There appears to be a new breed of outdoor types stalking the highways and byways of Strathspey and Badenoch. I believe they go under the curious acronym of MAMILs - Middle-Aged Mountaineers In Lycra and they hammer round the streets on lightweight road bikes risking coronary seizures by trying to emulate the likes of Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins.

No-one is no more aware than I am of the systematic breakdown of joints as age takes its hold. Knees that once would have supported the QE2 now creak and groan as you descend a flight of steps, never mind a mountainside, and hips that once whirled hula-hoops are now stiff and sore. But something miraculous happens when you jump on a lightweight road bike. It’s like losing twenty years. Without the pounding that walking or running brings you can pedal your way to fitness without having to swallow a handful of ibobrufin at the end of the workout. And that’s apparently good news for a whole peleton of middle-aged mountaineers who are suffering from years of misusing their body on Scotland’s mountains and crags.

This summer I infiltrated their ranks by joining the local gang, the Cairngorm Cycling Club, and discovered half the membership consists of current, or past, mountaineering instructors. No longer happy, (or capable) of climbing at the hardest levels they try and burn each other off on the roads around Aviemore, or, as I discovered, escape on occasional boys-only trips to the Alps where they cycle the likes of the Col du Tourmalet or Mont Ventoux then whoop into an eye-watering descent before collapsing into the nearest bar.

In order to try and compete with them I thought I would buy an all carbon frame road bike but local bike retailer, keen road cyclist and mountain rescue man Mike Devlin, cautioned me.

“You don’t want to get mixed up with that lot,” he suggested. “They’re all into their toys,” he added. I had already discovered that road cycling is a very easy way to lose money. You think all you need is a new bike but then you’ve got to have the clip-on pedals and the clip-on shoes, the shirts that are covered with French or Italian adverts and the thigh-hugging lycra shorts. Add to that the energy drinks, bars and gels, the ultra lightweight wheels and tyres and those little computers that tell you how far you’ve ridden and how many calories you’ve burned up. And that last point is important, because I’ve also discovered that the MAMILs have found that road biking is a great way to lose weight, fast! And without going on the latest diet fad.

I must admit this was the attraction for me. I told Mike Devlin I wanted a carbon framed bike. “Why”, he asked?

“Because it’s lighter than an aluminium frame,” I answered to which he replied very diplomatically, “With all due respect, Cameron, if you simply lost a few pounds from round your waist you could save yourself five hundred quid!”

He was right, so I bought a bike with carbon forks and an aluminium frame instead, and it’s serving me very well. I enjoy riding it, it’s responsive enough for me and most importantly, I’ve lost a stone in weight. I’m even thinking of riding from Land’s End to John O’ Groats next year, but I might need an all carbon touring bike for that, with special panniers and handlebars and a more comfortable saddle and a thingy at the front that will take my iPhone and let me answer emails as I ride.

I got that last idea from Sir Alan Sugar. He’s apparently a very enthusiastic MAMIL who cycles 60 miles three or four times a week. He answers emails whenever he stops at a set of traffic lights. We don’t have as many sets of traffic lights here in the Strath as he does in London so I’ll probably never get through the same amount of work. That’s maybe why he’s a multi-millionaire and I’m not. But we’re both enjoying our bikes….

I’ve been happy to back a growing campaign to stop the go-ahead of a proposed wind farm at Allt Duine, situated on the very edge of the Cairngorms National Park.

Representing one of 11 wind farms planned for or built in this location alone, we are increasingly concerned about the cumulative effect of turbines on the unspoiled landscape of Scotland’s largest national park and we’re urging supporters to ‘Save the Monadhliath Mountains’ (SMM).

Formal objections to plans by RWE npower renewables Ltd for a large onshore wind farm at Allt Duine, located in the Monadh Liath near the village of Kincraig, have already been lodged by the Cairngorms National Park Authority, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, the John Muir Trust and the Mountaineering Council of Scotland. Several estates close to the proposed site, Pitmain Estate, Glenfeshie Estate and Coignafearn Estate, have also submitted their objections.

