Part of the reason I chose the Russian Altai mountains for a mountaineering expedition in 2009 was that I had never heard of the Altai Mountains before and, it seemed, nor had anyone else I... Read more
I had never heard of Kyrgyzstan or the Tien Shan mountains when a friend suggested we go climbing there, nor had I worn crampons or ever left Europe before. The thought of setting off for th... Read more
My first step on the road to becoming an adventurer was something of a giant leap. I found myself dangling from a rope on a 6,000-metre peak in Kyrgyzstan that had only been climbed thrice.... Read more
Here is a video made by my friend Patrick O’Hara. Filmed in the Haute Marienne region of the French Alps, British Mountain Guide Andy Teasdale talks about risks and decision making in... Read more
Climbing is filled with a lot of jargon. Some of the terms in particular define key concepts for mountaineering so getting your head around them can be quite fundamental. Below are a few use... Read more
Walking and mountaineering boots can be categorised on a rating between 0 and 3 to signify the purpose for which they are designed and the crampons with which they are compatible. Crampons a... Read more
There are lots of different types of climbing – like rock, ice and mixed – and then there are other fuzzier areas like scrambling and walking on snow. Below I have tried to give... Read more
One of the added joys of writing my book last year was that I had an excuse to contact many legendary names, people whose books I’d read and names I’d heard countless times but n... Read more
Walking and climbing on high mountains brings additional risks from the lack of oxygen in the air. Below I have given a very brief description of Altitude Mountain Sickness (AMS) and some ba... Read more
Here’s your monthly half dozen dose of articles that I’ve read and enjoyed. It includes a history of female mountaineering, a debate about the foods people eat whilst running, and a ba... Read more
Shortly before heading out to South America at the end of last year, Laura made contact with Swoop Patagonia, a travel company based in Bristol. We met with Luke Errington, who runs Swoop wi... Read more
Back after a brief hiatus whilst in Patagonia, here are half a dozen articles that I’ve read in the last month or so and thought that you might enjoy. I do a similar post each month and have... Read more
