Winter mountaineering in Scotland
The introduction today of a mobile phone text service of avalanche forecasts was welcomed by the Mountaineering Council of Scotland.
The organisation also revealed it is working with a major independent meteorological service to provide a similar SMS service for mountain weather forecasts. The avalanche text scheme went live today.
Until now, the sportscotland Avalanche Information Service could be accessed only via the Internet. The forecasts and reports are based on snowpack information gathered on mountainsides and weather forecasts.
The service, which runs in the winter months, covers five areas popular with mountaineers, walkers, climbers and skiers: Glencoe, Lochaber, north Cairngorms, south Cairngorms and Creag Meagaidh.
The new mobile phone service costs £1 per message and will send updated forecasts at 6pm each day to subscribers. This should be invaluable to those planning winter excursions in the Highlands but who do not have access to the Internet. However, large parts of the Scottish uplands do not have good mobile phone coverage, so mountaineers may still have difficulty accessing the reports in isolated locations.
Mark Diggins, SAIS co-ordinator, who is behind the scheme, said: “It has been demonstrated during recent research that once a plan has been made it is difficult to be dissuaded from that objective, and often, negative observations are brushed aside in the pursuit of a predetermined goal.
“Therefore the sooner the weather and avalanche reports are incorporated into plans the more likely that good route choice is made when going into the Scottish winter mountains and hills.”
Scottish sports minister Shona Robinson welcomed the new service, saying: “Our hills and mountains are a great natural asset and are enjoyed by tens of thousands of Scots and visitors to the country every year.
“However the weather and conditions are constantly changing. This innovative technology will ensure walkers and climbers have the most up to date information available so they are able to stay safe and take an alternative route if they need to.”
David Gibson, chief officer of the MCofS, said: “We are confident that climbers and hill walkers will welcome the new text service.
“Provision of up-to-the-minute information services to mobile and internet-enabled phones means that better informed decisions concerning route choice can be made on the day.”
He revealed that the organisation is hoping to set up a similar service to provide a mountain weather forecast available to mobile phone users. He said: “We are pleased to confirm that MCofS is working with the Mountain Weather Information Service to provide a similar internet-based service to mobile devices which will be provided free of charge except for network call charges. An announcement concerning this service will be made in the near future”
Avalanches remain a real risk in Scotland and are a lethal threat to walkers, climbers and mountaineers. A month ago, three walkers were killed when they were engulfed by tonnes of snow and debris in Coire na Tulaich on Buachaille Etive Mòr in Glencoe.
The SAIS text service can be accessed by sending a keyword to 88020. More details are on the SAIS website.
The Mountain Weather Information Service, founded by meteorologist Geoff Monk, is funded by the Scottish Government via the MCofS and also receives support from sportscotland. It provides weather forecasts tailored to mountain areas of Scotland, Wales and England.
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