On Friday staff from Cairngorm Mountain entered the Scottish Ski Club Hut on Cairngorm and removed the Winter Highland Webcam. I have checked and there is proof of this from several sources including a telephone message that Janet Janssen, Manager of Cairngorm Mountain, left on the Winter Highland answerphone. Staff from Natural Retreats had not been given permission to enter the building and have no rights to do so. It therefore appears that the removal of the webcam may be a criminal act.
Why would Natural Retreats want to do this? Well, while they have their own webcams, these have been turned off at certain times and………….
…………they have had reason not to want any independent evidence of what they are doing on the mountain. One wonders what it is now they are so keen to hide?
The Cairngorms National Park Authority is committed to working in partnership and bringing various interests together. It delegated responsibility, under the Cairngorm and Glenmore Strategic Plan it approved last year, for the production of a management plan for Cairngorm to Natural Retreats. Fifteen month later there is still no sign of this, despite reminders. Meanwhile Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Natural Retreats have carried on doing their own thing at Cairngorm without any proper involvement of other interests. The removal of the webcam is yet another example of how Natural Retreats are incapable of working with other stakeholders at Cairngorm.
HIE now need to be seen to take immediate action against Natural Retreats if they are not to be seen as complicit in commissioning what appears to be a criminal offence.
I would suggest the main reason Natural Retreats removed the web cam is because Winterhighland gets more ski report traffic that their own website. Clear act of spite given the proposed community land buyout and fall out over removal of Ciste Chairs / White Lady T-Bar etc.
I see the BBC has recently posted a report about Aviemore and Glenmore Community Trust and the potential for them to replace HIE as CML’s landlord… http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-41899440 you’d think that that prospect would motivate CML to engage more closely with Aviemore and Glenmore Community Trust?
Looks like a serious feud has started. I have been told by email “This particular webcam did not link in with the rest of the live camera feeds at CairnGorm Mountain.” – Look at Cairngorm Mountain and they say that they have “taken over” the RUNNING of Cairngorm Mountain – strong words. Nothing about public access then? What comes next, following the total destruction of this mountain by ENGINEERED, (evidence is apparently shown on this page), ski slopes? Local people and mountaineers, in fact anybody concerned with conservation of this beautiful and sacred area of Tundra need to be seriously concerned. If conservation is second place to a “money grab” – the place will look like your average French ski resort – A bombsite in Summer. Now is the time to act. IF there is snow this year – steer clear of the place, and hopefully “Cairngorm Mountain” will return to what it should be – NATURE!