Longform
An aquatic scramble on the north face of Aonach Dubh
Ossian’s Cave I’m on holiday at the moment in Glencoe, staying at the Clachaig. As always, returning is a strange experience; it’s been over a year since my last visit, and for various reasons it no longer feels like home (although it will always be a second
“Breaching the Fortress” by Harold Raeburn: a companion article to OGJ
This is a fictional article I wrote some years ago as backstory for The Only Genuine Jones. It features a snapshot of the extended universe I have created for the story: a second attempt at the “Great Wall” of Ben Nevis (the Orion Direct route, in reality not climbed until
The Central Gully of Bidean nam Bian
The northern cliffs of Bidean nam Bian This article was first published on Glencoe Mountaineer on the 1st of March, 2011. It details the culmination of my experiments in Victorian mountaineering equipment in a Scottish winter climbing context. Bidean nam Bian is the most local mountain to the Clachaig, and
Contrast
21st of October 2008: the excitement of new snow The beauty of living far away from the mountains is simply this: contrast. In my everyday life I travel to work in Skegness on the bus, sign in with a fingerprint scanner, talk to customers about smartphones, ask them to sign
Keeping the enthusiasm burning: seven years in retrospect
Autumn colours and cloud in Mickleden, 12th of October, 2005 Seven years ago, my life was very different. I was nineteen years old, and had just conducted a ‘gap year’ spent entirely within the United Kingdom, in which I worked at a garden centre, wrote prolifically, and went on several
Technology for writers, a second look
I promised (or threatened) this blog would have occasional articles about technology, didn’t I? It may seem out of place given the Victorian subject matter, but I’ve always been fascinated by computers and I find that modern computing devices give the writer some frankly amazing abilities. I’m
Winter Mountaineering – a tale to make you laugh!
Weather in the glen: Superb winter mountaineering conditions this morning deteriorated around 1pm. Severe gales and torrential rain setting in for a few days. Today before work I went for a quick romp up Dinnertime Buttress on Aonach Dubh–at least, that’s what I had planned! Due to the
Curved Ridge
Weather in the glen: Clear and sunny yesterday, with scattered showers and a few inches of melting snow on the highest Lochaber summits. Today, milder and more showery but still better than average. High cloud base but ragged lower cloud in places. Occasional clear spells. Yesterday Rach, Isi and I
A traditional day out
Weather in the glen: Wind and rain. Gusting to galeforce, persistent light rain, although the cloud base is fairly high. Mild temperatures. Today Rach and I climbed B-F Buttress Route on the West Face of Aonach Dubh, a scramble weaving its way up and along complex Grade 3 terrain. It
Pollux South-West Ridge (AD)
Today we climbed the South West Ridge of Pollux, the lower of the ‘Twins’ (we climbed its sibling, Castor, last year via the West Face). The route is good fun! After a familiar glacier journey over to the Zwillingsjoch, we began to climb the ridge proper. It begins up a