Our first frost of winter arrived last night and walking out from The Cottage this morning we were treated with some beautiful views of the white-capped mountains. It’s just a dusting, but with the blue sky backdrop, they looked stunning. Just before dusk, we ventured up onto the hills behind the house. We’d ambitiously set off… Read more

In 1980, Steve Ashton published a guidebook on the scrambles of Snowdonia. I’ve climbed all the classic routes, often multiple times, but I noticed while flicking through it recently, that there are a few scrambles that I’ve yet to ascend. Some of them are ‘included for completeness and should be avoided’, others are a way off… Read more

An arctic blast of air has really chilled things down around here, so we put our climbing plans on hold. It was a gloves on kind of day, with a windchill of below freezing. We decided to stay wrapped up and head over to Conwy where there was a food festival on.  We took the bikes… Read more

Over the last two days, I’ve been on a ‘Providers Training’ course at Plas y Brenin, so that I can deliver some of the newer Mountain Training accredited courses – namely the Hill and Mountain Skills. Day one was an indoor event, with lectures, workshops and discussions about our role and how to facilitate the courses. There… Read more

After a fun and busy morning at Fort Martin, I raced back to Wales just in time for an evening meeting of the British Association of International Mountain Leaders, of which I am a member. As part of our accreditation, we have to complete a certain amount of CPD (Continuous Professional Development) in order to stay… Read more

With an early start from The Cottage, I left the mountains behind and made it to the blue skies and green lands of Fort Martin in time for brunch. Had a couple of lovely days catching up with the team, strolling in the estate, visiting the village and generally tinkering around with the guys. Interspersed… Read more