What I’ve been reading this week, 13 September 2019

A visit to Gharbh Choire Mor, a camera for climbers, the great land-ownership con, and a use for Twitter at last.

Long-distance hiking and the outdoors

“It could be an exciting ending”: the latest from Chris Townsend’s 450-mile Colorado walk – I can’t wait to see more of Chris’s photos from the Colorado Trail.

Into the mountain – Garbh Choire Mor – this is a powerful piece of writing by Neil Reid about a very special place in the Cairngorms.

Come on legs, come on head, come on heart – Fellbound writes honestly about a hard decision.

Photography

Landscape photographers: travel less – I’ve thought about this much over recent months, and have come to the conclusion that I agree. It’s getting more difficult to justify travelling hundreds or thousands of miles just to take pictures.

The practical climbing camera – this is an excellent (and exhaustive) piece on what makes a good camera for climbing – not necessarily the same thing as what makes a good camera for hillwalking, backpacking, or landscape photography.

It’s time we were critical – a good piece by David Ward in On Landscape (paywalled). ‘More likes doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a better photographer … Popularity doesn’t automatically equate to artistic ability.’

Environment

Etive hydro scheme update – SEPA confirms concerns about construction proposals remain unanswered – no surprises here.

The great con: who owns our land – John Burns writes about land reform in the Highlands, a key subject in his new book, Sky Dance, which I edited.

Writing, editing, and books

Books are ‘winged words’ – a wonderful essay on the connections between birds and human culture in the ancient world.

10 great books about mountains that have nothing to do with climbing – this is a good list by Mark Horrell. Some of the best books about mountains have nothing to do with climbing.

Miscellaneous

How to make Twitter morally useful in four steps – I rather like this.

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