Further Reading
Despite being a sport that seems extremely simple, there’s quite a lot to learn about hillwalking. We’ve included a number of helpful links and relevant documents below.
General Hillwalking Info
“Hillwalking”, by Steve Long – the official handbook of the Mountain Leader and Walking Group Leader schemes (the club has a copy that can be borrowed)
“Mountaincraft and Leadership”, by Eric Langmuir – A handbook for mountaineers and hillwalking leaders in the British Isles
“The Mountain Skills Training Handbook”, by Hill and Johnston
“Hostile habitats – A guide to Scotland fauna, flora and landscape for hill walkers.” The club has a copy you can borrow, and we also bring it on club trips.
Navigation
MCofS Navigator’s Dozen – a guide to the 12 most important navigational skills, on the Mountaineering Council of Scotland’s website
“Navigation in the mountains”, by Carlo Forte
“Mountain navigation”, by Peter Cliff
Winter Skills
See the Mountaineering Council of Scotland website for basic information on walking in winter.
“Winter skills: essential walking & climbing techniques” by Andy Cunningham and Allen Fyffe is recommended reading for anyone who hasn’t been out in the hills in winter before, and includes information about the use of crampons and ice axes. The club has a copy that can be borrowed.
Weather
Mountain Weather Information Service – Excellent, detailed regional mountain forecasts for the next three days, published every evening and revised in the morning.
MetOffice – Provides detailed forecasting for the whole of the UK.
yr.no – Also provides detailed weather for the whole of the UK, including detailed weather for specific mountains.
sportscotland Avalanche Information Service – This site provides daily avalanche forecasts for the main skiing regions in Scotland. This is also critically important for hill walkers. They also have a blog which gives first-hand reports from people who’ve been on the hill to check the snowpack condition.
“Weather for Hillwalkers and Climbers” by Malcolm Thomas
Walking routes
WalkHighlands – useful for planning walks and keeping track of where you’ve been, and has a very active community.
Munro and Corbett books – The club owns a couple of each which we bring on trips to aid route planning.
Safety
Mountain Training – This is the co-ordinating body for all the mountain training schemes in the UK, including the Mountain Leader Training.
Access
Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 – The law that gives access rights over most land in Scotland.
Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 – The counterpart for England and Wales.