author, mountaineering writer – books, blog, opinion
There are many great routes up Snowdon, but for hill walkers the Snowdon Horseshoe is the very best, crossing three of the Welsh 3000ers in three ridge scrambles of varying difficulty. Our circuit of it last month included a little bit of drama.
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The ascent of Monte Amaro in the Italian Apennines is a magnificent skyline walk in a moonlike landscape over peaks and along ridges, but could it be that the mountain is named after an alcoholic beverage?
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I now have a cover for my book, and as some of you have played an important part in shaping the design, in the course of unveiling it I thought it would be interesting to share some of the journey which led to the final version.
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I’m reaching the final stages of my crusade to publish a book about my ten year journey to the summit of Everest, and am keen to have your feedback about two very different concepts we have in mind for the book cover.
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We were determined to climb Corno Grande at our third attempt. The mountain that had given us such trouble in winter became an enjoyable appetiser to a feast of mountain hiking in summer.
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There aren’t many hill walks close to civilisation in the UK where you can spend two days and only see one other human. The Aran Ridge is just four or five hours’ drive from London, and last week I went there for a couple of days’ backpacking.
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Our third trip to the Apennine Mountains took us to an area we hadn’t visited before. Our ascent of Monte Sirente was a good day out in the mountains, with some tough trail breaking through deep snow and an exhilarating climb.
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This is a short sequel to a post I wrote last month about a reconnaissance trip to the Gran Sasso massif in Central Italy, when we made an abortive attempt on 2912m Corno Grande from the north. Last weekend we had another go from the south.
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I was dimly aware of the Apennine mountains running down the spine of peninsula Italy, but I’d never given them much thought. I discovered the Gran Sasso massif is a hill walkers’ paradise, with attainable mountains even in the depths of winter.
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A couple of weeks ago I reported from Africa on my mission to find, measure, ascend and name the highest point in Zambia, and how identifying which peak to climb wasn’t as straightforward as you might think. This is the story of our quest.
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