Norway

2025 – A Year in Film…

by Nigel Vardy
December 30, 2025December 30, 2025

2025 started off cold, and it was only going to get colder. The Spine Race in January began in bitter cold, with snow on the Pennines, and ended up with star lit nights, and bog. Within days of heading home, producer Dave Hanna and I were on a plane to Alaska, to launch ‘Frostbitten’ at the Talkeetna Ice Festival. To keep the cold theme going, I then joined friends and crossed the Hardangervidda Plateau in Norway. It wasn’t until late April that I finally thawed out..!

by Nigel Vardy
December 30, 2024December 30, 2024

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.

by Nigel Vardy
January 11, 2024January 11, 2024

The last year seems to have passed by in a flash. Perhaps it’s because I’m getting older, or because there was a great deal going on..? Whatever the reason, it’s been one heck of a ride.

by Nigel Vardy
December 30, 2022December 31, 2022
1 Comment

By the end of 2021 I was exhausted. COVID had caught me over the Christmas period as the loss of my Mum began to take its toll. I hoped 2022 would give me time to rest and reflect. I certainly reflected, but spent much of the year on the road, on the sea and on the mountain..!

by Nigel Vardy
October 19, 2022October 19, 2022

My recent trips to Norway and Greenland were accompanied with a few bottles of fine malt from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. I’ve always enjoyed a dram and find the open skies, fresh air and glacial ice a great accompaniment.

I’ve written and article for the society which is now on their website…

by Nigel Vardy
June 23, 2022October 31, 2023

Training is vital to successful expedition work. I’ve always believed in ‘Serving Your Apprenticeship’ and have recently returned from a week Sea Kayaking in the Norwegian Fjords.

A chance meeting when working on a P&O cruise ship has taken me down a whole new avenue of traveling and expeditions. I’ve paddled canoes and kayaks on and off for years, but never thought I’d be preparing for a trip to the fjords of Greenland this year.

by Nigel Vardy
November 21, 2020December 5, 2020
2 Comments

I adore Mountaineering and I adore Writing. Inspired by a meeting at the Kendal Mountain Festival, I’ve written a number of Love Letters to some of the Mountains I’ve climbed over the past 30 years. They’re a varied selection of peaks spanning the Himalayas, Africa, Asia, The Arctic and Europe.

I hope you enjoy them…

by Nigel Vardy
December 30, 2018December 30, 2018
7 Comments

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…

by Nigel Vardy
February 28, 2018February 28, 2018

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…

Trying to Tip Toe in Torridon – The Sixth Frostbite Report…

by Nigel Vardy
January 23, 2016

The end of 2015 brought miserable weather to much of the UK. A time of supposed frosts, snow and ice had produced nothing but rain, and I was concerned about conditions on the mountains of the NW Highlands. As it turned out, they were as challenging as ever…

2015 – A Year for Europe…

by Nigel Vardy
December 31, 2015
8 Comments

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…

Midnight Sun & Mountaineering in the Lyngen Alps…

by Nigel Vardy
June 11, 2015

The last time I had visited Tromso was over 20 years ago. I was young, had thick brown hair, all my digits and in my infancy of international mountaineering and adventure. How times have changed. Since then I’ve become middle-aged, turned grey, and bits have dropped off. I’ve travelled over a quarter of a million expedition miles and seen more than I can hope to explain. Landing in Norway I noticed one thing there hadn’t changed however – the weather. It was pouring down..! Thankfully it cleared later on and the clouds were high, with beams of sun dappling the snowy white mountains. I met up with guide John Lyall and fellow climber Richard Hampshire, before driving on the bumpy roads and crossing the short ferry to the beautiful village of Svenby. Here we would base ourselves for the next few days…

Norway

2025 – A Year in Film…

2024 – A year of Anniversaries…

2023 – Moving on Up…

2022 – On the Road Again…

Whisky and Glaciers…

Home by the Sea…

Love Letters to the Mountains…

2018 – Peace at Last..?

Hold Me Now…

Trying to Tip Toe in Torridon – The Sixth Frostbite Report…

2015 – A Year for Europe…

Midnight Sun & Mountaineering in the Lyngen Alps…