Tour of Monte Rosa day 3
04/09/2015 This is part of a series of blog posts live from the Tour of Monte Rosa, a 100-mile backpacking route in the Alps. The Tour of Monte Rosa trail blog series Day 1: Zermatt to Täschalp Day 2: Europaweg stage 1 Day 3: Europaweg stage 2 and
Tour of Monte Rosa day 2
03/09/2015 This is part of a series of blog posts live from the Tour of Monte Rosa, a 100-mile backpacking route in the Alps. The Tour of Monte Rosa trail blog series Day 1: Zermatt to Täschalp Day 2: Europaweg stage 1 Day 3: Europaweg stage 2 and
Tour of Monte Rosa day 1
02/09/2015 This is the first in a series of blog posts live from the Tour of Monte Rosa, a 100-mile backpacking route in the Alps. The Tour of Monte Rosa trail blog series Day 1: Zermatt to Täschalp Day 2: Europaweg stage 1 Day 3: Europaweg stage 2
The 2015 Festival of Drabbles – calling short fiction writers!
Do you like short fiction – short short stories, flash fiction, maybe even haiku? Then the Festival of Drabbles might be of interest. A drabble is a short story precisely one hundred words long. This may sound easy but is actually very difficult – you have to pack at least one character
The Tour of Monte Rosa – final preparations
On Tuesday, I’m heading off to the Alps to hike the Tour of Monte Rosa, a 100-mile thru-hike beginning and ending in Zermatt. The goal is to circumnavigate the Monte Rosa massif. Preparations are now complete, so here’s where I am in terms of readiness. In my original
Fujifilm X30 mirrorless compact camera review
The Fujifilm X30 is a compact camera in Fuji’s ‘X’ series of professional and enthusiast mirrorless cameras. While the X-Pro1, XT1 and X100T occupy the top of the range, the X30 brings up the rear – but is it a capable camera in its own right? I put it through
Electronics on the trail – what works for me
Please note that this article is now out of date. Here’s an updated version. “Nothing that uses a battery can be relied upon in the wild.” This is something we hear from time to time, but how true is it? What level of electronic gadgetry is necessary or appropriate
Preparations for the Tour of Monte Rosa
Monte Rosa is one of the biggest and highest mountain massifs in the Western Alps. Incorporating a number of summits all well over 4,000m, it is surrounded by many miles of difficult glaciated terrain to the west, and the biggest cliff in Europe to the east. It’s the
I tried to recover my hacked Vodafone account and you won’t believe what happened next
Updated 06/08/2015 – scroll to the bottom to find out how Vodafone eventually responded Yes, one of those headlines – chosen specifically because I’d like this message to get to as many people as possible. I hope you’ll indulge me. I’ve spent nearly six hours today trying
The Cape Wrath Trail gear debrief
Please note that I wrote this piece in 2015. It doesn’t necessarily reflect my current opinions on gear for the CWT. In June 2015 I hiked the 241-mile Cape Wrath Trail between Fort William and Cape Wrath, loosely following the mountainous terrain that clings to Scotland’s west coast.