While we are not against renewable energy in principal, we feel that the 31 turbines, the majority of which are 125m in height, which is the equivalent to a stack of 28 double-decker buses, are completely inappropriate for an area of outstanding natural beauty and would have a critical and irrevocable impact on the landscape, wildlife and ornithology of the area.

Since the SMM website went live just over a week ago, the campaign is already gathering momentum. Over 450 people have signed the online petition opposing the proposals including my old friend and colleague Chris Townsend, former president of the Mountaineering Council of Scotland and gear editor of TGO (The Great Outdoors) magazine.

This campaign is not against renewables or onshore wind farms per se. What we vehemently object to is that if this proposal goes ahead, it will adversely affect the wilderness and wildlife in the Monadhliath Mountains, threatening the unique character and natural beauty of this area – once that’s gone, it’s gone forever. I would urge supporters to sign our petition and in doing so send a clear message to the planners - that the proposal for Allt Duine is a wind farm too far. The planning application is likely to be considered by the Highland Council’s Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch andStrathspey Planning Application Committee on 8 November. This gives the SMM campaign and the local community less than eight weeks to gather support to reject this proposal outright and demand a public inquiry be launched by the Scottish Government.

With the site boundary of the wind farm just 400m from the National Park, the permanent access and cabling route would begin within the park itself, as too would the site reception and temporary construction compound.

Access tracks leading to the wind farm would also cross a number of important habitats on the Scottish biodiversity list, such as blanket bog, wet heath, dry heath and lichen-rich heaths. A variety of birds of prey have also been tracked in the vicinity of the proposed site.

Once constructed, the wind turbines would be visible from up to 35km away, destroying further views of the striking Monadhliath Mountains. They would also be seen from Cairn Gorm and parts of the Rothiemurchus Estate, both of which are listed as two of the top ten visitor attractions in the Highlands, potentially having a significant impact on tourism in the area, which is vital to the local economy.

Please take time to object to the planning application for Allt Duine wind farm, by visiting www.savemonadhliathmountains.com to sign the campaign petition. A template letter of objection is also available online to send to the relevant Highland Council and local community councillors, MP and MSPs, all of whom are listed on the campaign website. To contact the Highland Council directly to register your objection go to: www.highland.gov.uk or email planning@highland.gov.uk Planning application reference 11/00853/S36. Many thanks.

I’ll be heading for Andrew Murray’s book launch tomorrow at Footworks, 14 – 17 Bruntsfield Place, Edinburgh, EH10 4HN.

Running Beyond Limits is the amazing story of Andrews Scotland2Sahara run that was broadcast by the BBC earlier this year. Starting from John O Groats he ran all the way to the Sahara in Morocco without a single rest day. Towards the end of the run he was averaging in excess of 40 miles a day – incredible.

The story of the run also intertwines accounts of other extreme races that Andrew has competed in, including races in rather out of the way venues like Mongolia, the Himalaya and the Arctic. It’s a great book and one that we’ve been very proud to publish under the Mountain Media imprint.

All kinds of events are planned, starting with a Fun Run which Andrew will be leading, and there will be coffee and cake on tap! All in all it looks like a real fun day. Footworks has put a lot of work and energy in making it happen and I’m very much looking forward to it. Looking forward to meeting some of you folk from Edinburgh too so please, come and say hello!

THERE have been some curious contradictory reports published today about the possibility of the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park Board wanting to extend the anti-camping byelaws on Loch Lomondside to other areas.

A BBC report first of all suggested the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park Board planned to extend wild camping bans to five other lochsides, but that report was later denied by a park spokesman. Well, sort of denied.

For those who don’t know, byelaws designed to deal with the effects of “irresponsible camping” are in force along a nine-mile stretch of Loch Lomond and, according to the BBC report, plans are underway to extend those byelaws to Lochs Voil, Earn, Lubnaig, Venachar and Achray.

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park has formed a “Five Lochs” partnership comprising police, community councils and landowners and in an interview with the BBC Chief Inspector Kevin Findlater, who represents Central Scotland Police and Tayside Police in the Five Lochs group, said the laws had transformed the “disgraceful” state of the lochside.

He told BBC Scotland that it was time to turn attention to other lochs, with anglers being the largest groups in some areas.

