author, mountaineering writer – books, blog, opinion
Our aim was to climb as many of the 11 Munros on the main Cuillin ridge as we could in a series of day hikes, including the infamous Inaccessible Pinnacle, the only Munro that’s a technical rock climb. But the weather forecast was dreadful, and I knew from experience that would make a big difference on these peaks.
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If you asked a group of UK hill walkers to nominate items for Room 101, some of them might suggest the Inaccessible Pinnacle, a narrow shark’s fin of rock that crowns the summit of Sgurr Dearg, a 978m mountain on the Isle of Skye in north-west Scotland.
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The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) has just launched a new appeal, Mend Our Mountains, with the ambitious target of raising £1 million to repair footpaths in UK mountain areas. Here’s why I’m happy to dip my hand in my pocket for this worthwhile cause.
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It was four years since my last visit to Scotland, and I ended up returning in a most unexpected way. A few months ago I’d never even heard of the North Coast 500; now I’ve only gone and cycled it. The adventure took me beyond exhaustion, but somehow I got round. Here’s how.
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False summit claims were back in the news when a Swedish mountaineer retracted his summit claim after studying photographs and realising he hadn’t reached the very top. He was praised for his refreshing honesty, but a similar story of mountaineering integrity also deserves attention.
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In the last three weeks I’ve cycled 830km across 1273 hills, hiked up 8 Munros and 4 Corbetts, and scratched 253,953 midge bites 37 times per day. I camped for 20 consecutive nights and have lost count of the number
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A couple of weekends ago I visited Monti Ernici, a group of hills little more than an hour’s drive from Rome, that reminded me so much of the Scottish Highlands that I just had to write a blog post about them.
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It might be April and the beginning of spring, but the conditions on Scotland’s hills are still distinctly wintry. I checked the avalanche forecast before spending Easter in the hills above Bridge of Orchy, home of the poet Duncan Ban MacIntyre, famous for composing an Ode to Trousers.
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I hate it when people do things just to tick boxes and say they’ve done it. Travelling’s all about enjoying the moment, whether it’s gazing upon a glorious view or immersing yourself in an unusual, unique experience. I hate it
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The most talked about subject in Britain at the moment isn’t the upcoming London Olympics, but the crap weather we’ve been having. First it was the wettest April on record, then it was the wettest May on record. I happened
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