Winter gear and skills are still needed on Scotland's mountains
Outdoor fans tempted to head for the Scottish mountains are being warned that, although spring may have sprung in the valleys, the hills are still in the grip of winter.
The Mountaineering Council of Scotland’s safety adviser Heather Morning said winter gear, including ice-axe and crampons, are still necessary for the mountain tops.
She said: “With the days getting longer and warmer, people start to get more enthusiastic about the idea of getting out there in the mountains.
“But they should remember that it’s just March, and conditions in the mountains can be as fierce as they are at any time in the winter.”
People should also have the necessary skills to use their winter gear, she added.
“There have been some big thaws recently, and people will have heard of huge quantities of snow being stripped from some of the ski areas. But at this time of year we can still expect heavy snow falls which can be of considerable depth and can impede progress, not to mention the problems of old, hard snow which can necessitate the wearing of crampons.
MCofS mountain safety adviser Heather Morning
“It’s great to get out on the mountains, and those who restrict their hillwalking to the summer months will be itching to get going, but you need to be patient and go with the weather and conditions in the mountains, and not how it feels in the lowlands.”
The MCofS said hillgoers should check weather forecasts before heading out. It said the Mountain Weather Information Service focuses on mountain areas.
They can also check mountain webcams and the Scottish Avalanche Information Service, which has information about snow cover and conditions. The avalanche risk for Lochaber tomorrow is considerable on north to north-eastern aspects, with moderate risk in other Highland areas.
Grumpy old misanthrope
14 March 2015Another safety tip from the Ministry of the Bleeding Obvious. Watch out for cornices, remember to take a map etc.
I suppose if you are a safety officer, you need to say these things but I suspect the majority of folk who read these bits of well intentioned advice find them as patronising as me or am I just being a grumpy old misanthrope?
Gog the Mild
14 March 2015Option B. ;-)
Matt T
14 March 2015Option A.
How did we ever manage in the days before Information At Your Fingertips...?
Nick W
14 March 2015We used our common sense!
Neil P
16 March 2015What is obvious to some folks isn't to others - as evidenced by multiple MRT callouts over the weekend. I'm happy for the MCofS to risk patronising the more experienced among us if it means relative novices have a greater chance of staying alive and well.
whiskydon
16 March 2015As you will see from below it was a timely message from Heather . Many novices join clubs that are affiliated to the MC of S and these messages are passed on to them.
Amongst numerous caalouts for many teams This weekend saw two incidents that Lomond MRT responded to in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. The first, a call from a walker using microspikes who felt unable to progress on the steep snow and ice of Ben Lomond. The second, sadly, was a multi-agency call out to a fatality, where a walker had slipped and then fallen 300m, from a similar location on the Ptarmigan Ridge, North West of Ben Lomond’s summit.
Navy 177 was re-tasked to assist from another fatality further north that Killin MRT were attending.
TheEdgeOL17
18 March 2015Only when the galacticly stupid heed the warnings should we say they are surplus to requirements, however the weekends events show once again that although you cant legislate against peoples right to be stupid it doesnt mean you should stop trying.
Stay safe out there folks