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 […]
‘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 […]
Hawke Frontier 8×42 ED X Binocular Review For the last few years my trusty Opticron Discovery WP PC 8×32 binoculars have given me enormous pleasure on the hill. They are a great travel option being pretty much the smallest, lightest 8x32s around and representing great optical performance for the money. However, as a big birthday […]
Many of us enjoy getting outdoors and leaving our screens behind, so it seems a bit strange to be writing a blog post about phone apps and how useful our phones are out in the hills. However, whilst I’m all for a break from instagram doom-scrolling, phones do have other handy functions that help us […]
MSR Reactor Review A long term use review of the MSR Reactor stove system. An excellent gas stove for Alpine use, Wild Camping and Bivouacs. Food and drink preparation in an outdoor environment is a vital element of both our performance and enjoyment. We need fuel to stay warm, keep moving and feed our brains. For […]
Buffalo Mountain Shirt Review As a keen outdoors person, I love being out and about in all weathers, in the UK and beyond. The downside of this is layer management. Either you are too warm going up, or you are continually changing layers with weather and lunch breaks. If only there was something that could […]
The Manchester – Sheffield line is great for linear Peak District walks, something that’s difficult to do in the car without some faff and organising! Get off at one stop and back on at another for the return journey home (Make sure any return tickets cover the furthest away stop on your outing to avoid […]
Gloves for Scottish Winter Walking and Mountaineering When your hands are cold they don’t work well, so gloves are an essential part of your Scottish winter kit. Firstly, no one glove will work all day, in all weather conditions so you will definitely need more than one pair. We recommend thinking about your gloves as […]
Winter climbing partners never move fast enough! From my perspective I have just completed a lightning fast accent on a thin runout smear of ice then undertook the cleaning of iced up cracks with poise and precision to build a structurally satisfying anchor. All this done in record breaking time. Why then, is my partner […]
What are the Risks of Using a Portable Camping Stove? A portable camping stove is an essential item of outdoor equipment but there are very real risks involved in their use. All of us who have spent any time in the outdoors camping or on a bivvy will have their tales of near misses; They can […]