“Because it was there.” That was, reportedly, Edmund Hillary’s reason for climbing Mount Everest. It’s a valid reason, I suppose, if perhaps a rather lacklustre one. Back in 1953, it wasn’t as though Mr Hillary was seeing Everest in social…
Read moreThe dream. The myth. The legend. Japan has long been on my hit-list of places to visit and, more importantly, to snowboard. With an average of 15m of snow per season, Niseko on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido is one…
Read moreSome people think I’m crazy for preferring to trek alone. “Isn’t it dangerous?” they ask. “Don’t you get lonely?” Of course there is an extra element of risk. If I fall and hurt myself, it’s up to me to get…
Read moreSometimes called the Goldilocks Principle, layering is about maintaining a comfortable temperature at all times, whether you’re active, at rest or getting ready to bed down for the night. How many layers you include in your kit for the day…
Read moreClimbing is a broad sport. It encompasses bouldering and deep water solo to single pitch sport, multi-pitch traditional and even free climbing big walls. And then you’ve got all the different types of rock and grades to discuss. And that’s…
Read moreIt’s a classic case of chicken and egg. I love travelling alone. I prefer hiking solo. But was I forced into liking it because I had no one to travel with, or did I avoid travelling with others because I…
Read more6,119m is high. That’s more than 20,000ft. The O2 concentration at that altitude drops to around 9.6%. At sea level it’s a bountiful, lung-filling, blood-enriching 20.9%. Every single step up there is laborious. Each breath leaves you wanting. You can…
Read moreI’ve never wanted to climb Mount Everest. And as I stood there, 6,119m above sea level, on top of Mount Lobuche, looking at the great hunk of rock that is Everest, my resolve hardened. I definitely didn’t want to climb…
Read moreSitting there, on the summit of Kuglhorn everything fell into place. Lofoten archipelago stretched out before me like a jewellery box full of emeralds and sapphires. The rock under me was reassuringly solid, immovable. My fears had flown away on…
Read moreAfter a second attempt we returned to our tents defeated. The 3kg satellite receiver had failed to connect to the world wide web and we were officially in the wilderness. I actually thought that was pretty cool, the wilderness part…
Read moreI used to think I was deliberate, considered and premeditative. But one autumn day in 2016 I saw a Facebook post from Jenny Jones. Jenny is one of the UK’s most successful snowboarders and I’ve been following her on social…
Read moreI felt on top of the world, though at 3,798m, the Grossglockner is a long way from the sky-scraping heights of Everest. It is, however, Austria’s highest mountain and offers novice mountaineers like myself a full-flavoured taste of adventures on…
Read moreWalking above wispy mist dancing through the valley, cowbells dinging faintly somewhere out of sight, the crisp air yet to swell and become heavy with humid heat, my stomach full with Nutella, mixed berry jam with a side serving of…
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