Four members of the Mountain Aid committee attended this Scottish Parliamentary Reception at Holyrood on 28th January. Organised by Scottish Mountain Rescue and Mountaineering Scotland the event was hosted by Liz Smith MSP. After a number of speeches including one by Damon Powell the Chair of Scottish MR about a rather dramatic rescue on Ben Cruachan, we had time for networking. We renewed old contacts and made new ones and hopefully spread the word about what we, Mountain Aid, are able to contribute to mountain safety.
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Following a period of exceptionally mild and wet weather the snow cover in the Cairngorms has all but disappeared. Recent weather has seen no build up of snow cover and what remains are pockets. Weather forecasts do not suggest any extension to cover and conditions will continue to deteriorate the remaining snow.
 
The likelihood of there being any suitable conditions on the ground is highly unlikely even if snows return during the week. Any cover will be thin and insubstantial and as Mountain Aid is a charity we are not keen to pay out fees with the possibility that the main purpose of the course can’t be achieved.

Therefore we have made the decision to postpone next weeks winter skills course 18th / 19th January). 

Our 2019 submission to OSCR (the Scottish Charity Regulator) has now been published on our website. You can download the report at https://www.mountainaid.org.uk/documents.html.

Our fundraising initiative, Corbetts for Courses, took place over the 3 months of May, June and July 2019. Over the course of the event, more than 200 ascents of corbetts were made including 139 distinct hills. 
In total we raised almost £1200 sufficient to fund 30 places on our navigation and winter skills courses.
More than 70 people took part in the event, some solo, some with family/friends and others in clubs.
The more remote hills were approached by kayak and yachts and we even had a night-time ascent of Goatfell on Arran.
​Mountain Aid extends its thanks to everyone who supported the event.

Did you take part in our Corbetts for Courses fundraising event over the Summer months?
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We are pleased to be able to offer a PDF certificate to anyone who climbed a corbett on our behalf as part of the event. To claim your certificate please contact us with:
your name, email address, corbett(s) climbed, date(s) climbed

For anyone who donated £25 or more to the event we are offering a free Mountain Aid buff (multi-functional head / neck wear). To claim your buff contact us and remember to include your postal address!

Well we've now reached the end of our Corbetts for Courses fundraising initiative. During the 3 months of May, June and July we managed to climb 139 corbetts out of a total of 222. Initial indications are that we have raised £1177.07 for Mountain Aid funds. This will pay for 29 places on our free hill skills courses. A big thank you to everyone who took part in the initiative.