Tuesday 17th December 2024, 2:06pm
As 2024 comes to a close, we reflect on a year filled with adventure, challenges, and incredible achievements in Scotland’s mountains. Here’s a look back at what we accomplished on behalf of our members this year.
As for many people in January, out year began with lots of planning and admin! Our CEO Stuart Younie represented Mountaineering Scotland at the International Outdoor Safety Forum, where other similar originations from across the world discussed and shared the work they are involved in to promote safety in the outdoors.
The revised Snowsports Touring Code for tourers and walkers passing through managed ski areas was published this month. We continued with our ThinkWINTER safety campaign and the popular 12 Days of Snowledge series, which inspired and educated thousands of mountain enthusiasts. Our Mountain Safety Team were busy delivering winter skills courses, helping mountaineers navigate snow-covered terrain safely.
January also marked the retirement of Kevin Howett, who dedicated 35 years to Mountaineering Scotland. His impact on our community is immeasurable, and we celebrated his contributions with a heartfelt video tribute.
The team attended the Fort William Mountain Festival which celebrated its 20th anniversary, and featured our #ThinkWINTER live session featuring Heather Morning (Glenmore Lodge), Kirsty Pallas (Mountaineering Scotland), Cat Cameron (Girls on Hills) and ex-Olympic snowboarder Lesley McKenna, chatted about their own winter experiences and challenges, and highlighted some of the key ThinkWINTER messages, along with a few questions for the audience to test their knowledge.
March brought a chilly ascent of West Lomond by women staff and board members to honour International Women’s Day, a fun day out where we discussed own mountaineering experiences and achievements and discuss how we can encourage and support more women and girls to discover hill walking, climbing and snowsports touring.
The month also saw the wrap-up of the first phase of the An Teallach Path Project, we took writer Chris Townsend and photographer James Roddie along to showcase the hard work of contractors and volunteers dedicated to protecting Scotland’s trails as part of our It’s Up To Us campaign.
The rest of the team were also busy with Stuart catching up with other home nations, including Helen Lawless, the interim CEO with Mountaineering Ireland, to discuss membershipand other common areas of work. Our Mountain Safety Team on the Snowsport Touring Weekend crafted by instructors Emma Holgate and Charlie Burrow for a weekend of great skiing and learning about managing club trips. And lastly, the ClimbScotland team held their Fun Comp at Edinburgh International Climbing Arena and launched their new website.
April brings nesting season so we worked to ensure awareness of our Nesting Bird Alert webpage to protect birds that may be nesting on known climbing routes. In more conservational efforts, we shared reminders of our advice on what do when nature calls in the outdoors.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Youth Boulder Championships broke records with over 230 competitors at Eden Rock Edinburgh. The event highlighted the strength of Scotland’s climbing community and the importance of nurturing young talent, thanks to everyone involved.
Stuart joined Access & Conservation Officer, Davie Black, at an interview with Building Digital UK on the Shared Rural Network project which are increasingly using public safety to justify their proposals for masts in wild, remote and unpopulated areas. Mountaineering Scotland's position is that, unless there is a sound business case improving connectivity for local people and businesses, we should be focused on making people safer for the mountains...not the mountains safer for the people.
We kicked off our Intro to Scrambling courses which offered members the chance to enhance their confidence in steep terrain, whether you meant to find yourself there or not! The RealRock programme encouraged young climbers to transition from indoor walls to outdoor crags, an essential step in their climbing journeys. We also surveyed over 1,300 mountaineers to develop guidance on microspikes and crampons for winter safety (keep an eye for our discussions on this over this winter).
We were delighted to welcome Lucy Ross to the team in May. Lucy has taken on the new role of Head Route Setter for ClimbScotland.
June didn’t start as we were expecting, with a full ‘return to winter’ of prolonged snowfall and sub-zero temps on the tops! Ross Cadie, Mountain Safety Adviser, presented at the Scottish Student Sports Conference held at University of Stirling about the specific support Mountaineering Scotland give to student club members. He also joined Connect Outdoors and Boots and Beards out on the Luss Hills talking about the importance of good planning for staying safe and what to do if you need to call mountain rescue.
Meanwhile, Robert and Calum of the ClimbScotland team were out supporting an Urban Uprising group, giving them their first taste of outdoor climbing following their 9-week block of climbing at Glasgow Climbing Centre. The Scottish Youth Climbing Championships saw incredible performances (enough to challenge our routesetters!), and was an excellent competition thanks to the team effort from volunteers and staff at ClimbScotland and Edinburgh Leisure.
