When I was a child, I watched the Saturday morning TV programme TISWAS. It stood for ‘Today is Saturday, Watch and Smile’, but should we restrict smiling to just one day..? I can’t remember how many countries I’ve traveled to, how many cultures I’ve encountered, or how many people I’ve met, but one thing is for sure – a smile goes a long way…
Friends across the Alps had been complaining to me about the lack of snow for the skiing season. Indeed I experienced this myself in Austria during January, where the pistes were turning a delicate shade of brown. Scotland was to be another matter…
Read More »Scotland – What Did I Expect..? – The Fifth Frostbite Report…
The quest to see what is ‘Over the Horizon’ has intrigued man for millennia. The desire to explore the world has led to much of it being extensively mapped, with people like Magellan, Carstensz and Cook being fine examples, but for centuries, the physical horizon was as far as we could see. For example, if you are 5’7” it would be just under 3 miles, whereas from the summit of Everest you can see over 200. This is why for centuries man has sought high ground. Defences always needed long distance views to see an enemy coming, and explorers want the best viewpoint into the unknown that they can get. This fact remained unchanged until the onset of the Telegraph and the Radio. Suddenly you didn’t need a semaphore or signal fires to communicate over distance. Within years, messages could be sent around the world, pushing the horizon far from view. But there is another horizon – limit of a person’s knowledge, experience or interest.
I hadn’t touched a set of Telemark skis since my trip to Greenland in April 2014, so it was with a little trepidation that I once again ventured to Rauris in Austria, for the Army Telemark Championships. You expect snow when you go skiing (after all it is a tad useful), but when I touched sown in Salzburg it was 17C. Though the highest peaks were clad In white, the valleys were almost tropical. Higher in the mountains the view was the same as heavy rain had poured for 24 hours. It wasn’t the start I’d hoped for…
My 2014 New Year’s resolution was to have the best and most productive 12 months of my life. Plans were bursting out of my brain, and within weeks my diary was filled to overflowing – speaking engagements across the UK, ski racing in Greenland, climbing in Scotland – the list went on.
For years I have wanted to climb to 7000m. My frostbite injuries provide daily challenges, which make even walking down the road difficult, but when… Read More »Himlung Expedition 2014…
I’d only been home from my latest Himalayan expedition a few days, before another adventure began. The Kendal Mountain Festival might only last a few days in the eyes of the public, but to the organisers, planning a trip to the moon would be easier. The tsunami of e-mails that my inbox sank under took some sorting, but by the Thursday morning of the festival, I was ready to go.
The modern world seems to rely on instant news media. Satellite communications and Social Networking relay information around the globe within milliseconds, against the hours, days, weeks and even months that used to be required. Though this has a good side, it can also cause unnecessary stresses and tensions, as my family found out recently…
I’m a country boy. I was brought up with dawns full of birdsong and church bells, and evenings surrounded by bats and owls, so I always find big cities crowded and overpowering places. Miles of armour and concrete have always made me cringe, yet cities can have their charms too. They hold many historical palaces, libraries, castles and society’s, and are useful places to meet friends and colleges. London draws me occasionally, but there is always an adventure theme…
I was recently asked to write an article on the importance of insurance, predominantly personal insurance. Sickness and accidents can happen at any time, but I wonder how many of us are prepared..? The field of insurance can seem bewildering and boring, but it’s a subject that we should not ignore.
100 Years ago the ‘War to end all Wars‘ began. Across Europe (and later the world), nations faced each other in what became the bloodiest conflict known at the time. Millions of men, some regular soldiers, but many fresh troops, defined the phrase ‘Trench Warfare‘. For centuries, the cavalry charge had been the dashing face of warfare, but suddenly heavy artillery and deep mud ground the advances to a halt. Many simply drowned in the mud, rather than by falling to the enemy.
The Kendal Mountain Festival has been a stalwart of the adventure calendar for many years. It takes place late in November, when dark and cloudy skies usually cover Britain. So it was quite a change to see ’KMF On The Edge’ launched for the middle of summer. The event took place in the beautiful surroundings of Langdale in the Lake District under (mainly) sunlit skies…
The Kendal Mountain festival has traditionally been held in November, when nights are dark and the weather (usually) wet. Things are changing, and a new festival ‘Kendal Mountain Festival On the Edge‘ has been launched for the weekend of July 25 – 27th 2014.
Language is full of sayings and quotes about time. ‘Time is of the essence, ‘Time is money’, ‘Time marches on’ etc. This unending continuum drives many people’s lives at a relentless pace and without respite. For some, it rules their lives, but should it..?
The next morning the wind had died and weak rays of sun fought their way through high, wispy clouds. I dug out my tent, packed my pulk and all of us set off on skidoos to the valley of Kalkdal.
Months of planning, teams coming and going, injury, frustration, kit buying and chaos came to an end when I boarded the flight to Iceland.
Here’s the seventh and final miniblog about my Seven peaks – Seven Islands challenge…
From the islands capital – Antananarivo (known locally as Tana), you fly north to the coastal town of Diego Suarez to begin the trip. Diego is one of the world’s largest natural harbours and is a quiet town, full of crumbling French colonialism, 2CV’s and graced with wonderful sunsets. Here you depart by 4 x 4 as far as the road will go (weather and mud permitting), before the trek begins.
Read More »Seven Peaks – Seven Islands part VII – Madagascar
Here’s the sixth miniblog about my Seven peaks – Seven Islands challenge…
Carstensz Pyramid (4884m-16023ft) is a classic in the mountaineering world. First sited in 1623 by Dutch explorer Jan Carstensz, it is the highest island peak in the world.
Last friday I sat and watched the Channel 5 programme ‘The Limbless Mountaineer’. It was the story of Climber Jamie Andrew’s attempt to climb the Hornli Ridge on the Matterhorn, but it also covered much about his fateful accident in the Alps in January 1999. It seems that year was life changing for us both…
Here’s the fifth miniblog about my Seven peaks – Seven Islands challenge…
Climbing Gunung Kerinci is one thing, but just getting there is another. The bus journey from Padang can be anything between six and nine hours, and crosses the spine of Sumatra. Be prepared for an arduous, but hilarious time! You usually arrive in the village of Kersik Tua after dark, but the dawn brings extensive views of well manicured tea plantations and the peak itself – cloud permitting. Rain and hailstorms are not uncommon here as you are already at 1500m.