Scotland's mountains - majestic and terrible

Scotland's mountains are one of our greatest assets. They are majestic to look at from below and even more majestic from above. In spite of Alex Salmond's best efforts, there are still mountain tops where the only man-made thing in view is the summit cairn and the only sounds are of the birds. They provide skiing in the winter and an escape from our towns and cities all year round, but they are not safe. No doubt today's tragic accident will prompt more calls for action to be taken to stop people dying in the hills, including compulsory insurance, charges for rescue and, even, closing the mountains in bad weather! The real answer is to teach people, from a young age, how to recognise and assess risk and how to mitigate it. Accidents will still happen but the avoidable ones will be avoided. Unfortunately, a combination of risk-averse parents and litigation-wary schools means that many children do not learn the right skills for life in our inherently unsafe world. The result is, young people are dying not just in the mountains but on our roads, on our railways, in the countryside and in our streets. Our cotton-wool society is failing them - that is the real tragedy.

PS. Calton wishes to make it clear that this article is in no way a criticism of those who so recently have lost their lives in the Scottish mountains, or their families. He recognises that some accidents just can't be predicted or, sadly, avoided, and his thoughts and prayers are very much with the grieving friends and families at this time.