As the nights start to draw in, the chances of having to do some navigation in the dark increase. Far from being something to fear, night navigation can be great fun. Compass navigation at night can be a challenge as sighting on objects to keep on bearing has to occur over shorter distances and features…
So much depends on getting the basics right and in this context the basics are what you wear next to your skin ie your expedition base layers. On an expedition the same couple of tops will be on for pretty much every day so they need to work. I have been using Patagonia tops as…
Rule number 0.5 in mountaineering is look cool and the reflective piping and orange stripes of the Scarpa Ribelle Mountain Tech OD certainly draw attention to themselves. Whilst the only time I have looked cool was stuck in a blizzard in Alaska, wearing these boots is about as close as I will get to cool…
Congratulations to Beyond the Edge Director Chris who has this week summited Kyajo Ri in Nepal.
Scrambling In Snowdonia Cicerone have just released an updated version of their classic guidebook Scrambles in Snowdonia. Being honest, it was desperately needed as guidebooks have moved on and The Gary Smith North Wales Scrambles was far superior to the old version. Both ourselves and our clients have been enjoying the amazing scrambles in these…
Alleviating Depression through Climbing I’m feeling the need to get out on rock. There is an Interesting article here from the American magazine Climbing talking about how rock climbing can be used to focus the mind and help with mental health and alleviate depression https://www.climbing.com/news/can-climbing-be-used-to-treat-depression/ I don’t know about true depression, but I do know that…
Blue Ice Warthog is made by a Chamonix valley based company producing niche climbing, mountaineering and skiing products specifically for instructors, Guides and Alpinists. I used the Blue Ice Warthog 40L for two months of Scottish winter while working for Jagged Globe and I’m using it now as my everyday work and crag sack. It fits…
In November 2016 Pete Whittaker became the first person to solo, all free, Freerider on El Capitan in the Yosemite Valley in less than 24 hours. The route is 3000 feet high, has 37 pitches and an overall grade of 5.13a. He climbed the route in 20 hours and six minutes. Pete free climbed each pitch,…
I’m instructing winter mountaineering in Scotland at the moment and I’ve been getting out into the snowy mountains on most days throughout January and February. Those long walk-ins have given me plenty of time to think about what I’m wearing and what I’m carrying. Here are my musings. Boots Possibly your most important items…
For decades the Silva Type 4 compass has been the choice of Instructors, Guides, mountain leaders, serious walkers and navigators. However now Silva have redesigned the Type 4 and renamed it the Expedition. The base plate of the Expedition is the same size and has a magnifier, grippy silicon feet, the usual 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 romer…
I’ve got a nice new Sterling Fusion Nano IX rope for winter
Some photographs from a short ice climbing trip to Cogne and Chamonix.
