Speed climbing, lead climbing and bouldering are all sports that are being considered for Olympic status in 2020. This announcement came on the 9th March by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) after a group of International Olympic Committee (IOC) representatives visited the 2012 world climbing championships in Paris where lead, speed and bouldering competitions took place. This format will be championed by the IFSC gives its presentation to the IOC Executive board in May, along with seven other sports bidding to be included in the 2020 Olympics. The shortlist will then be narrowed down to 3 sports and the IOC's final decision should be announced by September.

It will soon be Easter, but it’s still full-on winter in Scotland’s mountains.  That’s the message behind this joint statement from the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) and the British Mountaineering Council (BMC).  The MCofS and BMC advise that climbers and hill walkers need to be realistic about the seriousness of the Scottish mountains at this popular time of year, and of the need to match knowledge and experience to mountaineering objectives.  
This Easter warning is being issued because:  

• Easter in Scotland is popular with groups travelling from further afield  
• Easter is quite early this year  
• The current winter conditions could continue through and beyond the Easter weekend.  
  

Sadly this winter has seen a significant death toll on Scotland’s mountains, many of them related to avalanches.  Avalanche awareness should be a key component of planning a trip to the mountains over the Easter holiday period.