Still Got the January Blues..?
January is over and 2020 brings a New Year and fresh new decade. At this time of year, the media is filled with adverts for… Read More »Still Got the January Blues..?
Mt McKinley
Walking at 80 Years Young…
Having lost my Father, I concentrate much of my life caring for my Mother. She still enjoys getting out walking and enjoys the fresh air,… Read More »Walking at 80 Years Young…
Opening the “Big Screen”
On Friday 6th December I officially opened the ‘Big Screen’ In the Vicar Lane Shopping Centre in Chesterfield. The screen aims to promote Chesterfield and… Read More »Opening the “Big Screen”
Beyond Blindness Podcast
I was recently interviewed by Christian Stahl about how my experiences on the mountains had changed my life. Taking decisions in critical moments is vital… Read More »Beyond Blindness Podcast
Grangers Brand Ambassador
I’m delighted to have been accepted as a Brand Ambassador for Grangers, based in my beautiful Derbyshire… https://grangers.co.uk/blogs/brand-ambassadors/nigel-vardy
StoryHinge Podcast
I recently recorded a StoryHinge Podcast with Jason Vidaurri about my life in Mountaineering and what life lessons it has taught me. http://storyhinge.com/index.php/2018/11/08/89-nigel-vardy/
The Kendal Mountain Festival 2018 – Stories, Ghosts and Peace…
Ok, ok, so it’s over a week since the Kendal Mountain Festival finished for another year and the web is already full of blogs..! Time hasn’t been on my side over this last week as I’ve been enthusing school pupils to get into the outdoors and do, rather than surf, however here we go…Read More »The Kendal Mountain Festival 2018 – Stories, Ghosts and Peace…
The ICEMAN POLAR Race 2016
During 20126 I took part in the ICEMAN POLAR Race in Greenland. A film crew followed the race and produced this short film on the… Read More »The ICEMAN POLAR Race 2016
Inspiring Primary Pupils
I believe strongly in inspiring youngsters and much of my work in schools teaches learning, life and leadership skills. Earlier this year I held two… Read More »Inspiring Primary Pupils
Walk of Life…
Winfields have launched ‘Walk & Talk‘ campaign to show how getting outdoors is one of the best antidotes for feeling down, overly stressed or generally anxious. For years, being outdoors has saved me more times than I can imagine. Here’s my story…Read More »Walk of Life…
Take a Deep Breath
Controlling your breathing is vital at altitude, but it can also help control stress and fear. A blog for Ordnance Survey on how my life… Read More »Take a Deep Breath
Hold Me Now…
Ice Climbing is a sport which many thing crazy, wrong or downright dangerous. I disagree. It’s a pure athletic sport, with routes that change year on year, challenging even the most skilled climber. Variations in the weather can make or break a route, or a season. It can be made as safe as you wish, but also as challenging as you like. Physically it’s incredibly demanding, but the mental aspects come harder. Youre climbing up water, which for much of the year is heading downhill. Ive recently returned from a weeks climbing in Rjukan, Norway, where icefalls galore await…
2017 – Quality not Quantity…
The end of 2017 is upon us, and it’s easy to look back and think that not much exciting happened. It was just another year, like the one before and like the one to come. Thankfully I write diaries and looking back, 2017 has certainly been packed with life experiences.
Uganda 2017 – To the the Mountains of the Moon, and Back… Part 2
We left the Bujuku Hut at 4am in our attempt to summit Mt. Speke 4890m (16.042ft). Initially the terrain was thick bog and undergrowth, but this gave way to more open ground as the sun tried to break through the dense clouds. We ascended a large scree field suffering faltering disability, reaching the ridge early morning. This is where our problems began. Thick rime ice had plastered the rocks, making what should have been a challenging scramble, impassable. The only way we could summit was to circumnavigate the peak and approach it from the opposite side. It’s all sounds so easy to read it here, but what followed was a two-hour slog up and down scree scattered boulders and exposed edges. At least the clouds broke occasionally and allowed extensive views over the range and the tongue of the Ruwenzori Glacier. This ice used to allow easy access to Ruwenzori Peak, but its retreat has made any ascent of the mountain a real challenge. Few ever venture there now because of the loose rock and unstable ridge.
Read More »Uganda 2017 – To the the Mountains of the Moon, and Back… Part 2
Coming of Age…
Reaching your 18th birthday is seen as a coming of age. You can marry, drink, vote, serve on a jury and legally get a tattoo..! My 18th birthday was marked with a disco. It was 1987 and Rick Astley was riding high in the charts, as was Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley, The Bee Gees and most of the Stock, Aitken and Waterman stable. The Compact Disc was launched and I was driving a 1977 Metallic Gold Morris Marina with a huge Ghetto Blaster across the back seat. I thought I was cool…
‘We Do Not Remember Days, We Remember Moments…’
…so wrote Italian Poet Cesare Pavese. We may think that our minds are sharp and that we commit to memory everything that our senses detect, but when it comes to remembering, only certain moments appear.
2016 – A Year For Time, Travel and Tingling Fingers…
I’m not a man to sit about, so during 2016 I travelled to South Africa, Greenland, Iceland, Italy, Denmark, Germany, Greece and Spain. I took part in the ICEMAN Polar Race, walked the Otter Trail, spoke on two cruises and held down a full-time job. Phew..! I’m sure I slept at some point…
Read More »2016 – A Year For Time, Travel and Tingling Fingers…
Forcing Your Hand…
The phrase ‘The day we stop learning is the day we die’, may be old, but it’s true. I thought after 17 years I had learned all there was to know about my frostbite injuries, but I was wrong. Though the amputations were very visible, regular treatment kept my skin grafts in good condition, and all was well with the world. The last few months however, have taught me a hard lesson in reality.
The ICEMAN Polar Race 2016 – Second Time Lucky..?
My feet had hardly settled from walking in South Africa, when another trip called. I had been 33’ south on the Cape in late march and suddenly I was heading to Greenland, 72’ north. +30C was about to be replaced with -30C. I was tired, but thankfully organised for the ICEMAN Polar Ski Race…
Read More »The ICEMAN Polar Race 2016 – Second Time Lucky..?
Mountains of Friendship – The Seventh Frostbite Report…
I first started winter mountaineering when a group of work friends invited me to join them in Glencoe. That was over 20 years ago. I was young, had dark brown hair, fingers and toes. Much has changed since those heady days, but my love of the hills has never been daunted. If anything its got worse…Read More »Mountains of Friendship – The Seventh Frostbite Report…
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