I REALISE that Mr Boyle (Shuttle/Times and News Letters, May 9) must have had vast experience of the technicalities of walking.

His condemnation of the thousands of professional mountaineers and guides, throughout Europe, who use ski-type walking sticks everyday, to protect their joints from the shock of moving on steep ground, is amazing.

I know of many people with arthritic or even replacement hips, who continue to walk in challenging terrain, only with the use of sticks.

I would have thought that any practical aid which keeps people walking and enjoying the "Great Outdoors" should be praised.

MICHAEL WAGNER

Kendlewood Road

Kidderminster