New TGO: Backpacking & Forests, Fleece Tops, Keeping Head & Hands Warm, Brynje Wool String Vest

Autumn Forest at Dusk

The December issue of The Great Outdoors is just out. My contributions are a piece on Backpacking and Forests, a review of 13 fleece jackets (I like fleece!), suggestions on keeping head and hands warm in winter weather and a test report on the Brynje Wool Micro T-Shirt.

This issue has much on winter, appropriate as the first big snowfalls grace the hills. David Lintern attempts his first winter mountaineering routes in the Ben Alder area, a feature illustrated with wonderful atmospheric photographs; more great photographs come from Stewart Smith who shows the Lake District hills after the first snowfall; Alan Halewood of Glenmore Lodge continues his advice on avalanche avoidance; and Pete Catterall of Plas Y Brenin writes about food for winter hills. The other gear reviews are winter-orientated too. Daniel Neilson reviews the four-season Fjallraven Akka Endurance 2 tunnel tent, which sounds pretty good for winter storms. John Manning reviews six synthetic-insulated jackets while Judy Armstrong reviews six women's down jackets. The Wild Walks section has some wintry trips. Dave Kirkpatrick describes his first winter camping trip in the Glen Lyon hills and discovers summer camping gear doesn't work that well when it's freezing. He still got some excellent photographs though. Roger Butler sticks to a day trip on the snow-covered Kentmere Pike and Harter Fell in the Lake District.

Elsewhere there's a superb double-page photograph of Cul Mor and Cul Beag in Assynt by Damian Shields (taken when he'd just arrived there for the first time! ); a look at eight of the best outdoor books of the year by James Reader; a celebration of whisky and the outdoors by Cameron McNeish; James Reader looking at old gear in back issues; Roly Smith on Yellowstone National Park and the reintroduction of wolves; Ben Lerwill walking Moel Hebog and the Nantlle Ridge in Snowdonia; a look at Ireland's first national wilderness, Wild Nephin, by Lenny Antonelli; Roger Smith looking at energy projects and the environment and calling for a national energy policy; Jim Perrin praising Thomas Pennant's Tour in Wales; and an identification chart for montane birds.

Finally, this is Daniel Neilson's last issue as Acting Editor. I think he's done a great job over the last year. From the next issue Emily Rodway returns as Editor. Welcome back Emily! Daniel isn't disappearing though. He's becoming Digital Editor and has exciting plans for the magazine's online presence.

Winter Is Coming

 Frosty nights, snow on the hills. Time to cut some wood.

And light the stove.

Book Review: The Call of the Mountains by Max Landsberg

Subtitled Sights and inspirations from a journey of a thousand miles across Scotland's Munros this entertaining book tells the story of the author's discovery of the Munros (which he does via Google) and how they slowly drew him in until he'd climbed them all. It's also the story of how a novice hillwalker - he admits to being ill-prepared on his first Munro outing - develops into an experienced Munroist. Along the way Max Landsberg  becomes deeply involved in the hills with his passion for them shining through his writing. He also analyzes the various stages he goes through from becoming hooked at the start to being an out-and-out Munro bagger and finally to wanting high quality experiences and not just ticks on a list. The author's journey has become more important than his destination. I found this analysis interesting as I never went through such stages myself. I knew I wanted to climb all the Munros as soon as I knew what they were and I also wanted to climb them on backpacking trips rather than as day walks as I already knew such trips gave me the highest quality experiences. (In fact I did most of the Munros on my first round on four backpacking trips, two of them 500 miles in length). But then I wasn't a novice hillwalker when I set out on the Munros.

Max Landsberg is not a backpacker. Although there are a few camps and bivouacs most of the hills are done as day walks and nights are spent in hotels and B&Bs. The author doesn't sanitise the experience of hillwalking in Scotland and there's plenty of rain, mud, mist and midges. Every Munro is mentioned but many only very cursorily - I found it a little disorientating in places to see favourite summits passed over with barely a word - and every walk is described. There is much additional information as to the author's inspiration and motivation, including frequent references to Taoism, about which I must admit I knew nothing before reading this book. There's a fair amount of geology too, the author having a degree in Natural Sciences. This I found interesting as I think a little geological understanding greatly enhances appreciation of the hills.

Overall The Call of the Mountains is an interesting and worthwhile addition to the literature of the Munros and a book worth reading by anyone with an interest in the hills and hillwalking even if you have no intention of doing the Munros (but that's what many people say at first....). Those who have completed the Munros will find it entertaining and, if they are like me, smile or shake their heads as the author's experiences bring back fond memories. Those doing the Munros will find encouragement here even if they live far from the hills. Max Landsberg travelled many thousands of miles by car and train from southern England to the Highlands. His descriptions of these journeys sound more exhausting than the actual hillwalking - especially the time he forgets most of his gear and has to drive back south to collect it. Those beginning the Munros can also learn much about what it's like to climb them and travel with the author as he learns essential skills.

First Ski Tour of the New Season: Winter comes to the Cairngorms

View east along Loch Avon

The glens are golden and green, crisp with frost and bright with autumn colours. Frozen leaves crunch underfoot. High above the mountains are white with snow, as they have been for several days now. Finally tearing myself away from desk work I set off to explore the new snowy landscape. And new it always is in winter, even when familiar, the snow and ice never the same. Today clouds raced across the sky and a bitter wind blew. The rippled snow showed it had been strong for a while, carving ridges and valleys, packing powder into soft sheets in every hollow.  A clear line marks the boundary between autumn and winter, an edge to the snow that can be traced for miles across the hills.

