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Article Sky at My Feet - A Day at Stanage

'Fingers met gritstone with a conviction only brought on by February friction.' Elizabeth Stephenson writes about a formative day out on the grit at Stanage, climbing Cave Arête HVS 5a. 'Gritstone has become an integral part of who I am, and I'll be forever grateful for these small moments of escapism, where the sky is at my feet.'

11 16 May

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Interview Sam Prior on projects, parenthood, and new perspectives

With three of the hardest nine ascents on our recent top ascents lists, it's fair to say that Sam Prior has hit some good form.

16 May

What is the Hardest Single Move Ever Done in Climbing?

Nathaniel Soon asks and attempts to answer the question: what's the hardest move ever done in climbing? Whether you love them or hate them, climbing would not be what it is without grades. Our alpha-numerical difficulty-rating...

32 9 May

Herstory The Climbing Cholitas: Skirts to the Top for Women's Empowerment

Anna Fleming writes about climbing and mountaineering as a means of self-determination and empowerment for women around the world. Five brightly coloured skirts and petticoats dance in the wind, the full fabrics lifting...

2 May

Interview The Rising Son E8 6c for Ferdia Earle

Ferdia Earle has made the first female ascent of The Rising Son, E8 6c at Clogwyn y Grochan in Wales.

15 2 May

Walking For Mental Health Walking for Mental Health - Climbing Europe's High Points

Louise James combines working as a Civil Servant with a sideline in film making. Her witty films document a...

2 1 May

War In Ukraine Alexandr Zakolodniy - A Climbing Hero of Ukraine

Remembering accomplished Ukrainian mountaineer and climber Alexandr Zakolodniy, who died defending his...

11 26 Apr

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Destinations

Lows and Highs on Aconcagua

Failing to summit on your first high altitude expedition can be a blow, says Cecilia Mariani, but the top is just a small part of the overall experience. Joining an all-female international team on the highest mountain in the Americas, she forg...

13 Apr

Mount Kenya

Situated just a few hours north of Nairobi is Africa's second-highest summit. Unlike Kilimanjaro, twin-peaked Mount Kenya is a climber's mountain, with no easy way to the top of either Batian or Neilion. It is also situated right on the equator, giving paradoxical...

3 30 Mar

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...

8 15 Mar

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...

26 9 Mar

Stockholm Sport Climbing

Paul Sagar presents urban Scandinavian sport climbing - and some DWS - in Sweden's capital,...

3 21 Feb

Sintra

Mystical Sintra: Climbing and Surfing in the Pearl of Portugal

2 1 Feb

Baihe

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

22 18 Jan

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Climbing Skills

Article Types:

Bouldering Sport Trad Alpine Winter Indoor Training Mountaineering

Start Climbing Outside Bouldering outdoors for the first time

Whilst there are many similarities between climbing indoors and outdoors, there are a lot of differences too, and it's...

13 16 May

Simple Items That Might Save Your Life Map and Compass

These days pretty much everyone uses a phone to navigate, but while they offer advantages, gadgets also have limits. The simple map and compass should still form the mainstay of your navigation, says Ben Gibson, Mountain Safety Advisor for Mountaineering Scotland.

203 18 Apr

Simple Items That Might Save Your Life Headtorch

Negotiating complex ground in the dark can be tricky, and you won't get far if you can't even see. A headtorch is a key essential on the hills, a small but vital bit of kit that's equally necessary for walkers and climbers. Many of us will have learned that the hard way, not least Ben...

26 4 Apr

How to Become an E10 Climber

E10 climber Franco Cookson shares his top tips for hitting double 'E' figures. One of the things people ask me most frequently is how to progress through the trad grades. Let's face it, the main reason most of us climb is for bragging rights. The sense of...

22 1 Apr

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 the hills.

45 13 Mar

A lightweight down jacket is a versatile insulating layer for year-round use © Dan Bailey

Simple Items That Might Save Your Life Spare Warm Jacket

Something this small is easily lost, so tie it to a lanyard from a jacket or a pack pocket © Dan Bailey

Simple Items That Might Save Your Life Whistle

Montane Instructional Videos: Abseiling © UKC

Montane Instruction How to Abseil

Love those little spiced biscuits, but are they as good on the hill as cold sprouts? © Ben Davies

Food Festive Leftovers and Xmas Hill Snacks, Ranked

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In Focus

Clean Climbing Custodians of the Stone

19 5 Dec, 2022

Clean Climbing The Strength to Dream

20 31 Oct, 2022

Mont Blanc Lines

5 11 Oct, 2022

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

21 27 Sep, 2022

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Podcasts

Mountain Air 12. Heavy Whalley on a Lifetime in Search and Rescue

"There's no greater feeling than finding people alive in the mountains" says David 'Heavy' Whalley. Veteran of more than 1000 call-outs, and a keen climber and hillwalker now on his ninth Munro round, Heavy joins Dan Aspel to look back on a car...

2 15 May

Mountain Air 11. Steph McKenna, Award-Winning Mountain Campaigner

In February 2023, Steph McKenna won the Fort William Mountain Festival's "Scottish Youth Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture" - an experience made all the more surprising because she had no idea she'd be nominated. But look into why...

31 Mar

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...

8 Dec, 2022

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Trip Reports

Jacob Cook on The Care Bear Traverse

In January this year, Jacob Cook became the first British climber to complete the Care Bear Traverse, a link up of the first three summits of the infamous Fitz Roy Traverse. Climbing alongside good friend Tyler Karow, Jacob endured a se...

2 4 May

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...

11 8 Nov, 2022

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,...

10 25 May, 2021