Great mountain literature, a not so great hydro electric scheme and the impending second draft of the Land Reform Bill are all tackled by Dave Hewitt this week.
Congratulations to writer Roger Hubank and also to Peter Hodgkiss, his publisher at the Ernest Press. Not only did Hubank's costume drama climbing novel Hazard's Way scoop the £2000 Boardman Tasker award Friday before last but it also picked up the $2000 Phyllis and Don Munday Award at the Banff Mountain Book Festival. That's Banff over in Alberta, by the way, not its namesake on the Buchan coast. The Buckie Prize, now there's a thought. (see cartoon)
The Canadian jury's citation (read it here) described Hazard's Way as "a beautifully crafted novel" and "a powerful and timeless book". Hubank and Hodgkiss flew over to Banff to collect the prize in person, and were much taken with the scenery. The much travelled Hodgkiss reports that he has "never seen so many fine mountains in my life: the Alps and America pale into insignificance".
The Boardman Tasker was a curious affair this year, as the initial six book shortlist included three books about Everest. These were Snow in the Kingdom, by Ed Webster (which Stephen Goodwin, speaking for the judges, described as, "Truly lavish...the strongest thing of its sort since Touching the Void"), Climbing Everest, by Pat Ament ("Is it really a meditation on mountaineering as it grandly says on the cover, or a spoof, intended to drive home to the message that climbing Everest is no big deal?") and Touching My Father's Soul, by Jamling Tenzing Norgay ("As warm a book as you are likely to come across...one of the few expedition books written from inside the Nepali Sherpa perspective").
There was also a ski book, Pyrenean High Route, by John Harding, "Does not hide the petty squabbles and the simmering resentment when another member of the party - usually a Frenchman - is skiing steep terrain with consummate ease while you progress in a series of body-wrenching head plants."
Note that I spoke of "the initial six book shortlist", as this was shortened to five when Jim Curran withdrew The Middle-aged Mountaineer very late in proceedings, "feeling it was unfair (that the judges) had seen a proof copy and not the finished product, complete with photographs."
Goodwin declined to expand much further on this, bar the pointed remark that, "Jim's withdrawal is a pity - as regrettable as it was unnecessary as we judge on literary merit - but as he has asked me to say nothing more about the book, we must respect his wish." This smacks of huffs and feuds and hidden agendas and as such is of considerable interest. We should be told more...
Anyway, tantrums notwithstanding, Hubank's book won on merit, with the Goodwin's citation noting that, "the Great Climbing Novel has taken on the status of a Holy Grail for Boardman Tasker judges. I'm not sure that the search is really over yet but Hazard's Way comes pretty close."
This is the third Boardman Tasker victory for the Ernest Press, following A View from the Ridge by Dave Brown and Ian Mitchell in 1991, and In Monte Viso's Horizon by Will McLewin in 1992. For those wanting to acquire a copy of Hazard's Way, it costs £12, ISBN 0 948153 63 6. Contact Ernest Press at ernpress@globalnet.co.uk
Away from the world of mountain literati, a few bits of other news need to be rounded up.
Firstly thanks to Mike Cawthorne (the Hell of a Journey bloke, to return momentarily to books) for providing the latest lowdown on the proposed Shieldaig hydro scheme - a plan which appeared to have faded away after an initial application in 1996-7 but which is now very much back in the frame. Note that this is the "other" Shieldaig, at the head of Loch Gairloch and not the better known tourist village on the southern shore of Loch Torridon.
The proposal is to "develop" the Badachro river system in the Torridonian hinterland to the north of Beinn Alligin. Three substantial lochs would be involved - Loch Gaineamhach, Loch a'Ghobhainn and Loch a'Bhealaich, all of which lie in one of the most untouched parts of the Highlands. If the plan actually came to pass, this area would suddenly be inundated with weirs, roads, concrete - the whole eco-trashing package.
Like many others, Cawthorne loves the "back of Torridon" area, home to Baosbheinn, Beinn an Eoin and a "fragile shoreline - red sandy beaches, rocky alcoves, reed-filled bays, mimics of seascapes". He fears this might all soon be wrecked if the dam builders have their way, "sold off for just a few megawatts".
The scheme is being proposed by a company called Highland Light and Power (HLP) and their website - www.highlandlightandpower.co.uk - is worth a look by way of researching the subject. HLP has put together a slick PR campaign - eg the main website brazenly claims this as a "Small scale hydro proposal" (even though this has undertones of "A little local difficulty").
