The trustees of the world’s most prestigious mountain book award have announced updated rules for entries following new research alleging that hundreds of historical mountaineering books have been published without reaching the true end of the story.
Read moreMy 2007 Knoydart diary: a winter backpacking trip that didn’t quite go to plan

My visit to Knoydart with Edita that I wrote about in my previous post, was so different from my first visit in 2007 that I could have been walking in a different world. I thought I would dig it out my diary of that first trip for a laugh, so here it is.
Read moreThe Knoydart Three: Ladhar Bheinn, Luinne Bheinn and Meall Buidhe

Sixteen years ago, I set out on a 5-day winter backpacking trip to climb three Munros in Knoydart, a remote peninsula in northwest Scotland. It turned into an epic that I was lucky to survive. Earlier this year, unexpectedly, I found myself with a chance to make amends.
Read moreIn memoriam: Dave Fowler, West Coast mountain guide

It was with great shock and sadness that I learned of the death of Dave Fowler on Aonach Eagach earlier this month. Dave guided Edita and me on the Cuillin in 2020. He was a great character, ever talkative and cheerful, and extremely careful as a guide.
Read moreWhy don’t we see yetis anymore? I may have found the answer

Himalayan travel writing is peppered with stories of yeti sightings or yeti footprints. But if yetis still exist why hasn’t someone filmed one by now? I may have stumbled upon the answer in a long-forgotten work of Himalayan travel writing.
Read moreThe Dubh Slabs: the most iconic scramble in the British Isles

We decided to continue our Cuillin reconnaissance. But what to reconnoitre? Our guide Karl suggested climbing the Dubh Slabs and staying overnight at Camasunary. I’d known about the Slabs for years, but never imagined I would ever climb them myself
Read moreEssential Skye reading: The Black Ridge by Simon Ingram

I’m only just starting to delve into the literature of the Black Cuillin, but I’ll be surprised if I come across a better book than this one. Erudite and poetic, yet marvellously accessible in places, this is simply a great book by a great writer.
Read moreThe four summits of Sgurr a Mhadaidh: another Cuillin reconnaissance

It was time for another Cuillin reconnaissance, and there was one section of tricky scrambling that we hadn’t done: an unavoidable obstacle in the form of the four summits of Sgurr a Mhadaidh. I was keen to complete this section before committing to a full traverse of the ridge.
Read moreFirst British man to climb Manaslu then narrate an audiobook about it from a converted stable in the Cotswolds

Yes, that’s right. A sensational headline, I know, but it’s absolutely true. Not only did I climb an 8,000m peak, but over the last few months, I’ve been producing an audiobook about it, The Manaslu Adventure, from our little cottage in the Cotswolds.
Read moreThe Buttermere Round: an epic walk for sensible people

We live in an era of epic endurance challenges, where people believe there’s no point getting outdoors unless you do something bigger, longer or quicker than everyone else. But it’s possible to do a challenging walk while thoroughly enjoying yourself, and without running.
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