Good ideas, tips and thoughts from professional mountaineers
Ultimate Mountain Flapjack There are certain well established cliches in the outdoor world: a camper will have a mug (or frying pan!) hanging off their rucksack. A walker shall have a flask. Another is that outdoor people ie walkers, mountaineers, climbers and campers shall eat flapjack. Yes it’s definitely a clique but that’s not a…
Yes, another ‘warming up for climbing’ article. No, we’re not going to give you a prescriptive list of all the things you must absolutely do to warm up for the best climbing session ever, but hopefully you will finish reading this with a few ideas on what a climbing warm up might look like for…
PHD Wafer Down Jacket Review Review of the PHD Wafer Down Jacket. An amazingly light and warm down jacket made in the UK. Last year I consciously made an effort to reduce my pack weight while wild camping on Mountain Leader training and assessment courses. Just by trimming the weight of a few key items I…
Hati’s Top Five Items of Gear in 2024 Your gear reflects your year right? The main outdoor events of my year occurred within a 6 week period… a big walling trip in Utah was followed (immediately) by the OMM (Original Mountain Marathon) in the Highlands with a sport climbing trip to Kalymnos to recover from…
Alex’s Top 5 Best Items of Gear in 2024. This years equipment choices have been based around a winter road trip to Utah and Arizona in the USA and lots of Mountain Leader training and assessment courses. Cold and dry conditions in the American South West deserts and then the usual mixed weather in the…
Our equipment reviews and tests have always been a very popular feature of our website. Everyone loves outdoor kit and here at Beyond the Edge we are all secret gear freaks and we get very excited by a new bit of equipment to try out. Our instructing and coaching team use their kit in the worlds…
It is chilly today, and although the sun is out it does feel like autumn has suddenly burst into being. This is the time of year where we dig out our wooly hats and gloves and shuffle our warmer clothes to the front of the wardrobe. Insulated jackets are an essential bit of kit if…
Why Book a Climbing Course with Beyond the Edge? Aside from our professional qualifications (Between us we hold the following awards; Rock Climbing Instructor, Rock Climbing Development Instructor, Mountain Leader, Winter Mountain Leader, Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor, Winter Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor, International Mountain Leader and Development Coach) we also have one of the most…
Jetboil Stash Long Term Review; The Jetboil Stash is a lightweight and compact gas canister stove which is perfect for backpacking, wild camping and Mountain Leader expeditions. I’ve been using the Jetboil Stash for over a year now on all my mountain camps while working as a trainer and assessor on the Beyond the Edge…
We always encourage attendees on our Mountain Training qualification courses to join the Mountain Training Association. It is a very worthwhile membership organisation for all climbing, walking and mountain leaders and instructors in the UK and Ireland. It’s designed for all candidates of any of our qualifications – walking leaders, climbing instructors, coaches and/or camping leaders…
Five Road Trip Essentials One of the greatest traditions and pleasures of the outdoor life is the road trip. Sleeping on the back seat of your car or bivouacking on the side of the road. Or the ultimate road trip luxury of a camper van or RV. What’s important isn’t what you accomplished, it’s how…
How to Buy a Down Jacket The longest night has now passed and we move slowly towards the Spring. In the remaining winter months we reach for our insulated jackets. We have two choices: down or synthetic. Both options have pro and cons. Synthetic is cheaper and more forgiving in wet conditions ie synthetic will…