I remember a Tuesday in late November, somewhere on a north-facing slope in the Cairngorms, when the wind was screaming and the visibility had dropped …
Winter Kit You Should Not Carry Untrained
The Repair Kit That Saves a Trip
I was halfway up a scree slope in the Cairngorms, the wind coming in sharp, freezing gusts that felt like they were stripping the skin …
Photographs Not Worth Taking
I remember sitting in the driving rain on a ridge in the Cairngorms three years ago, watching a photographer scramble over a scree slope just …
Socks Are Kit, Not an Afterthought
I was standing on a scree slope in the Cairngorms, three hours behind schedule and watching a bruised purple sky swallow the last of the …
Winter Hillwalking Is a Different Sport
I remember standing on a ridge in the Cairngorms three years ago, watching a group of hikers—all decked out in the latest “ultralight” tech they’d …
The Complete Guide to Wild Camping
I’ve spent twenty-two years watching people pack half a mountain of expensive, lightweight titanium gear only to end up shivering in a damp bivvy because …
Storing a Tent Wet Is How Tents Die
I once spent three hours in a sodden valley in the Cairngorms, trying to explain to a group of increasingly miserable hikers why we couldn’t …
Base Layers: Merino Versus Synthetic Honestly
I once spent four hours huddled under a granite overhang in the Cairngorms, watching a group of very expensive, very optimistic hikers shiver uncontrollably because …
Sitting in a Hide for Three Hours Productively
I remember sitting in a damp sedge bed three years ago, shivering in a high-tech, £300 “stealth tent” that had more zippers than a tailor’s …
Insulation Compared, With the Damp Caveat
I remember a Tuesday in late October, somewhere on the edge of the Cairngorms, when the mist turned into a relentless, sideways soak. I was …