Notes
Fragments from the journey home
A flying visit to Fort William and Glen Coe with Hannah. It's work – a media event at the new Páramo store opening on the FW high street – but it's also fun, catching up with friends who live in the most beautiful spot along the north shore
'So how are things *actually*, Alex?'
It's 6.30pm on a Saturday evening in October and I'm flicking back through my blog posts for the year, reflecting on how I've totally failed to carry out my plan of returning to an old-school pattern of blogging. Not necessarily little and often,
Ten years as a professional writer and editor
In early July 2014, while hiking in the Alps, an idea I'd been considering for some time finally resolved into a plan. I would quit the day job and dive into a new career as a freelance editor and writer. WHOOSH! Hear that? It's the sound
Building Alpenglow Journal: a new type of outdoor publication
Friends, it's time to talk about the future. In my last Substack update, I wrote that I was working on plans for a complete relaunch of The Pinnacle. I hinted at a pivot towards something different – something I hoped to launch in July. Although I’m not quite
Elements: a look back at Sidetracked magazine's first festival
We did a thing. And, weather and a few logistical issues aside, it was a good thing. The idea first emerged last November. Picture the scene. Kendal Mountain Festival had finished for another year, and team Sidetracked got together for an AGM. Graphs, plans, ambitions – followed by Jenny Tough'
Mountain Style: the first illustrated history of British outdoor clothing
Early this year, I noticed a new account pop up on my 'Explore' tab in Instagram. @mountainstylebook was posting images of classic mountaineering gear adverts, as well as some photos of the gear in use. Dear reader, you know me – such stuff is catnip to my brain, so
'Embracing constraints taught me to love them'
Tip of the hat to The Cramped, one of my favourite blogs, which pointed me in the direction of this fascinating piece: 'A tale from “ye olden days” of graphic design that taught me to love and embrace constraints'. This post from Mike Rohde is a look back
Highs and lows from a winter of outdoor gear testing: spooky summit camps, exploding stoves, and more
Now that a long winter here in Scotland has finally come to an end, it's time for me to look back on the highlights of my season. Regular readers will know that I have been on the team at The Great Outdoors testing and reviewing equipment for some
Seek the mayglow while you can, for it is fleeting
May has long been one of my favourite months of the year, but it's not all about Scottish Alpine spring, as you might expect from a mountaineer based in Scotland. One of the things I have learnt about myself is that I need more from nature than mountains.
Perthshire, March, Kodak cine film
I've just finished a batch of scanning, so thought I'd pop up a photo post to follow up from this entry a couple of weeks back. In that post I spoke a bit about my approach to photo note-taking. I also shared some iPhone pictures. Today
