What I’ve been reading this week, 15 November 2019

This week in my increasingly inaccurately named ‘what I’ve been reading this week’ slot, it’s a mixed bunch of links on everything from Himalayan mountaineering to climbing literature, the best gear of 2019 to a redesigned MacBook Pro…

Nirmal Purja’s ascent of all fourteen 8,000m peaks: why is it controversial? – an excellent piece on what is arguably the year’s biggest story in mountaineering.

Inverness filmmakers Mike Webster and James Roddie hold world premiere for new film Down The Rabbit Hole – an interview with Mike and James about their new film.

The little things… – some great nature pictures from Lucy Wallace.

Final push, CDT Southern Terminus – one last entry from Inaki on the Continental Divide Trail. Congratulations for completing!

Through the Alps on the GR5: How Wild is Wild? – ‘Initially the refuges, roads, livestock and other signs of humanity did detract from the walk, but I soon realised that these were part of this landscape and had been so for many generations.’

Backcountry.com Sues Dozens of Businesses For Using Term ‘Backcountry’ – ludicrous.

Review: Sky Dance by John D. Burns – a great review of Sky Dance by Rob at UKClimbing.

Reading Between the Lines: Katie Ives – ‘I think we’re in the midst of a massive paradigm shift in climbing and mountaineering literature — there are a lot of new voices arising, people who are questioning old assumptions, who are looking beyond entrenched formulas and styles.’

John Muir Trust Wild Words Haiku Competition – some of these are beautiful.

The joy of Lily Tarn – I enjoyed this quiet piece by Julie Coldwell.

What was the best gear of 2019? – TGO’s Gear of the Year shortlist has been announced.

The 16-inch MacBook Pro – Apple listened, and finally created a laptop without a fundamentally defective keyboard. Shame it took them years to admit their colossal blunder with the 2016 model. This new 16-inch model still looks like a step down from my trusty 2012 MacBook Pro Classic in several respects, though…

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