Outdoors
The Lochaber Traverse in winter
After many years of dreaming and planning, I have succeeded in completing the Lochaber Traverse in winter. This week was all about good planning and astronomical odds coming together to create something I’ve been dreaming about for a decade now – something so good I’m still struggling to comprehend
Ten years ago, I chose adventure
An important anniversary has slipped past unnoticed. In February 2006 I chose adventure, and although it didn’t seem like the prudent course at the time, my priorities were the right ones. Back in early 2006, I was a first-year student at the University of East Anglia and had recently
Ordnance Survey print-on-demand mapping: first look
Inspired by Gilad Nachmani’s recent article on home-printing your own OS maps, I decided to give it a go. I think it’s a viable and affordable option, with a few caveats. Until recently, there were only two mainstream ways of getting maps for the outdoors: buy a purpose-made
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
Going paperless in the hills – how feasible is it?
In 2016, is it yet feasible to leave the paper maps at home when you go into the mountains? After a recent hardware failure, I don’t think we’re quite there yet. Paperless. It’s been the dream for decades, hasn’t it? At home, and in the office,
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
A moment in time: November 30th, 2009
‘I can’t do it, Roddie. I’m going back down. Sorry, mate.’ It was one of those most perfect of winter mornings. The season had started early in Glen Coe, with snow sweeping the mountains before a cold snap froze everything up, bright and gleaming. In the bar the
2015 in review
It’s a few days later than I’d planned, but here is my review of 2015. If you’ve been paying attention you’ll already know it was a great year – but I intend to make 2016 even better. Backpacking and the outdoors I started the year in a
Review: Grisport Peaklander hiking boots
I’ve had a pair of Grisport Peaklander leather walking boots on test for the last few weeks. I recorded my first impressions back in early October, but I’m now ready to share my full review. Read on for the details! Basic facts * Weight: 1.12kg per pair (size
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