Set out today, fully aware that blizzards and gales were on the way! There was a window of opportunity for my Mountain Walking group, that involved getting up and down the mountains before the worst of the weather arrived. Would we be fast enough? Given that the poor weather was approaching from the south, I… Read more

Quick session this evening at the Beacon Climbing Wall to maintain a bit of climbing fitness! There’s an auto-belay with a stopwatch attached now, for speed climbing, as it’s due to be in the next Olympics. It seems like a bonkers event to me, but it’s quite funny to watch people furiously scrabbling their way up… Read more

I’ve been very lucky to have travelled to a great many exciting places. Climbing and mountaineering have provided me with many great excuses to travel to all sorts of destinations that otherwise would have remained either unknown or off limits to me. From the jungles of the Amazon, the plains of Africa and expanses of… Read more

Having not been able to get up into the snowy mountains over the weekend and with a thaw forecast, I was itching to nip out first thing this morning, before everything melted. Heavy rain was due to move in after lunch, but before then, it was looking relatively mellow, if murky. From The Cottage window,… Read more

I’ve been away for a few days running a short residential course with some international students. It’s been a weird blend of frantic, chaotic, relaxed and chilled. In preparation for departure and to get a moment of solace to check my lists, I made sure I fitted in a few minutes at my favourite coffee shop before… Read more

My diverse mountain lifestyle continued this morning – with a small group of students, I started off the day with some bird watching at the RSPB reserve at South Stack on Anglesey. While I’ve been rock climbing here, on the cliffs of Gogarth many times, I’d actually never been into the RSPB reserve. Acting on… Read more