Other News

• Fort William Mountain Film Festival
• Understanding Gaelic Names
• Simon Ice Screw Recall
• SMC Journal Offer
• JMT Wild Land Declaration
• News from The Dark Glen
• Cubby Calendar / Climbers Log Offer

Fort William Mountain Film Festival

The Outdoor Capital of the UK
12^th Feb – 20^th Feb 2005

Main Events

Kicking off with the Party Up A Mountain at Nevis Range there will be nights devoted to Mountain Biking, Paddling, Skiing, Mountain Culture and Climbing. On The Big Weekend, 18th to 20th February, The Best Of Banff films will be shown on the Friday night and Sir Chris Boningtonis speaking on the Saturday night.

The Climbing Night will be aonce in a lifetimeevent. 31 years ago Ken Crocket climbed Minus One Gully, 21 years ago Dave (Cubby) Cuthbertson climbed Guerdon Grooves and 1 year ago Dave MacLeod climbed The Cathedral, Scotland's hardest winter climb to date. Ken, Cubby and Dave will all be talking about their climbs each of which pushed back the limits of what was possible at the time.

Mountaineering Workshops at Nevis Range

With Abacus Mountaineering and Nevis Range the Winter Mountaineering Workshops are extended for 2005. There will be Winter Walking Skills (£30), Avalanche Awareness (£30) & Winter Climbing (£65) (prices include use of the Nevis Range Gondola).You need your own equipment (or hired from West Coast Outdoor Leisure, Ellis Brigham or Nevisport in Fort William), and personal accident insurance, which you can get through membership of the MCofS.
Contact Email: mike@abacusmountaineering.com or phone Mike Pescod on 01397 701624.

See http://www.mountainfilmfestival.co.uk/.

Understanding Gaelic Names

BBC Scotland is to screen a series about the Gaelic names of the Highlands – aimed at who’d like to understand the Gaelic they encounter when walking and climbing in the Highlands. Tir is Teanga (Landscape and Language) will be transmitted on Thursday evenings from mid-January, and will be available throughout the UK on Digital TV.In each of the six programmes presenter Colin MacLeod joins keen walkers and learns to tell a Creag from a Meall and a Beinn from a Sgor.

Colin begins his adventures in the language and landscape of Knoydart, and goes on to walk in Glencoe, the Cairngorms, Skye & Applecross, North Uist and Harris.

Colin, a fluent Gaelic speaker from Lewis, says: ‘Every day scores of thousands of non Gaelic speaking Scots use a wide vocabulary of Gaelic words – because they are walking and climbing in the Highlands.Gaelic names are often very descriptive, so it’s extremely useful if you’re out on the hills to know what their names mean.We hope our series will not only encourage people to climb the Buachaille Etive Mor, but also to be able to pronounce it and understand what it means.’

SIMOND ICE SCREW RECALL

A defect may appear on SIMOND ice-screws manufactured since January 2000. It is a micro crack, difficult to see, which can grow larger with time. It appears on the handle of the ice-screw at the junction with the tube.

SIMOND do not want their customers to run any risk, so as a precaution, they have decided to issue a recall. They have asked climbers to return ice screws bearing the batch numbers indicated for checking, even if they seem quite normal.

Please ship back to Mountain Works at the address below. Enclose a note of when and where they were purchased, and your contact details. They will be checked and if faulty, replaced free of charge with new ice-screws. If you have any questions please contact Mountain Works: Tel:01539 739314, Fax:01539 739315, Email: info@mountain-works.co.uk

STYLES CONCERNED

RACING 190 REF 4681
RACING 230 REF 4682
RACING 190+express sling REF 46811
RACING 230+express sling REF 46821
SUPER RACING 190 REF 4691

BATCHES NOS
Ice-screws marked with the following batch numbers :
304-326-327-344-373-374-404-432
The number of the batch is obtained by reading the 3 first figures marked on the handle.

UK + IRELAND RETURN ADDRESS

Simond Ice Screw Recall
Mountain Works Ltd, The Outdoor Business Centre, Parkside Industrial Estate, Parkside Road, Kendal LA9 7EN

2004 SCOTTISH MOUNTAINEERING CLUB JOURNAL

This years Journal is again available to MCofS members at the discounted rate of £11.20 including postage (RRP £12.95)

Articles are diverse and include ‘A Fist Full of Steel’ by Scott Muir; Malcolm Slesser talks about the psychology of climbing; Robin Campbell discusses climbing writing, the ‘Victorian Way’; Ted Maden gives us an insight into the field work required of a guidebook writer; there are many good climbing articles including Julian Lines describing his soloing exploits on the Skye Cuillin, Colin Moody snatching a new route on Sky’s Neist, Nigel Kenworthy doing Labyrinth on Arran and Jamie Andrew aiding the Scoop on Harris; Ian Smart also relives past good memories; and of course 65 pages of new routes.

Available from: Douglas F. Lang, 580 Perth Road, DUNDEE DD2 1PZ

Cheques should be made in favour of ‘Scottish Mountaineering Club’.

JMT Declaration for the Wild

A Wild Land Conference organised by the John Muir Trust culminated in the launch of a “Declaration for the Wild”, which was read by Dr Adam Watson, following the presentation of his John Muir Lifetime Achievement Award. This declaration will be delivered to Government ministers on behalf of the conference by the JMT.