CEO Stuart joined a strategic partner meeting to bring together key organisations in the industry including representatives from Mountain Training UK and Ireland, the Association of British Climbing Walls, the National Indoor Climbing Award Scheme, and Mountaineering Ireland to identify areas of overlap across the organisations and explore how we can work together more effectively for the benefit of the sector.
In partnership with Nevis Range and Forestry and Land Scotland, we identified a safer walking route between Aonach Mor and the Nevis Range car park that doesn’t involve lengthy detours for tired legs after challenges passing through Leanachan Forest where the extreme downhill mountain bike routes are have been for years.
In July, we published the annual report for our financial year 2023-24, some members experienced access issues at Dumbarton Rock which we investigated in an attempt for find a solution with West Dunbartonshire Council, and we launched our new TikTok channel.
We also launched our first digital-only membership for young people aged 18-25. We know that this age group has been hit particularly hard by the cost-of-living crisis and hope this low cost, digital membership will enable young adults to take their first step as members of Mountaineering Scotland and allow them to develop the essential skills and knowledge that will last them a life time in the hills!
The Mountain Safety Team were out again supporting Mhor Outdoors with their ‘Connect Outdoors’ programme to highlight inclusivity in mountaineering and thehe ClimbScotland Fun Boulder Competition saw record participation with 275 competitors!
With the Shared Rural Network programme continuing it’s roll out, we are attempting to raise awareness about the balance between connectivity and preserving wild landscapes, and published a mast proposals listing so that everyone can see what is happening. We also wrote to the new Minister responsible for the programme asking him to pause to review its purpose and effectiveness.
Whilst everyone was out enjoying the sunshine (we did get some in August right?), we started the planning for our ThinkWINTER campaign with colleagues from Scottish Mountain Rescue, Glenmore Lodge, Police Scotland and Mountain Training.
The ClimbScotland team kicked off the month with the Youth Climbing Series at The Ledge in Inverness with 120 competitors, Olympian-approved routesetting, and lots of familiar volunteer faces. The Mountain Safety team welcomed our newest member Max Hunter as Mountain Safety Advisor, who will be working alongside Ross on many of the Mountain Safety Group projects.
The rest of the team took to the hills for our first TakItHame live event, where Mountaineering Scotland members, staff and board members joined with colleagues from Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, National Trust for Scotland, and Lomond Mountain Rescue Team to do a clean-up on Ben Lomond. We finished the day with 10 bags of litter and distributed free reusable TakItHame bags to walkers to raise awareness of the campaign. A great day and one we hope will be an annual event, join us in 2025!
We also celebrated progress with Historic Environment Scotland on improving access of the Radical Road in Holyrood Park in Edinburgh, with areas including Hutton’s Section and Hutton’s Rock hopefully being opened in spring 2025.
In October, we welcomed Heather McAslan as ClimbScotland’s Competition Officer. Our first Mountain Weather Information Service workshop was a hit - keep an eye on our website for more to come in 2025. And applications opened for the 2025 International Winter Climbing Meet in March where seasoned Scottish winter climbers will come together with in March for a fantastic experience in the mountains.
The team also worked closely with Braulen Estate and East Monar Estate to reinstate the concession which allows vehicle access to Glen Strathfarrar for our members over the winter period when the private glen road is closed to public vehicles. Mountaineering Scotland members should submit requests to access the glen by vehicle at least 2 working days before their intended visit.
November was packed with events, including the SMART weekend at Glenmore Lodge, where 65 students from across Scotland learned vital mountain safety skills. The Grand Final of the Youth Climbing Series in Leeds saw 23 Scottish climbers compete on a great weekend of strong climbing, community, and fun!
Our Annual General Meeting also took place online where we appointed 3 new directors. We once again want to thank our members for their support on the proposal to increase the membership fees which we know is always a difficult ask.
Our winter mountain skills programme began on the 5th December in the Cairngorms with some decent winter conditions for learning how to move around on snow and to test their winter navigation skills. Courses run through to March with some spaces still available.
The annual ThinkWINTER safety campaign, delivered jointly with our Mountain Safety Group partners, began on 9 December, with the aim of inspiring and educating those heading to the hills this winter. You can follow all the action on our socials channels with the hashtag #ThinkWINTER and tag us in your own winter adventures.
Finally, we welcomed Megan Murray to the team as Communications Officer. Megan brings experience from a marketing and events background, and we are looking forward to letting her loose on our socials in 2025!
From all of us at Mountaineering Scotland, thank you for your continuing support this year, and we wish you all the best for the year to come…
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Mountaineering Scotland is a registered trademark of the Mountaineering Council of Scotland Limited
