping down and their successors duly appointed by the membership. We are also grateful for our members support on the proposal to increase the membership fees which we know is always a difficult ask.

Stuart also attended the clubs call on the 4^th November and along with Alistair Todd, Director for Snowsports Touring, he provided an overview of the financial challenges facing the organisation,  a detailed breakdown on the impact that staffing changes have had over recent years and how they have been managed. Alistair provided a detailed assessment of the review of our insurance arrangements in the face of increasing costs and both Alistair and Stuart spent time answering the many questions that clubs had submitted.

Stuart also attended the Mountain Safety Group Meeting on the 11^th of November where discussions are taking place around the development of a national strategy for mountain safety. He also hosted the first of our new Winter Weather Workshops on the 16^th November, which have been developed in association with the Mountain Weather Information Service. The winter weather workshop is a follow on from the general weather workshops held earlier in the year, but with a focus on what conditions are needed to deliver a proper Scottish winter as well as some insight into what the short-term forecast and longer-term outlook might be a result of climate change. We are hoping that we can deliver another of these winter specific seminars in the new year so watch this space.

The main focus of the team for November was preparations for our AGM on the 23 November. This was planned to be a hybrid event, with the in-person meeting at Birnam Arts near Dunkeld, but Storm Bert had other ideas, and with just over 24 hours to go, and multiple weather warnings in place, the decision was made to hold it fully online for the safety of members and staff. Many thanks to Birnam Arts for being so accommodating at short notice and to the 79 members that attended on Zoom. You can read the full AGM report here.

Our quarterly clubs call took place on 4 November in advance of the AGM, giving clubs an opportunity to find out more about planned changes to membership subscriptions and an update following a review of our insurance offering. Looking forward to 2025, the aim is to continue with the regular calls, and vary the days and times they are held to take into account the needs of club committee members.

The start of the month also heralded the new season of winter vehicle access to Glen Strathfarrar for Mountaineering Scotland members. The arrangements have been negotiated with the estate managers exclusively for our members only and with the onset of some beautiful autumn weather and cloud inversions galore, the first few weeks were very busy with members submitting requests through our online form. Find out more about this member benefit on our website.

The winter issue of Scottish Mountaineer magazine was sent out to members both digitally and in print format in mid-November packed full of fantastic features and articles from members and partner organisations. If you receive a print issue and prefer to switch to digital, you can update your preferences in the members portal or by emailing us before the next issue, which is due out in May/June 2025.

And finally, it’s another Beanie Bonanza on our online shop. With several new colours and styles now in stock and selling fast, grab a cosy beanie for yourself or a friend while stocks last. Check out all the latest festive gift ideas on the Mountaineering Scotland online shop.