2018 – Peace at Last..?
As I sit here in late December, I find it difficult to remember what I was doing last week, never mind during last year. It’s a good job that I still write my daily diary…
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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…
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
Over the Horizon Lecture – RGS & MHT Blencathra Field Centre
I’ll be speaking at a RGS-IBG lecture which promises to be an exciting evening of adventure and drama. I’ll be covering some of my… Read More »Over the Horizon Lecture – RGS & MHT Blencathra Field Centre
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
‘Mr Frostbite’ escapes Nepal disaster but many Brits remain missing
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
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.
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…
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2015 – A Year for Europe…
The finale of 2014 was, for me a difficult time. I was exhausted, both physically and mentally to a level where I felt truly lost. I had recently been reported missing in the avalanches of Annapurna, but as with most major disasters, I coped well enough. It was the pace of my day-to-day life which had ground me down. 2015 had to be better…Read More »2015 – A Year for Europe…
Leo Houlding, Mountain Heritage and Facial Hair…
The first time I heard Leo Houlding speak was on a dark, rainy night at the Buxton Opera House. He had quite literary just returned from free climbing The Prophet in Yosemite and the excitement showed. He danced on the stage like a marionette, (reminding me of my childhood TV favourite Thunderbirds) which made for a strangely unnerving evening. Though we should bring emotion into our speaking, there is a time, a place and then a need for some control.Read More »Leo Houlding, Mountain Heritage and Facial Hair…
Camping Wild on the Cumbria Way…
After a week of scorching July sunshine, I hoped for something a little cooler to wild camp the Cumbria Way. Working with facial skin grafts in the blazing sun is always a challenge…
Volunteering
Giving some of your time for free is a wonderfully rewarding experience. The world doesn’t have to be all money driven, and I regularly find that people are more committed to a cause when they work for the love of it. Many charities run on volunteers because of their dedication and generosity. If only all things in life could be worked purely for passion…Read More »Volunteering
KMF 2014 – A Post Avalanche Special…
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.
Where Conflict and Cold Collide…
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.
Back from the Edge…
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 – backflips, books, slacklines and grand prizes…
Well it was that time of year again. Time to head to Kendal for the Mountain Festival and volunteer as a presenter. Volunteer you say??? Well, I may be a professional speaker, but there are times when the outdoor community comes together and works together. We all give our time for free for the good of the community, and work harder than any professionally paid staff. Working in engineering, I hear a great deal that ‘Money is the greatest motivator’. If only these people knew how wrong they were. Passion drives people, love drives people, people drive people. And it’s the people I meet at the festival who drive me…
Read More »The Kendal Mountain Festival – backflips, books, slacklines and grand prizes…
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