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Article A Father and Daughter Adventure in the Lake District

We topped-out on our first objective before I found my legs lacking under the weight of my rucksack, but kept on, finding that the further we went the less tired I got. 'Athlete's high', it was called, Dad said. The brisk breeze cooled the warm sun, allowing us to walk, run and climb. At the crest of each hill, I could hear the silence, interrupted only by my beating heart. It felt like an impossible beauty. The stretched hills and deep valleys – endless.  The Solway glistened in the distance and if you squinted just right, you could see the Isle of Man on the horizon. As I bonded with the earth beneath my feet, I bonded with the man who raised and loved me. I was finally at an age to know him and relate with him. Finally at an age to understand him. The world was silent and the atmosphere comforting, we spoke not in words but in experiences and understanding. S5 pupil Sylvie Colchester wrote this reflective and touching essay about climbing in the Lake District with her father for her Higher English portfolio. 

Feature Herstory 4 - Alison Hargreaves: Climbing Her Mountain

On International Women's Day, Anna Fleming delves into the life of Alison Hargreaves, illuminating the changing role of women in sport and society as well as the challenges of balancing work, life, family and climbing.   Alis...

The Next 9c in the World will be…

2022 was a phenomenal year for the cutting edge of sport climbing, and we should expect nothing less for the year ahead. It's only February and two new 9b+s have already made headlines, both less than a week apart. If the past few weeks are any...

Conservation Missing Wildlife - Lost Species That Re-Wilding Could Return to Britain's Hills

The UK has some of the lowest biodiversity on earth. Most of our uplands are ecologically barren, but they don't have to be. So what animals are missing, and how might the landscape familiar to climbers and walkers...

The Pigeon Sisters

From fame and first asents to frostbite and controversy, Rebecca Batley writes about the incredible lives of the Pigeon...

Interview Keri Wallace - Winter Tranter Round FKT

Lochaber-based running guide Keri Wallace recently fulfilled a long-held ambition to complete Tranter's Round in...

Feature Herstory 3: Wanda Rutkiewicz and the battle for women's climbing

Anna Fleming explores the incredible life of Polish mountain climber Wanda...


Ultimate Circuits: Llanberis Pass - Roadside and Wavelength Boulders

The Llanberis Pass is a place of mountainous majesty. It's hard not to get carried away by the sheer amount of rock, because it's everywhere. Upon first acquaintance it can be mind-blowing to come to a place where both quantity and qua...

Ultimate Circuits Robin Hood's Stride and Cratcliffe

There's a lot more to Peak grit than sweeping edges among barren moorland. Join Rob Greenwood in the softer surroundings of Cratcliffe and Robin Hood's Stride, for a bouldering circuit with something lovely for everyone.

Stockholm Sport Climbing

Paul Sagar presents urban Scandinavian sport climbing - and some DWS - in Sweden's capital, Stockholm. When it comes to European sport climbing getaways, there are places that immediately spring to mind: Kalymnos, El Chorro, Mallorca, Siurana, Sicily....

Sintra

Mystical Sintra: Climbing and Surfing in the Pearl of Portugal

Baihe

David Ferguson unveils a burgeoning climbing scene with plenty to offer in Baihe Valley, Beijing Province, China.

Running The Lakeland Eight Hundreds - An Ultra Challenge for the Next Generation?

Fellrunner Norman Hadley sketches out a new, logically metric Lake District challenge route...

Running Going Solo on the Corris Round in Winter

The Corris Round is a circular running route in southern Eryri (Snowdonia), taking in 12 peaks from the Tarren and Cadair...


Simple Items That Might Save Your Life Group Shelter

On a cold and stormy Ben Nevis, a humble bothy bag proves to be the most useful thing in Dan Bailey's rucksack. Here's why you should always have one on...

Simple Items That Might Save Your Life Spare Warm Jacket

"Had my leg break been so severe that I could not stand, I would quickly have been in dire trouble. I was very cold and shivering within a minute." Injured and under-dressed, Nick Small learned a valuable lesson the hard way...

