mountains
Skills guide: Planning off-path routes
If your hillwalking has mainly been confined to the Peak District or Lakes, it can be daunting to visit a wilder area where there are fewer footpaths. For the first-timer in the Scottish Highlands, here’s how to confidently plan walking routes – even where there are no paths. This feature
The Skye Trail – field notes
Here is a little extra information I hope might be of assistance for anyone planning a hike of the Skye Trail. We hiked it in May 2016. The weather was stunning – despite a little drizzle and cloud at first, things soon perked up and we walked most of the route
Twitter journalism and mountain tragedy
When people die in the mountains, some journalists are more interested in soundbites than in facts – and so they turn to Twitter for their sources. Today has not been a good day in the Scottish hills. From the outdoor news sources I follow, it would appear that three distinct incidents
A few photos from the Ben Alder area
My trip to the Ben Alder area this week was a success! There was plenty of snow when I left Corrour Station on Wednesday morning, but the weather was pretty good and I succeeded in climbing the Munros Carn Dearg and Sgor Gaibhre before spending the night at Ben Alder
Sad news from Glen Coe – and some perspective
On Saturday, two climbers were found dead, still roped together, on Stob Coire nam Beith in Glen Coe. Tragedies like this happen every year, and the Bidean massif seems to cause more than its fair share of accidents. Back in 2013 an unfortunate run of incidents caused the British press
A Blizzard on Ben Nevis
No rational person would choose to seal themselves in a nylon bag halfway up Ben Nevis, for ten hours, in a blizzard – but, for reasons which still aren’t entirely clear to me, that’s exactly what I found myself doing on the 27th of November, 2008. The night before
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
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.
Book review: Between the Sunset and the Sea by Simon Ingram
Between the Sunset and the Seaby Simon Ingram It seems that every British hill is on a list of some kind. The Munros, the Corbetts, the Wainwrights – it can be all too easy to get sidetracked by the list itself, perhaps forgetting about the magic of the hills in the
First look: Between the Sunset and the Sea by Simon Ingram
A beautiful hardback book landed on my desk this afternoon. Between the Sunset and the Sea by Simon Ingram (from £13.59) was published today and offers a detailed look at sixteen of the UK’s mountains and hills through prose, history, story, and photography. The mountains are: * Beinn Dearg