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Alex Roddie

Happiest on a mountain. Writer, story-wrangler, digital and film photographer. Editor of Sidetracked magazine. Machine breaker.

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Hiking the Tour of Monte Rosa

A 100-mile walk around a huge mountain that straddles the borders of Italy and Switzerland, this Alpine trail deserves to be better known, says Alex Roddie This article was first published in TGO Magazine, July 2016 There’s something beguiling about Monte Rosa. The name sounds graceful, but the mountain

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Book spotlight: The Last Hillwalker by John D Burns

The Last Hillwalker by John D Burns – edited by Pinnacle Editorial (that’s me!) – is now up for pre-order. If you enjoy my writing, you’ll love this. John has spent a lifetime on the world’s mountains. From early years with hand-me-down army surplus kit in the Lake District

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ViewRanger is becoming a social network

On Friday, the ViewRanger team published a new blog post called Introducing the ViewRanger Activity Feed. The best digital nav tool for hiking and hillwalking is becoming a social network. Here’s why I think this is a bad idea. What makes ViewRanger great ViewRanger is a precision tool for

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In the Footsteps of Forbes: how the Alps have changed since 1842

Professor James Forbes is probably the most significant mountain explorer you’ve never heard of. In this piece, first published in the summer 2015 edition of Mountain Pro Magazine, I’d like to show how studying his pioneering work led me to appreciate the enormous changes that have taken place

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Hands-on: Firepot outdoor food

Just in case it isn’t obvious, this is my subjective opinion. Nevertheless, having now paid for and eaten a bunch of these meals, I stand by the opinions stated here. You may disagree, but that’s the amazing thing about subjectivity – it’s subjective! Share and enjoy 😀 This is

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#Walk2017 – images from miles 200-308

It’s been a quiet month with no particularly dramatic light or weather. As my daily walk becomes more and more familiar, I’ve found myself taking fewer pictures – but here are a few highlights. The landscape is waking up after a mild winter. For more pictures from March 2017,

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→ Review: Lightwave t10 Raid

The Lightwave t10 Raid is a lightweight one-person tunnel tent. While many other backpacking tents are strong but heavy, or light but not great in high winds, the t10 Raid aims to tick every box: absolutely rock-solid performance in the worst weather, despite weighing only 1.45kg. But how does

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Hands-on: Trailpix ultralight tripod

Important update: please read my follow-up review. Lightweight backpackers who are serious about photography face a dilemma: tripods are heavy. I’ve tried various solutions over the last couple of years, but I think with the Trailpix I may be on to a winner. The problem There’s no getting

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Book review: A Mountain Before Breakfast by Alan Rowan

A Mountain Before Breakfast By Alan Rowan Alan Rowan climbs mountains by night. His first book, Moonwalker, was all about his quest to climb the Munros despite a packed schedule as a sports journalist. The only time he could find for hillwalking was after work, so he cut his teeth

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Review: Original Buff multifunctional headwear

When it comes to mountain headwear, traditionally I’ve kept things simple: wide-brimmed hat in summer, woolly hat in winter. But there is a third option. It’s been around for many years now, and it’s the most versatile thing you can stick on your head in the outdoors.