“The majority are families trying to enjoy themselves and there are one or two tents with individuals drinking and causing the problems,” he said.”Whereas the people on Loch Lomond are trying to hack down trees with wire saws, some of these fisherman are turning up with chainsaws. They’re more organised.

“There was even one with a lawnmower which was used to prepare the area for his tent. This was in a farmer’s field.

“Other issues include littering, fires and cars blocking roads, he said.

The chief inspector, who has policed the Loch Lomond area for almost 30 years, said this sort of behaviour led landowners to “question” the access rights enshrined in the 2003 Land Reform Act.

He would not speculate on the measures that could be introduced to control the problems, but added: “The Land Reform Act does not give rights to fish or hunt.”

Grant Moir, head of conservation at the national park, told the BBC anglers were not the only group being targeted by the park.

“It’s more looking at what the management issues are around the lochs - some are fishing, some are camping,” he said.

“It’s not as concentrated as east Loch Lomond but we have some hotspots, for example Loch Lubnaig. We’re trying to take some of the things that have worked in east Loch Lomond and see what we can do in other areas. It’s the same model.”

But later in the day the National Park put out a statement denying the BBC report. The statement read: “There are currently no plans to extend camping byelaws which have been piloted since June 2011 along the East side of Loch Lomond to other parts of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.

“Following early signs of success in returning east Loch Lomond to a family friendly destination, the Five Lochs Visitor Management Plan is being developed through close working with communities, landowners and businesses to look at a range of visitor management solutions including  camping provision, infrastructure improvements, litter management, traffic management and toilet provision.

“The Five Lochs Project is about enhancing the visitor experience in the area and trying to make sure that the public and private sector work together to deliver improvements on the ground.

“At present we are asking people about the future management of the Park, including visitor management issues, as part of the Park Plan consultation.”

So, is the policeman speaking out of turn? He didn’t actually say the byelaws were being extended but did hint that, first of all, the “laws had transformed the ‘disgraceful’ state of the (Loch Lomond) lochside.” The National Park spokesman Grant Moir, then went on to say: “We’re trying to take some of the things that have worked in east Loch Lomond and see what we can do in other areas. It’s the same model.”

Later in the day came the denial from the National Park, but was it a denial? Not exactly. There’s to be a consultation, like there was before the Loch Lomond byelaws came into force. But here’s the point. The policeman, quite correctly, said angling and hunting were not covered by the access rights of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act. So why is there a need for byelaws?

Surely there are other laws of Scotland that cover litter, sawing down trees and drunken behaviour? You’d have thought a senior policeman would have known that. Or are Scotland’s landowners lobbying the Park Board to extend the byelaws?

I remember going on Radio Scotland to discuss the Loch Lomond situation with Tory MSP Murdo Fraser. He was very keen to see the camping ban extended to other areas. It looks like he might, in due course, get his way.

AMID the atrocities that we hear about from various parts of the world, like Libya, it’s a sobering thought that here in the highlands, not that long ago, human life was similarly held in pretty low esteem.

Most Scots will be familiar with the story of the Glen Coe massacre, when soldiers under the command of Robert Campbell of Glenlyon killed 38 MacDonalds. Another 40 women and children died in the winter conditions as they tried to escape.

While that particular incident was particularly horrific because it was murder under trust – the soldiers took the MacDonald’s hospitality then rose and murdered them as they slept – it wasn’t unusual for inter-clan fights and battles to have a high mortality rate. A terrible incident on the Isle of Eigg was a good example of that.

Last week I visited the scene – the Massacre Cave on the south shore of the island. It’s a beautiful spot, looking out across the Minch to Muck and Col, with the Ardnamurchan peninsula and the Isle of Mull framing the horizon. The natural beauty of the place gives the story a poignant emphasis.

In the sixteenth century a lengthy feud took place between the MacLeod and MacDonald clans, which eventually led to the massacre of the Eigg’s entire population, bar one family that managed to escape. A party of MacLeods visited the island in 1576 and the men were thought to be over-amorous towards the local girls. The men of Eigg weren’t happy about this and they rounded up the Macleods and cast them adrift in an open boat. Fortunately for the youths they were eventually rescued by some fellow clansmen but they vowed to return and take their revenge.

