JOHN Fowler's evocative descriptions of the Scottish mountains were a pleasure to read (May 8-9). But his major pieces on the mini-bag of our eight new Munros will also have left many mountaingoers who know these peaks aghast with a stiff whisky, concluding he was lucky to avoid disaster. Thank goodness he didn't follow his own suggestion to tackle the Buchaille ''head on''.
Writing (or filming) about the hills does play a part in inspiring others to follow. Unfair responsibility or not, we have to bear it in mind. Where big coverage of an attractively ''do-able'' expedition may encourage inexperienced people to copy, it's not enough to recount uncritically a lack of basic route planning, plus unwise navigation, footwear, food intake, and grossly inadequate time calculation (as on Bidean and the Cairngorms). They need clearly to be warned against.
Most new Munros are on ranges which are serious undertakings and demand respect - like Bidean, the Buchaille, Beinn Eighe, Five Sisters, and Cairngorm plateau.
If someone prone to these mistakes insists on risking solo climbs amid foul weather and snow, it's even more vital to resolve in advance from books and experienced friends the best, the safest, or the only feasible routes to and from these summits.
It seems extraordinary Mr Fowler didn't do so - nor even consulted (or watched) people setting out for the same peak! This is just good sense and wise humility, which avoids exhausting diversions and keeps you in one piece. Solo baggers also need to feel secure with map-to-compass bearings.
Surely enough tragedies have already happened to adults and children, and casual approaches upset their families too: a bereaved wife once wrote me an anguished letter when I suggested a dangerous shortcut in print.
After such painstaking progress over two decades in educating people to enjoy our wondrous hills more safely please think before turning the clock back, and ensure that rash adventures carry a health warning.
Sarah Nelson,
19 Comely Bank Road,
Edinburgh.
May 11.
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