Patagonia Das Light Hoody Review When wet and chilly British weather is forecast for the hills and mountains I find myself reaching for one of my insulated jackets. But what insulation type is best for British winter conditions? Down or synthetic? What shall I pick for drizzly days work up the Kinder plateau? I do…
The cold season is very much upon us, if last weeks weather is anything to go by. My transition from autumn to winter has been very much eased by the Rab Womens Xenair Alpine that I have been given to wear and review over the winter. I haven’t had it for long enough for an…
The Munros, the Complete Collection of Maps This is a review of the excellent and innovative book: The Munros, the Complete Collection of Maps. Published by Harvey maps it is a compendium of their maps illustrating every Munro (Scottish Mountain over 3000ft or 914m). The book uses a mixture of the different Harvey maps in…
The OMM (previously the KIMM) is a long-established event on the fell running calendar. It’s a ‘mountain marathon – essentially a combination of orienteering and fell running over rough and high terrain (I think of it as fell hurrying). There are a range of courses: the linear course sees competitors make their way round a…
Camping stoves for Mountain Leaders; how to pick the best stove for your Mountain Leader Training or Assessment. On your Mountain Leader Training and Assessment you will be assessed on your ability to operate safely and efficiently in British mountains during an overnight expedition. One night on training and two nights on assessment. You will…
Back in the summer Alex ran a course on techniques and rigging for climbing photography, and participants were kind enough to share their photos with us to pop in a blog. The course teaches skills and techniques to safely get into the best position for taking climbing photos, as well as the photographic technicalities of…
Best Leatherman for ‘Alone’ We’ve enjoyed watching ‘Alone’ on Channel 4, the UK version of the longstanding American survival show. 11 contestants were left alone on land around the Mackenzie River, in the Dehcho region of Northwest Territories, Canada. They arrive with no food and have to see how long they can last by hunting, fishing and…
Over the years we have become big fans of the products imported and distributed by Whitby & Co. Located in the Lake District market town of Kendal, Cumbria, Whitby and Co distributes international outdoor accessory brands including Leatherman, Opinel, Klean Canteen, Zippo and Petromax. The Beyond the Edge team are routinely using Klean Kanteen water bottles,…
Britain’s Birds: An Identification Guide to the Birds of Great Britain and Ireland As walkers, hikers, climbers and leaders we spend a huge amount of our time out and about in nature. For many of us there is great pleasure to be found in seeing, identifying and learning about the vast array of fauna and flora…
Alex and I have been trying out a new newsletter with the vague title ‘cool stuff we’ve found around the internet’. We thought we’d share some highlights from the last few editions as a blog, but if you would like it delivered directly to your inbox you can sign up here. Field Recordings Podcast Hollow…
It seems fitting that our 100th blog post should be about Alex featuring in the celebratory 100th of the legendary Japanese climbing magazine Rock & Snow. Alex’s photo of Toru Nakajima climbing the Millstone E8 Elm Street was featured on the cover of the issue. This issue also included Alex’s account of Toru’s incredible…
‘Hard is Easy’ GriGri Videos Over the last few months I’ve had climbers on my Climbing Wall Instructor and Rock Climbing Instructor training and assessment courses mention the ‘Hard is Easy’ YouTube channel. The chatter especially mentions the Hard is Easy GriGri videos and in particular the videos on GriGri slippage and failure. Ben has…