Simple Items That Might Save Your Life A Whistle

Though it weighs just a few grams, costs peanuts, and fits unnoticed in your pocket, a humble whistle could be one of the most important things you carry on a hillwalking, winter climbing or mountain crag day. Mountain rescue veteran Heavy Whalley explains why.

Montane Instruction How to Abseil

In this video, Matt Cooper from The Mountaineering Company runs through a simple and effective way of abseiling that can be used in a variety of locations. He explains the current thinking around best practice and some specific tips for abseiling on sea cliffs.

Food Festive Leftovers and Xmas Hill Snacks, Ranked

From Christmas cake to cold brussel sprouts, Fliss Freeborn and friends hill-test seasonal treats and leftovers. Which Yuletide goodies offer the biggest calorie hit for the weight; which foods can be tackled wearing ski gloves; and which are best left...

Montane Instructional Videos  © UKC

Montane Instruction An Introduction to Sea Cliff Climbing

A full set of decent waterproofs and solid footwear are two real essentials  © Dan Bailey

children Are We Nearly There Yet? - Tips for Walking With Kids

Reusing a plastic water bottle.  © Tom Ripley

Skills 12 Ways to Save Cash on Outdoor Gear


Clean Climbing Thou Shalt Not Wreck the Place: Climbing, Ecology and Renewal


Mountain Air 10. Kirsty Pallas on Scottish Mountain Safety

In this episode of Mountain Air, Dan Aspel meets outdoor instructor Kirsty Pallas. Members of Mountaineering Scotland may recognise Kirsty as one of the group's Mountain Safety Advisors. She also works to promote inclusivity in the hills as a c...

Mountain Air 9. Doug Bartholomew: Managing Beinn Eighe's Wild Spaces

From woodland regeneration to visitor engagement, what does it take to oversee an iconic mountain landscape on behalf of both nature and people? Dan Aspel talks with Doug Bartholomew, the man in charge of one of Scotland's great wild...

Mountain Air 8. J. Robert Harris on a Lifetime of Adventure

Dan Aspel tracks down the irrepressible New Yorker J. Robert Harris, veteran of dozens of backpacking journeys around the world. "When I first saw grass, I tried to smoke it" he recalls. So what drove a kid from the inner city projects to...


Jacob Cook and Bronwyn Hodgins on their Greenland expedition

Earlier this year, a team of six kayaked ~450km along the west coast of Greenland, scoping out and establishing new routes on the vast granite cliffs of the Arctic Ocean. Jacob Cook and Bronwyn Hodgins told us more about the expedit...

Post-Lockdown Alpine Antics

George Ponsonby recalls post-lockdown adventures in Chamonix... 19th March 2020. Matt and I were packing up to leave Chamonix to head back to Ireland. The hope that this virus thing would only last for a couple of weeks was rapidly dissipating into the ether,...

British First Ascents in Patagonia

In the hazy, distant past before the current pandemic, a team of Brits enjoyed their own form of isolation in a remote valley in central Patagonia.  In January 2020, Simon Smith, Alasdair Fulton, Graham Dawson and Rob Lovell travelled to the Sierra de...

Runnel Vision – An expedition to find adventure in Brazil

James Taylor reflects on a trip to Brazil in 2019 where a strong team aimed to free climb a...

El Potrero Chico - Multi-pitch Sport Climbing in Mexico

'The idea of going to El Potrero Chico, Mexico was agreed on. I got in touch with Peter to say I was...

Expedition Riso Patron Sur

In February/March 2018, Matteo Della Bordella (ITA) and Silvan Schüpbach (SUI) climbed the Riso Patron Sur in Chile,...

New Multi-Pitch in Kyrgyzstan - Alexandra Supernova

"Kyrgyzstan! Wow! Where is that? Can you climb there?" Almost everyone asks me this whenever I start...


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