Nordic Ski Touring Video

 

A little video I made during this ski tour on January 11. 

MSR Switch Stove System review for The Great Outdoors

MSR has an interesting and unusual new stove system that has a pot with a rounded base. After testing it extensively last autumn I've reviewed it for The Great Outdoors here. 

A Look At The February Issue Of The Great Outdoors

 
The February issue of The Great Outdoors is available now. In fact it has been for a while so my look inside is a little late. Apologies! Time is flying by.

Anyway, my contribution to this issue is a review of MSR's interesting new Switch Stove System.

Also in the Gear pages Alex Roddie and Kirsty Pallas review four pairs of hiking trousers each and Kirsty Pallas and James Roddie review four pairs of winter boots each. 

There's also a guide to layering for keeping warm on the hills from Mountaineering Scotland's Helen Gestwicki and Ross Cadie and a quiz on how to avoid hypothermia.

The magazine opens with a splendid photo of Ben Nevis in winter by David Lintern. 

The main theme of the issue is life-changing adventures with four authors recalling key moments. In the Andes climber and writer Anna Fleming meets the pioneering Indigenous Cholita Climbers of Bolivia. The cover of the issue is a great photo by Anna of the Cholita women in the mountains in their colourful clothing.

Back in Britain two story-walks by Corinne Fowler from her book Our Island Stories show how our colonial past is written into the rural modern-day. Francesca Donovan reviews the book elsewhere in the magazine.

Going abroad again Ross Brannigan describes his honeymoon spent fastpacking the Lycian Way in Turkiye.

In shorter pieces Creator of the Month is Munroist David Solomon, Andy Wasley writes about grey herons, and there's a look at recent problems in the John Muir Trust. Jim Perrin's Mountain Portrait is the Ridge of the Red Cairns (Nantlle Ridge). In recollections from her walk round the coast of Britain Emma Schroeder remembers reaching new horizons every day.

Wild Walks covers short walks for short winter days from the Highlands to Dartmoor. James Roddie climbs A' Chailleach in the Monadhliath while Alex Roddie tackles Ben Vrackie in Perthshire and the Tarmachan Ridge in the Southern Highlands. In the Lake District Vivienne Crow goes up Hay Stacks and James Forrest up Helm Crag. Ian Battersby has a snowy walk over Roseberry Topping and Highcliff Nab on the North York Moors and encounters more snow on Great Whernside in the Yorkshire Dales. In the Peak District Andrew Galloway climbs Black Hill. Over in Wales Fiona Barltrop visits Fan Frynch in Bannau Brycheiniog/Brecon Beacons. Finally Tim Gent walks over White Tor on Dartmoor.

A Local Ski Tour

View over the mist to the Cairngorms

With the snow lying deep all around I’ve been ski touring in the local area. There’s no need to go further afield and it seems sensible to make the best of these conditions while they last.

In the mist

My longest ski tour took me from the garden gate through woods and onto the low moorland at the head of our little side glen. Not high up and not very far but the snow made it wild and beautiful, enhanced by skiing out of thick mist into sunshine.

Hot in the woods!

The hardest skiing was at the start when I crossed a very rough field and went through equally rough woods. As the temperature was well below freezing I set off in hat, gloves, and fleece plus a Paramo smock. After ten minutes off came hat, gloves and fleece and I opened all the vents on the smock as I was overheating from the effort of skiing in the deep soft snow and over many tussocks.

In the woods the terrain was even tougher. I had to take a circuitous route round many fallen trees and negotiate branches and stumps hidden under the snow. Skis weren’t ideal for this. Snowshoes would have been better.

Silent and frozen

The woods were frozen and silent. Whenever I paused I could hear nothing. There were many roe deer tracks in the snow. A line of fox prints. The marks of a squirrel. But nothing moved. No rustle in the undergrowth, no bird calls.

Once I came out of the trees and joined an estate track the skis came into their own. The snow was packed harder here, especially where there were some tractor tracks, and other skiers had been along the first section. I could kick and glide on the flat and coast down the few gentle downhills.

The air was colder put in the open and I wasn’t working as hard so back on went the hat and gloves and I closed the vents on the smock. Staying comfortable – not too hot, not too cold – is important.