Wind rippled snow

I carried the skis a short while, where the snow was sparse and too many rocks and stones poked through. Soon though I could put them on and climb more easily without them catching the wind. As I gained height I could see that the clouds were thick and dark to the south and west, hiding the summits. Only the north-eastern corner of the Cairngorms was cloud free, just torn tatters racing overhead. Removing the climbing skins on reaching the Cairngorm Plateau and letting the skis run I found the snow required care and quick reactions as it varied greatly, sometimes icy so the skis picked up speed fast, sometimes soft and powdery so the skis slowed abruptly, sometimes breakable so the skis sank and stopped. Rusty from months of not skiing my progress was not elegant. No graceful swooping down in curving turns, leaving a neat pattern behind me, but rather a stuttering descent with a mix of skids and slips and a variety of turns. Survival skiing but I stayed on my feet. 

A glimpse of Loch Avon

Making my way over to the edge of the deep Loch Avon trench I ventured as close to the edge of a cornice as I dared and gazed down at the dark inky blue waters of the loch, not yet frozen. A small bank gave shelter from the wind for a short break then it was back on with the skins for an ascent of Cairn Gorm itself. As I climbed the clouds finally pushed eastwards and I was soon in a white-out with blasts of spindrift whistling past me. Judging the angle of the slopes became difficult and a couple of times I had to traverse off snow too steep to climb. Only the protruding rocks gave me something to focus on. Soon though the ghostly edifice of the Cairngorm Weather Station, plastered with snow and ice, appeared ahead, seemingly floating in the mist.

Cairngorm Weather Station

A rough, jolting descent followed, at first down wide slopes, then narrower ribbons of snow just free enough of rocks to ski. Eventually following the latter became too difficult to be worthwhile and the skis went on the pack for a final walk to the car park. It had only been a short tour but for a first day on skis for seven months it was enough and the winter landscape had worked its usual exhilarating magic. I returned home with wind burnt face and aching limbs but feeling so alive.

Cairn Lochan

Walks Around Britain Podcast Interview & Buxton Adventure Fesitval

On the Arizona Trail

Many months ago I recorded an interview about my long distance walks with Andrew White for his Walks Around Britain Podcasts. This has just appeared in the latest podcast which also features Kate Ashbrook of the Ramblers on their latest campaign and Dave Mycroft and Gareth Jones talking about walks in the Peak District. You can here the podcast on Audioboo.

Buxton Awash

I've also just been talking about long distance walking in a very wet and windy Buxton at the Buxton Adventure Festival where I was interviewed by the BMC's Carey Davies. Given that I usually stand up when giving talks I must say it was nice to sit in a comfy armchair for the interview! Anyone who's interested but who missed the talk will find a flavour of it on the Walks Around Britain Podcast.

After my interview I joined the audience to watch a gripping film - Crossing the Ice - about an unsupported trek to the South Pole and back I was impressed with the fortitide and determination of the explorers but there looked to be too much suffering involved for my tastes. Great film though.

The Festival was also a good place to chat to old friends and new, something I'll be doing again the week after next at the Kendal Mountain Film Festival.

Talk at the Buxton Adventure Festival

View from the Scottish Watershed in the Northern Highlands

 

Later this morning I'll be heading south on a series of trains to Buxton in the Peak District for the Buxton Adventure Festival where I'll be talking to Carey Davies, the BMC Hillwalking Officer, about my long distance walks, including this year's Scottish Watershed, and the Cairngorms in Winter film. Clips from the film will be shown along with photos from my walks. The event is on Saturday at 12.30 in the Pavilion Arts Centre. I'm curious to know what questions Carey is going to ask me!

There's plenty of other interesting events at the festival including a film about an expedition to the South Pole that's on immediately after my talk and following that a panel of four British Mountain Guides talking about their work.

The Great Camera Challenge: Scottish Nature Photography Awards

Last autumn the organisers of the Scottish Nature Photography Awards asked me to take part in The Great Camera Challenge, which was to be one of twelve nature photographer who would each use a budget camera for a month and see what photos they could produce.  Intrigued I agreed to take part. My month was September so I had quite a wait before a tiny Nikon Coolpix L25 compact camera arrived in the post. Being so small it was no problem to take it everywhere with me and I took photographs in many places from the Isle of Harris to the Cairngorms.

At the end of September I sent the camera back so it could go on to the next photographer. One of my pictures along with a few comments on using it has just appeared on The Great Camera Challenge web page. The picture was taken straight from the SD card so no post processing has been applied. I think it looks a little washed out, certainly when compared with the photos I took at the same time with my NEX 7, which seems like a giant compared with the Nikon. Although the Nikon images are JPEGs - there is no raw option - they can still be tweaked. The picture above is the same photo after a little adjustment in Lightroom. I think it looks much better and is more realistic.
 
As well as on the web site images taken with the camera will appear in the 2014 Scottish Nature Photography Awards touring exhibition.


Below are three more pictures taken with the L25.