On Saturday 29th November, film producer Dave Hanna and Sarah Hanna joined Helen and myself as we attended the ARFF Berlin International Film Festival Awards. The red carpet was rolled out and after press interviews and photographs, we joined the awards ceremony, where ‘Frostbitten’ was awarded a ‘Highly Commended’ prize in the Best Documentary Category.
Read More »ARFF Berlin International Film Festival…
2025 was my 15th year to be involved with the Kendal Mountain Festival. Over those years I’ve seen a great deal of change, as the festival continually expands and evolves.
Read More »The Kendal Mountain Festival 2025 – Here’s Where the Story Ends…
Frostbitten is now a finalist in the Best Documentary category at the 2025 ARFF Berlin International Film Festival and has been officially selected for the 2006 FFI Edinburgh Festival..!
The journey continues…
Read More »Frostbitten in Berlin and Edinburgh..!
On October 24th I appeared on episode 50 of the Countryslide Podcast. CountrySlide is a weekly British podcast hosted by hedge layer Richard Negus, photographer Callum McInerney-Riley, and outdoor instructor Richard Prideaux.
Read More »Countryslide Podcast…
I’m delighted to announce that ‘Frostbitten’ has been accepted for the Kendal Mountain Festival 2025. More details coming up, but the journey continues…
Read More »Frostbitten at the Kendal Mountain Festival…
The last time I travelled with my great friend Sibusiso Vilane, was when we rode the JoBerg2C back in 2019. I’d just lost my Dad, and struggled to complete the race, but Sibu supported me with great strength, and we enjoyed a few days on Safari to wind down. COVID then came, shut world travel down, and I still see parts reeling from its aftermath. Sibu and I had spoken about crossing the central section of the Drakensburgs many times, and after much planning and packing, I set off late in August 2025.
Read More »Drakensburgs 2025 – An African High…
It is with great delight that I can announce the documentary ‘Frostbitten’ is now available on Amazon Prime, Apple TV and Adventure Sport TV.
Read More »Frostbitten is Live..!
On the 1st of May, my friend Dean and I drove the nine hours north to Mallaig, and started our island adventure. After a well needed sleep, we boarded to ferry to the Isle of Rum.
Read More »A Wee Dram for Martin Moran…
The Hardangervidda Plateau was something I dreamed of as a boy, well before I decided to spend my life travelling. It was portrayed in the film ‘The Heroes of Telemark’, the story of heavy water at the Vemork Hydro Plant. I loved watching war films with my Dad, and this one was a favourite.
Read More »Hardangervidda 2025 – Not (quite) the Heroes of Telemark…
I recently visited the National Outdoor Expo at the NEC. Besides the sell, sell, sell of many of the stalls, one thing struck a chord. It was Kate Humble speaking about getting youngsters into the outdoors. I grew up outside because of childhood Catarrh, and because my family background was in hillwalking, farming and field sports. Some may think this a privilege, but to me, it was the norm.
Read More »Another Brick in the Wall…
Life brings many opportunities. Some we can take and others we cannot. One opportunity which stared me in the face, was to return to Alaska and open my documentary ‘Frostbitten’ at the Talkeetna Ice Festival. It was too good to miss.
Read More »Frostbitten In Talkeetna…
Winter finally arrived in the UK a week before the 2025 Spine Race began, and I looked forward to snow laden days on the course. I wasn’t to be disappointed, but I hadn’t predicted the speed of the melt..!
Read More »Four Seasons in One Day – The Spine Race 2025…After thousands of miles travelled, dozens of interviews and hours in the editing suite, ‘Frostbitten’ the documentary about my return to Alaska is almost with us.
Read More »Frostbitten – Poster and Preview
Sometimes you look back at life and wondered where all the time went. 2024, was one such year. At the start, I had no idea how many anniversaries were all meeting in the short twelve months.
Read More »2024 – A year of Anniversaries…
The warm autumn came to a dramatic halt with snow falling in Derbyshire. Personally I’d have feet of the stuff all winter, but the forecast was for a warming weekend, yet it still set me alight for the Kendal Mountain Festival. Snow and Ice are my favourite things, and to see the festival under a blanket of the white stuff would be wonderful. The Lake District escaped the dump however and though initially cold, there was nothing to kick underfoot.
Read More »Kendal Mountain Festival 2024 – A Hard Rains A-Gonna Fall…
If you’re a reader of my blogs, you’ve probably realised that I love Norway. I’ve been going there for over 30 years and have climbed, skied, walked and kayaked all over the country. I’ve studied the Vikings, its WW2 history, geography and geology.
Read More »Norway 2024 – The Whole of the Moon…
Heres an article I wrote for the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, about my recent trip to Alaska…
Read More »Scotch Malt Whisky Society – Unfiltered
Imagine braving minus 60°C temperatures and 60-mile-an-hour crosswinds on North America’s highest peak. In this gripping episode, we sit down with seasoned mountaineer Nigel Vardy, who recounts his harrowing survival story on Denali. From his childhood passion for the outdoors, nurtured by his parents, to facing life-threatening challenges, Nigel takes us through the critical decisions that led to his survival and the severe frostbite that forever changed his life. His story is not just about survival but about sheer resilience and the human spirit’s capacity to endure.
Read More »Man: A Quest to Find Meaning Podcast
The media loves bad news. Stories of failure, funding cuts and violence fill the airwaves, screens and newspapers, and in the Peak District it’s not been a great few weeks.
I grew up just south of the Peak District National Park and have spent much of my life enjoying the fresh air and freedoms it brings. COVID was an awful time for us all, and its effects seem to be more far reaching than I even imagined. I hoped that once we were allowed our freedoms again, that the old world I once knew would return, but how wrong I was.
Read More »We Didn’t Start the Fire…
Recently Steve and I were featured on the Real Survival Stories Podcast. We tell the story where, in 1999, we almost perished on Denali. Click here to go to the Podcast
Read More »Real Survival Stories Podcast – Cut off in a Frozen Wilderness…