author, mountaineering writer – books, blog, opinion
Back in September my editor Alex Roddie was launching his own book The Farthest Shore, about his winter hike of the Cape Wrath Trail in north-west Scotland, at the Highland Bookshop in Fort William. I attended the launch and then read the book.
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You’ve heard of the Famous Five and the Jackson Five, and you may even remember the Dave Clark Five, but if you’ve never heard of the Ben Lawers Five then you’re missing out – it’s one of the great days out for Munro baggers.
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There is currently an unmissable 1 hr 45 min documentary film, The Last Mountain, available on BBC iPlayer for the next year. The film follows the last climb of elite mountaineer Tom Ballard, who died on Nanga Parbat in 2019.
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Last week a commercial group from mountaineering operator Imagine Nepal made an historic ascent of 8,163m Manaslu. One of the climbers took some drone photographs that help to set the record straight about Manaslu’s myriad summits.
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Edita stood atop a pile of rocks, waving her trekking pole frantically in celebration. But I was in no position to celebrate. Between us lay about 100m of unspeakable, ankle-twisting boulder field. But it was the summit, and in a
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A quick message to announce something that I know some of you will have been waiting for as eagerly as when you used to wonder what colour socks your gran was knitting you for Christmas. Yes, that’s right, I’ve narrated my first audiobook!
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Glen Spean is a good place “for those who want to hedge their bets with the weather” said the Walkhighlands guidebook. Given that the weather in the Highlands of Scotland is famous for being unreliable, this sounded like a pretty good recommendation.
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I don’t often accept books for review — not because I’m not interested, but because life is short and there are too many books I want to read. Sometimes, however, I make an exception, like when Robert Anderson offered me a copy of his latest book Nine Lives.
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Here is some essential reading, not only for those of you interested in Everest history, but as a salutary lesson in human psychology. It will also be of interest to potential Everest climbers wondering which operators to avoid when the pandemic is over.
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Binnein Beag is probably a peak that most Munro baggers leave till last because it’s not worth climbing until you have to. Squirming up its rubble felt like a tick in the box. But would I taste fulfilment when I reached the summit?
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