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The Mounth Passes by Neil Ramsay and Nate Pedersen: book review

The Mounth Passes: A Heritage Guide to the Old Ways through the Grampian Mountains by Neil Ramsay and Nate Pedersen (Kindle) This slim ebook came to my attention through the Scotways Twitter account. Scotways is one of the oldest outdoor access organisations in the country, established in 1845 to help

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Scotland’s last surviving glacier lasted into the 1700s, research shows

My new novel, The Atholl Expedition, asks a question: when did the last glacier in Scotland die? Was it thousands of years ago in the prehistoric past, as is commonly believed, or did a glacial mass survive in one of the remote and secret recesses of the Highlands, away from

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Mountain Classics – The Mountain Men by Alan Hankinson

The Mountain Men: A History of Early Rock Climbing in North Wales by Alan Hankinson This series of articles showcases gems of mountain literature, both established classics and more esoteric titles. Alan Hankinson was one of the UK’s foremost scholars of British mountaineering history. He published a number of

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Mountain Classics – Scrambles Amongst the Alps by Edward Whymper

Scrambles Amongst the Alps in the years 1860-69by Edward Whymper This series of articles showcases gems of mountain literature, both established classics and more esoteric titles. If you read only one book on the golden age of Alpine mountaineering, make it this one. Edward Whymper’s epic tale of his

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19th century glacier travel – a brief analysis

Before the summits of the Alps could be reached, terrain arguably more hazardous than the upper slopes themselves – and certainly less predictable – had to be negotiated. A frozen raiment guards the greatest peaks of the world, and two centuries ago this mantle of ice extended deeper into the valleys than

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Book Spotlight – The Summits of Modern Man by Peter Hansen

The Summits of Modern Man: Mountaineering After the Enlightenment by Peter H. Hansen I have a confession to make. The author of this book was kind enough to send me a review copy some time ago, but it has been a busy summer and I’ve only recently got round

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Why I love the 1840s

Until now, readers of my work will be familiar with a narrow time period beginning in 1893 (the first chapter of Crowley’s Rival) and ending in 1897 (most of The Only Genuine Jones). This period interests me as a climber because it stands at an important crossroads in the

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Everest – The First Ascent by Harriet Tuckey: book review

Everest – The First Ascent:The untold story of Griffith Pugh, the man who made it possibleby Harriet Tuckey In my opinion this is the most important book on the history of mountaineering to have been published for many years. Hopefully this review will demonstrate why I think this is absolutely

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“Dare to Dream” by Matthew Dieumegard-Thornton – book review

Dare to Dreamby Matthew Dieumegard-Thornton  Dare to Dream is the new book by Matthew Dieumegard-Thornton, available exclusively on Kindle. In May 2012, Matthew successfully climbed Everest as a member of the record breaking youngest ever team to climb the mountain. This book is the story of his dream–to climb

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Backpacking from Blair Atholl to Aviemore

There comes a point in every writer’s career when the usual Google research is no longer enough. You’ve read the Wikipedia articles, you’ve chased up every ebook and textbook you can find, you’ve amassed a library of photos – but still something is missing. You become aware

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