climbing
Pilgrim’s Progress: a century of development in climbing equipment and technique
Alex Roddie charts a century of development in the tools we take for granted This feature was first published in Mountain Pro Magazine, January 2016. Take a look in your rucksack. If you’re a winter climber, you’ll find a pair of crampons in there, and two ice axes
A moment in time: November 30th, 2009
‘I can’t do it, Roddie. I’m going back down. Sorry, mate.’ It was one of those most perfect of winter mornings. The season had started early in Glen Coe, with snow sweeping the mountains before a cold snap froze everything up, bright and gleaming. In the bar the
British climbing is changing
My esteemed colleague John Burns, who is a mountaineer with forty years of experience and a skilled writer, has penned an excellent piece about the changes in British climbing. “I’m going to start climbing,” a friend told me last summer. My mind raced back to when I began climbing
Scottish winter climbing: the future
I can think of no finer outdoor playground than the Scottish Highlands. These mountains, only a few hours by car from most of the UK, offer everything the outdoor enthusiast could wish for: spectacular scenery, world-class walking, kayaking and mountain biking, hills of every type from rounded lumps to jagged