The following spring they did just that. The Eigg islanders saw a large flotilla of MacLeod birlinns, with several hundred men under the command of Alasdair Crotach and his son William, approaching from Skye and they all made for a secret cave which went by the name of Uamh Fhraing, the cave of Francis. The entrance to the cave was low and covered in undergrowth but the entire population managed to crawl inside into a larger cavern where they hid.

The MacLeods searched the island for two days and in frustration decided to return to Skye. As they sailed from the shores of Eigg one of the MacDonals left the cave, climbed to the top of the hill to see if the enemy had gone but was unfortunately spotted. He quickly made his way back to the cave but he left tell-tale footsteps in the snow.

The MacLeods found the footsteps and traced them to the cave’s low entrance. They then piled thatch and roof timbers at the cave entrance and set fire to it at the same time damping the flames so that the cave was filled with smoke. Three hundred and ninety five people died, either by smoke inhalation or heat and oxygen deprivation. Only one family managed to escape to tell the tale.

Almost 250 years later Sir Walter Scott visited the cave and found human bones there. More recently, in 1979, a boy on holiday visited the cave and found a human skull. It was gifted to Birmingham Museum.

WE’RE just waiting for the first copies of our latest Mountain Media book to arrive from the printers.

Some of you may recall that last winter a young doctor from Edinburgh, Andrew Murray, ran from John O’Groats in northern Scotland to Morocco. We published the DVD of the excellent BBC television programme earlier this year.

Andrew has written account of that run – Scotland2Sahara – and the book, RUNNING BEYOND LIMITS – The Adventures of an Ultra Marathon Runner, is the result.

Andrew began running in 2005 when he realised it might be a good way to see the world. Since then he has won numerous endurance races in all corners of the world, including the jungle, the Arctic, the Sahara and in Outer Mongolia. He has also competed in the Everest Marathin in Nepal.

As an expedition/event doctor Andrew has worked on six continents and the geographic North Pole where he has been able to study the effects of extreme conditions on some of the toughest athletes in the world.

RUNNING BEYOND LIMITS is the story of the remarkable Scotland to Sahara run, interwoven between tales from some of the most extreme running events imaginable. The Foreword has been kindly written by Sir Ranulph Fiennes.

We’re currently taking pre-orders for the book. Check it out in our sister website, Mountain Media.

THE John Muir Trust has expressed concern about the dangers of rockfall and erosion on a popular path to Quinag (try coon-yak) and is requesting hillwalkers to take a different route.

A parking space on the A894, at an elevation of almost 250m, makes a good starting point but don’t be tempted by the footpath that appears on Ordnance Survey maps showing a route up into Coire Chornaidh.  The JMT is very keen that walkers avoid this route because of the erosion on the hill above. There is also a very real threat of rockfall. The Trust advises walkers to follow the route from the footbridge for a distance of 250m or so before turning left to access the east trending Spidean Coinich ridge. This ridge leads to some steeper rocky slopes that in turn lead to the rounded summit of Spidean Coinich.

Unusually for a Corbett, Quinag boasts three summits – Sail Gorm, 776m, Sail Garbh, 809m, and Spidean Coinich, 764m. It’s this southern top that is supposed to resemble the spout of a bucket, giving the hill the name Cuinneag – Gaelic for a narrow-mouthed water stoup.

Mountain Equipment, one of the UK’s best known equipment manufacturers, is 50 years old.

I think I must have come across ME for the first time round about the late sixties when I bought my first duvet jacket. Everyone in my climbing club, the Lomonds in Glasgow, had a duvet although most folk only seemed to wear them in the pub. But you couldn’t be a climber in those days without having a duvet jacket, so I bought one.

It was an early Mountain Equipment model, and for the life of me I can’t remember which model it was. But it was big and bulky and very warm and I used it mainly when I dossed down in my car, an Austin A35, which had a lousy heater.

Years later I met Peter Hutchinson at the Harrogate Trade Show and got to know the ME team, and the gear. Not long after Gore-Tex first arrived on the scene a team from ME and some others, including my old friend Bill O’Connor and myself, took one of their American executives up Bidean nam Bian in Glen Coe. This poor exec type wasn’t in great condition and he struggled all the way. Even worse, only Bill O’Connor, good mountain guide that he is, had an ice axe, and when we realised the escape route down into the Lost Valley was still chock full of snow we found ourselves in an awkward position.