JMT DECLARATION FOR THE WILD

The UK and devolved Governments must actively demonstrate that they recognise the importance of large areas of wild land and of all wild places as an integral part of our national culture and heritage by:

ONE: Encouraging and supporting people of all ages and of all backgrounds to experience and understand the value of wild places, for the benefit of their health and spiritual well being.

TWO: Supporting local communities and land managers by developing a new, broader range of grants and incentive schemes to help restore and enhance wild land.

THREE: Reviewing planning policy and legislation to strengthen the protection and enhancement of wild land.

FOUR: Establishing a forum to agree a national strategy for the appropriate siting of renewable energy developments.

FIVE: Ratifying the Council of Europe’s Landscape Convention and embracing the responsibility to protect our national landscape heritage.

Finally...

We must all involve future generations in the care of wild land and wild places.

We must all take personal responsibility for reducing energy consumption and our impact on the planet.

To take this forward all those who have a stake in the management and care of wild land must work together for the benefit of present and future generations.

News from the Dark Glen
The Ice Factor Winter Events

(Regional Centre of Excellence & the National Scottish Ice Wall)

Since it’s opening the Ice Factor has had 49,000 visitors with the staff instructing over 1,300 indoor ice sessions and 2,000 indoor rock sessions. However, it has not been all indoor work. Outdoor guiding and instruction has become a major part of the centre’s business with courses on classic rock, ice and mountaincraft.

1^st Anniversary Event:
December 27^th is the anniversary of the Ice Factor’s opening. To mark the occasion the Ice Factor are organising a Fun Climbing Olympics day. The event will feature –

• Speed Ice Climbing Comp
• Ice Axe Flinging
• Frozen/Worst underpants test
• Technical Ice Climbing Comp
• Speed Rock Climb

Hogmanay Party on Dec 31^st :
It is hoped the new Ice Factor Bar will open in time for the New Year party. It will provide a ‘sports bar’, a ‘fester zone’ and a ‘lecture area’. As with last year’s awesome party, the ice factor will be hosting a live music event. Tickets will be limited to centre members and climbers in the area. Tickets go on sale in November.

New Shop Opening:
The long established shop, Glencoe Guides & Gear (just North of Glencoe on the A82), was bought in July and has proven a real winner with local climbers. A complete refit will be ready for December. Next seasons stock will be on display including AKU Boots, Black Diamond and Patagonia in time for the winter.

Courses:
The new course programme comes into effect for winter 2005 featuring a new addition -Ice Flow Climbing in Norway throughout January. Look out for our combined paddle and climbing courses in the wild-west of Scotland (www.ice-factor.co.uk/2005CoursesBrochure). MCofS Individual Members get 10% discount on production of their Membership Card.

Chicks Unleashed Seminar:
The Ice Factor will be hosting the 2^nd of these hugely popular seminars during the week of 7^th-13^th February. Organised by Rosie Goolden (MIC) it is aimed at women of all ages and abilities who share a passion for the mountains (see page??).

Bouldering Competition:
This is a fun event for anyone (with prizes awarded from a list of everyone who takes part) will take place on Wednesday 16^th February during the week of the Fort William Mountain Film Festival (http://www.mountainfilmfestival.co.uk/). During the Film Festival we will also be running a series of workshops, to introduce people to indoor climbing, on both the rock and ice walls

Finally:
The staff have been busy too. 10 members of the team have been progressing on the National Governing Body Awards (SPA, ML, SPA Assessor and MIA). On the hill they have been active across the UK: Jamie B recorded a new route on Gearr Aonach (Previous Conviction VS 4b) – and Kenny Grant finished his short test piece on Scimitar at E3/4.

Contact: Tel: 01855 831100; Email: info@ice-factor.co.uk; Website: http://www.ice-factor.co.uk/

Ice Factor Courses MCofS Individual Members OFFER
10% OFF All Courses

• Icefall climbing in Norway throughout January
• 3 different Scottish Winter Courses until the end of April (backed up by the biggest indoor Ice Wall in the World, the courses are based around Ben Nevis and Glen Coe and provide structured introductions to the winter scene)
• Weekend courses
• Private instruction and guiding

Contact:
Website http://www.ice-factor.co.uk/
Tel: 01855 831100
Email: info@ice-factor.co.uk

Please give proof of MCofS Individual Membership Number (on your Membership card), when booking courses.

Cubby Calendar & Climber’s Log

READER OFFER:
A 10% discount is offered to reader’s of Scottish Mountaineer for orders on Calendars and Climber’s Logs, received before 1^st January 2005, when ordering online.

Scottish Climbing Calendar 2005

By popular demand (after a two-year break), The Climbing Calendar is back.

Normal Price: £12.95; Readers Discount £11.65 (price includes postage) Climber’s Log Book

New for 2004 is the climbers/ outdoor enthusiasts Log Book, with 40 colour photos and pages for notes, personal tick lists and contacts and memos.

Price: £14.95; Readers Discount £13.45 (price includes postage)

Both available from good outdoor retailers, bookshops, Cordee and online at: http://www.cubbyimages.co.uk/cubby-shop.asp.