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…
Thousands of years of schooling, learning and education should have provided society with the most intellectual humans ever seen. The philosophy of ancient Greece, the mathematics of Babylonia and the nuclear science of CERN should make us superbly intelligent. So why do we choose to ignore them..? It’s because we race for the simplest way or the lowest common denominator…
During 2019 i’ll be leading two very different overseas adventures for 360 Expeditions. One will be to climb Stok Kangri in India, whilst the other is to cycle through Vietnam and Cambodia. Well they do say that variety is the spice of life..!Read More »Leading the Way with 360 Expeditions…
The phrase ‘Work Life Balance’ has been banded around since the 1980’s. Then the Yuppie generation armed with brick sized mobile telephones and Filofaxes worked until they dropped, stood up and worked some more. It was a time of overbearing pressure all in the name of money. ‘Work hard and you can buy your time back’ was a phrase I once heard at a speaking conference from a sharp suited, tanned and trained presenter. I’ve heard some ridiculous things in my time, but this must take the prize. The inference was to make a fortune by 40 and then retire, no doubt with an ulcer or two and a heart problem. The moment we become able to buy time as a commodity, is the time we should stop the world and get off…
While medication can help some people cope with their mental health problems, many also benefit from being outside more, getting some exercise and enjoying what… Read More »Walk and Talk
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…
Many of us have mentors in our lives. They are the people who inspire us, drive us, motivate us, rollock us and guide us (usually in equal measure). Only a few days ago, I said goodbye to one of the best…
I’ve walked the path from Mam Tor to Lose Hill more times than I can count. Over the years it has changed dramatically as thousands of pairs of boots take their toll on rock, soil and grass. Popularity has been punishing and pounding this beautiful place into dust. Stone paving has been laid from Hollins Cross to Mam Tor in an effort to lessen the erosion, and the old six lane motorway of tiered paths is recovering. Around the trig point another bed of stones has been laid as this is one of the most famous viewpoints in the Peak District. Some people like the work, whilst others detest it. I don’t like the countryside changing, but we are damaging it at an ever-increasing rate.
An Article from the Daily Star from October 2014 “The family of one man feared dead in the Himalayan snowstorm disaster celebrated last night that… Read More »‘Mr Frostbite’ escapes Nepal disaster but many Brits remain missing
On June 14th 2018, I’ll be speaking at Mosimann’s in London in support of the charity ‘Becoming X‘.Read More »Becoming X at Mosimann’s…
I’m regularly asked ‘Nigel, Why do you like the cold..?’ I’m no expert or scientist, but I know what feels right to me. Cold may have tried to kill me, but it’s where my heart is happiest. After recent trips to Scotland, Norway and Italy this year, I decided to look into my childhood for some answers…
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…
Social networking is both a useful tool and an invasive curse. It has allowed us to advertise what we do and where we are, but also invite the world into our homes and create a world of voyeurism and mental stress. Last year I noticed an invitation on the web to a reunion party from my comprehensive school. It was over 30 years since the class of 1985 had walked away from Belper High School and made their way in the world. I didn’t think long before pressing accept. I thought it would be good to catch up with old friends and talk over old times. It was to be held in January, in a local pub, so I could wander down on foot, enjoy a few drinks and wander back home. It seemed perfect…
Every winter in Scotland is a lottery when it come to the weather. I’ve experienced everything from snowdrifts to sunburn and blue sky to thick fog. Driving north to the Cairngorms, my friend Ian and I were buffeted and bashed even at lower levels. We drove to the Cairngorm Mountain Ski Centre for a quick look at the conditions before checking into our accommodation. We opened the car doors and almost took off. The next days foray into the hills saw us beat a hasty retreat when the wind speed picked up to hair-raising and visibility dropped to nil. For some, this would be scary to say the least. In my world – welcome to the mountains.
Read More »High Winds and Helping Hands – The Ninth Frostbite Report…
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.
When the call for the Kendal Mountain Festival came, I was up my backside in builders. Dust had found its way into every crevice and my lungs were a no go area. My office was piled high with boxes, but somewhere in the morass, I found my computer and typed that dangerous word – Yes. Of course I was coming…Read More »The Kendal Mountain Festival 2017 – Films, Floods and Flying Around…
On this National Map Reading Week, I though I’d share a few thoughts on why I love maps and the effect they’ve had on my life…
The modern world is stressful, well that’s what everyone will tell you. Report after report states that our mental health is suffering, our ability to make (and take) decisions is disappearing and that risk is something that we can’t accept. I think you find that life has been stressful since the dawn of time. If you didn’t hunt successfully, you and your family starved, harsh winters killed the weak, and tribes fought hand-to-hand combat over land, property and resources. That sounds a heck of a lot more stressful than a late train, flat phone battery or failing central heating…
Photograph courtesy of Mike Lawn and Becoming X
‘Its not what you know, but who you know’ is a phrase that has long appeared in the English language. Recently I was invited to be involved in a new and exciting charity called ‘Becoming X‘, which hopes to motivate, inspire and help people across the world, all because of someone I know…
Read More »Becoming X…
The world is filling with litter. You only have to walk down a street, look in a lay by or attend a sporting event to see it. The aftermath of any music festival is a disgrace, and people attending seem to think that whatever they dump doesn’t matter. Dog owners pick up dog poo and the leave the bag on the floor. A few miles from my house is Junction 28 on the M1, which is legendary for its waste. I’m sure there is an invisible road sign which reads ‘Please chuck your litter out of the window before joining the Motorway’. That’s the bad news, but there is some good…