Eventually Bill climbed down into the Lost Valley and went back to the Clachaig to collect the van. The rest of us trundled down the snow-free side of the hill into Glen Etive, where Bill eventually collected us. I seem to recall the guy from Gore swore he’d never climb a Scottish hill again.

Anyway, enough of my reminiscing. Check out the ME website for a great film of the company’s history, a film that also traces the last 50 years of British mountaineering. It’s well worth watching.

I’m deeply saddened to hear of the death of Alan Blackshaw, OBE, a mountaineer, conservationist and friend.

Alan lived in the same village as me and he became a good friend over the years, particularly during the time I served as President of Ramblers Scotland. At that time Alan acted as an adviser to the Ramblers on access issues and his knowledge and political skills were crucial during the debates leading up to the creation of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003.

Like many mountain folk of my generation Alan’s name was well known as the author of the textbook Mountaineering – from Hillwalking to Alpine Climbing,, published by Penguin in 1966. Despite the proper title, everyone knew it as “Blackshaw’s Mountaineering.”

In the fifties Alan made significant climbs in the Alps including the North-East Face of Piz Badile, the North Face of the Triolet, and the South Face of Pointe Gugliermina.  Later in his career he became a passionate ski mountaineer and in 1972 made a continuous ski traverse of the Alps (Kaprun-Gap). Between 1973 and 1978 over a series of visits, he skied Scandinavia end-to-end (Lakselv-Adneram).  He also climbed in the Caucasus, Greenland and Garwhal.

I don’t think I’ve known anyone who has served mountaineering in such a deep and diverse way.

In 1985 Alan joined the Mountaineering Commission and six years later became its President (1991-97).  This was at a time of great change within mountaineering with the introduction of climbing competition and an explosion in the popularity of indoor climbing walls. Recognising the importance of these changes Alan helped introduce competition climbing and ski mountaineering competitions into the UIAA, the world governing body for mountaineering.

Under Alan’s presidency, the Mountaineering Commission proposed the UIAA Summit Charter for the International Year of Mountains (IYM) 2002, during which two key seminars were organised by UIAA colleagues in Trento and Flagstaff.  At the Trento seminar, Blackshaw presented his keynote paper ‘Human Rights and Access Freedoms: is Nature the Missing Link?’  In 1996 Blackshaw had become a member of the United Nations (UN) Inter-Agency Group on mountains, and Vice-Chair of the Inter-Governmental Conference on Sustainable Mountain Development.  It was therefore quite natural that he should become the UIAA Special Representative to the UN International Partnership that was launched during the IYM2002 with the support of UIAA.

Amongst his leadership roles Alan served as President of the BMC, the Alpine Club and the Ski Club of Great Britain. He also served as Chairman of the Committee for Plas y Brenin, and Chairman of the British Ski Federation and the Scottish National Ski Council but it was during a period leading up to the creation of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act, when Alan acted as an adviser to Ramblers Scotland, that he made his keynote contributions to the outdoor world, particularly in Scotland.

Working closely with Dave Morris of Ramblers Scotland, Alan used his political skills and detailed knowledge of the legislative process to help achieve some of the best access arrangements in the world for Scotland. A formidable researcher, with detailed notes of every access campaign that had been launched, Alan fervently believed that England and Wales should also benefit from such open access arrangements. Many outdoors folk would later attribute the success of the Scottish legislation to these two men.

In the world of conservation politics Alan Blackshaw was a giant, and many of his skills had been honed from the long years he worked as a civil servant.

This included a senior position in the UK delegation to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), acting as the Principal Private Secretary to three Ministers of Power, including Tony Benn, and other senior postings connected to coal, North Sea oil, and manufacturing of iron and steel.

Only a few weeks ago I had dinner with Alan, his wife Elspeth and mountain guide Sandy Allan. We had a convivial evening and Alan enthusiastically told us of plans for mountaineering and sailing trips. It’s hard to believe he’s not around any more.