Leaving the mist

As I skied along the track hazy hills and trees began to appear. I was slowly climbing out of the mist. The moon hung high in the sky. Soon I could look back down at the mist-filled glen. The Cromdale Hills started to appear and then the more distant Cairngorms, lit gold by the low sun.

View over the mist to the Cromdale Hills

At the top of the track I stopped for a hot drink and a snack. Almost instantly I felt chilly and quickly donned my down jacket. Although only a half-day trip from home I had brought my usual winter hiking gear, apart from ice axe and crampons which I knew I wouldn’t need.

A welcome rest

Finding a comfortable seat with my back against a rock I decided to make a little video about the ski tour and set up my tripod and camera. As I switched on record two jets roared overhead, the first sounds other than the swish of my skis. They couldn’t have timed it better. Eventually the jets faded away and I continued the video. I’ll post it soon.

Heading back into the mist

The temperature was -5°C when I decided to pack up and head down the track. Swishing along my ski tracks was easy and delightful. A wren bobbed in a bush, a flock of fieldfares flapped overhead, the only wildlife I saw all day. Soon I was back in the mist.

At the track end I decided to return home via the road rather than back through the woods as it would be easier. The single-track road had been ploughed and gritted several days ago but not since and I was able to ski along it much of the way. Then it was up our track through the woods to a warm fire and hot chocolate.

Podcast on long-distance hiking

A podcast on long-distance hiking I recorded for Thru-r. 

Welcome to 2025: Thoughts

New Year's Day: sunshine, clouds, & snow

The new year is generally viewed as a time for reflection and a time for thinking of the future. Now we are moving towards spring (yes, I know there's plenty of winter still to come) it's natural to think about opportunities and adventures and a whole year of new experiences. And to start planning or at least thinking about planning. 

Personally my outdoor plans haven't changed. As many long-distance walks, wild camps, day walks, strolls, as I can manage. That is, as much time spent in nature as is feasible. It's been that way for many decades, really my whole life since I was old enough to think about it. Where I go and what I'll do is still open. There will be many days in the Cairngorms of course - they're my local mountains and I love them deeply. There'll be other ventures in the Highlands too, probably in the Northwest. Going abroad depends on a number of factors, not least my health, which wasn't as good as I'd have liked last year, but also on the international situation, especially regarding climate change.

The warming of the climate has been a concern for many years. I've mentioned it often on this blog. But only recently have I started to think about my travels in relation to the growing effects of climate change. This is not in relation to how I travel - I decided many years ago to cut down on flying (I haven't flown anywhere since 2019) and to use trains for long-distance journeys whenever possible (and that includes in the UK, I haven't driven outside the Highlands for several years) - but in relation to climate change related disasters. The possibility of being unable to get home to my family, of being cut off far away, now seems real. Floods and heatwaves are becoming much bigger threats. I've never felt concerned that disasters might prevent me going home before. Of course I've always known they could happen, it just never felt very likely. That's changed. It's not a comfortable feeling.

This New Year parts of the UK are being battered by extreme weather. Here in the Highlands floods are causing huge problems. Down in Manchester a major incident has been declared due to severe flooding. Last year there seemed to be news of extreme weather events somewhere in the world every week, events that were always more damaging than in the past. 

With Trump soon to be in the White House with his plans to cut environmental regulations, mine for coal, and drill for much more oil and gas the future for climate change mitigation - and that's where we are at, mitigation, it's too late to stop it now - looks shaky. But I'm generally an optimist so despite everything I have hope that humanity will find a way through this, though the damage will be great - already is in some places. 

Supporting any and all organisations, individuals, politicians trying to do something about climate change and the equally serious nature crisis seems essential. I'll be trying to do more in the coming year. 

New Year's Day rainbow

Here in Strathspey the last few days have been very, very wet. We've had more big puddles in the garden than we've ever seen before, the path to the gate has become a stream. The fields are saturated, oozing water at every step. We are glad we live near the top of a gentle hill. Others are not so lucky.

New Year's Day still brought joy though. We strolled across the fields watching squalls flash across the land, clouds pile up and disperse, the sun break through, snow and sleet fall. Turning back towards home a rainbow appeared, beauty in the sky. Nature is still wonderful.