La Sportiva TX4 Review Approach shoes are part of the Outdoor Instructor uniform along with brightly coloured trousers, gilets and VW vans. I’ve worn, and worn through, half a dozen pairs of various sorts over the last decade, mostly to the point where they become more hole than shoe. For the less fashion conscious instructors…
Patagonia R1 Air Zip-Neck Review It’s easy to dismiss the humble fleece. They have become such a staple of the outdoor wardrobe since the 1980s. But they have evolved and the Patagonia R1 Air Zip-Neck is an excellent example of the modern fleeces. These newer designs tend to be lighter, warmer, more breathable and dry quicker. Patagonia…
It was great to see the Beyond the Edge Navigation Courses featured in the Guardian newspaper yesterday. A recent Ordnance Survey poll suggests that 77% of respondents couldn’t recognise basic OS maps symbols. The suggested solution is get some training and attend a course. https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2022/jul/13/three-quarters-of-uk-adults-cant-read-a-map-heres-how-to-get-better-ordnance-survey-study We offer a range of courses including a one day…
Figure of Eight Knot with Follow Through In the late 80’s there was a fashion for poking and threading the tail of a Figure of Eight knot back through the body of the knot. It looked neat and myself and few other young climbers and instructors starting using this variation. Then word got around that…
The first thing I noticed about the Signal is how much the Leatherman designs have evolved since I bought my first one in the mid 1990’s. It was a Leatherman Mini Tool which I carried for Ice Climbing, Scottish winter and Alpine mountaineering and expeditions. It was small, very strong, simple, a bit crude but…
A Review of the Blue Ice Octopus 45L Climbing Pack How many packs does one person need? The answer of course is that it depends! You could probably get away with just one if you just went hill walking, maybe a 40L, big enough for a bit of extra stuff in the colder months. But…
Lunch is important. I’ve been trying to find better ways of managing my food when I’m instructing. I was just grabbing whatever I could find and usually ended up heading out with an energy bar and a banana chucked in my pack. The banana inevitably ended up squashed and the bar lost amidst the waterproofs,…
I’d longed for a Patagonia R1 Techface Hoody for a while, but it was hard to work out whether I actually ‘needed’ one or whether it was all down to the R1s reputation and its rather catchy advert. But now I come to reflect on it, this has become my go-to do-all jacket. A bit…
Big congratulations to Sophie who passed her Lowland Leader Assessment last week. Sophie is a poet, writer and creative writing facilitator. Sophie leads guided poetry workshops in the Peak District, where she creates a space for connecting with nature within without and turning your walks into words. During her assessment, Sophie performed a phenomenally powerful…
Hurrah! we are happy to announce that we now run the Climbing Wall Development Instructor (CWDI) training courses and assessments. You can book your CWDI here, or read on for more information… What is the CWDI? The CWDI is a nationally recognised qualification, administered by Mountain Training. In this course, you’ll learn to help other…
Opinel N°08 One of our most popular (and most controversial) blog posts (how-to-choose-a-knife-for-walking-climbing-mountaineering-and-expeditions) was about how we believed that for walking, trekking and climbing in the UK outdoors you really only needed to carry a Swiss Army Knife or maybe a Opinel. Swiss Army Knifes are great but if you’re out overnight and need to…
Is there really space for another Peak District guidebook? A few friends asked this as we passed around a brand-new copy of Graham Hoey’s Peak District Gritstone (published by Vertebrate Publishing last April). The answer, we decided, depends on the guidebook… As it turns out, there’s definitely room for this one. Original route descriptions…