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WYW Part 5 is finally finished…
Yesterday I finally finished part five, after many attempts and a false start on Saturday. The hiking in the eastern part of West Yorkshire is really limited compared to the western sections due to the relative lack of paths. While the Leeds Country Way does exist, it predominantly goes through farmland, which this route actively…
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One Hundred Month Goals
Month One. There are many ways of thinking long term about something you value. People often talk about ‘where’ they want to be in five years’ time, or if they can achieve a career dream of promotion and other such success. But how can you actually make those things come true, or something very close…
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New Year – Clear Focus
As above – I have some pretty concrete aims for this year in the mountains and in the office. I’ll set out my intentions here and let’s see if I can complete them by the end of December 2023. I might not be the ultra athlete that Randolph Fiennes used to be but at least…
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Winter Mountain Day #3: The Langdale Pikes from New Dungeon Ghyll
On Christmas Day, the very last thing I did before heading to bed was to check the weather forecast. I didn’t expect to see winter conditions due to the warmer temperatures but then I read ‘blizzard conditions’ for Boxing Day and knew I needed to head out one more time. So I packed my bags…
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WYW progress on Part 5: Barwick in Elmet to Garforth
In between hiking through gale force winds armed with crampons and a compass, I also really enjoy urban countryside walks. My West Yorkshire Way project is just one tiny piece of the way I choose to experience it. I recently completed the section between Barwick in Elmet and Garforth, with one section being a complete…
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WQMD #2: Fairfield Horseshoe from Ambleside
On Sunday 19th December, I made a ‘day raid’ on Fairfield in the Lake District to make use of some stunning winter conditions. I’ve been mostly reactive in my approach to winter days so far as I had some annual leave and had purposefully made no plans (apart of course from Christmas Day), so I…
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Success on Scafell Pike
If at first you don’t succeed, try try again right?! Video and blog below. I had made quite a few attempts this year on summiting this mountain from Langdale, but been thwarted once by high winds and once by torrential rain and an ill-judged alternative route. So when I saw a winter forecast for a…
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At Home on the Hill
In this article, I want to highlight the different kinds of prep you can do for your winter mountain leader days at home for use on the hill later. I also want to list specific ‘hill skills’ that you can consider practicing in winter conditions. I learned recently, described in another post, that the emphasis…
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How to get ready for Winter Mountain Leader training
To help answer these questions, I recently spotted an advert for an evening webinar delivered by Scotch on the Rocks Guiding. The focus of the session was in preparing for ML Winter training which is great for me as it is exactly what I’m currently aiming for. In addition it’s also useful as my DLOG…
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Preparing for Winter Quality Mountain Days
So the forecast for this coming weekend, according to MWIS and Weatherline, is looking decidedly wintry. As I start on the long journey to Winter Mountain Leader, I begin to ask myself the following question: how best to prepare for the days? I ask this because winter conditions are becoming rarer and more unpredictable due…
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