Certainly the scheme is awash with dosh. HLP hired Weber Shandwick Worldwide who also do the PR for Dounreay and an estimated £2 million has already been spent trying to convince us that what this prime bit of landscape needs above all else is a batch of pipelines, a dose of concrete and a damn dam or three.
Cawthorne makes a few points in response to HLP's assertion that the scheme would have only minimal impact on the environment. They claim it will be "inconspicuous" and "not noticeable" - an idea supported by the website's portrayal of a near pristine view from the Baosbheinn ridge. Cawthorne, however, contends that weirs over two metres high and between 30-40 metres long would be clearly visible even from the heights.
He similarly takes task with HLP's claim that "variations in water levels will not be noticeable". Cawthorne points out that a new high water mark would be created, with water level fluctuations inevitably creating a "drawdown scar", especially considering how shallow these shallow lochs are. There are few if any existing hydro schemes where shore scar is not a problem.
HLP also claims that the scheme would produce 3.55 megawatts of power, supplying 5,000 homes annually. Cawthorne contacted Scottish Hydro Electric about this and was told that "on average, 3.55 megawatts would be sufficient for 800-1,000 homes annually".
Again, HLP say there will be no detrimental impact on tourism, yet a huge proportion of tourists visit Scotland precisely because of the scenery. And this is without even considering the revenue from walkers and climbers.
In terms of timescale, the official HLP application looks likely to be submitted during the first two months of 2002. The Scottish Executive then has just four weeks to consider holding a public enquiry and this decision will depend on the amount of public comment that comes in during that time window. Most conservation agencies - Scottish Natural Heritage, the RSPB, John Muir Trust etc - seem to be waiting to see what's formally proposed before weighing in with comments and the SNH reaction is particularly important as their opposition would automatically trigger an enquiry, as Shieldaig forms part of a National Scenic Area.
But it's risky leaving all this to the guys in suits, who might be under political pressure behind the scenes, so it's important to keep ahead of the game on this one. Once things start happening they will happen quickly and were the planning application passed then it would be mighty hard to unpass it.
In terms of where to air concerns about all this, three immediate routes come to mind. First, contact Mike Cawthorne himself with comments/concerns - he's at mikecawthorne@hotmail.com The Mountaineering Council of Scotland also wants to hear from people, so mail Mike Dales at mike@mountaineering-scotland.org.uk and of course please feed comments this way as well, via Dave.Hewitt@dial.pipex.com
Speaking of the MCofS and consultation deadlines, thanks to Bert Barnett for news of last Saturday's MCofS symposium held in Perth to discuss the current position on access legislation. This was pretty poorly attended, with only 17 folk showing up or, to put it another way, under half of one per cent of the 3,500 who submitted responses to the original draft bill in the summer.
The aforementioned MCofS access officer Mike Dales gave a presentation, after which the discussion was, according to Barnett, "most informative". The next stages of the bill are not proving to be as widely publicised as was the original consultation deadline but each stage needs to be carefully monitored to prevent all the nonsense creeping through into law - all that stuff about closing hills at night, or in bad weather, or because the landowner's got a boil on his bum.
The next draft of the bill - presumably taking account of the 3,500 chunks of feedback - will be available sometime within the next week or so. More information on this as it emerges both here on Scotland On Line and on the MCofS site at www.mountaineering-scotland.org.uk
Barnett also reports that the Perth discussions included strong arguments for shows of strength by the outdoor recreational community. Suggestions included a mass march to Edinburgh (presumably armed with all manner of kit such as axes and crampons that some politicos would criminalise given half a chance). The various foot and mouth "reclaiming" events reported here from May to July were also reckoned to have been worthwhile as a tactic, while the canoeist who paddled a petition over the Forth picked up a few newslines.
Also in relation to the next draft of the access bill, Lucy Burnett, campaign officer with the Ramblers' Association Scotland, is appealing for help in targeting a particular access blackspot.
The Ramblers have been asked by the BBC to provide an example "where a local community has had problems gaining access in their local area" and - this is the tricky bit - where a local resident is willing to speak openly about the problem. There are plenty of blackspots about and plenty of disaffected locals but more often than not folk are understandably wary of standing up to power wielding lairds and the like who might well then make the whistleblower's life a misery once the reporters have gone away.
Needs doing, though and if anyone is able to offer any help then they should contact Lucy Burnett on 01577 861222, or at LucyB@scotland.ramblers.org.uk
Dave Hewitt
22/11/2001
