Notes
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
Something I should have done years ago: ALCS (plus nebulous thoughts about writing as a lifelong vocation)
After years of telling myself 'I should really register for ALCS this year', I've finally managed to motivate myself to do it before the deadline (just). It's been an interesting exercise to see everything I've published since 2021 all in one place.
What survives in the record: a Glen Coe hill day from 15 years ago today
Every now and again, I dip into my Lightroom library and journals, curious to see what I was doing 10, 15, or 20 years ago on this day. On the 6th of April, 2009, my brother James had just arrived in Glen Coe and was keen to experience these mountains
Some phone pictures from a sunny hill weekend (and a few thoughts on photo note-taking)
And now for something completely different. If you want to understand my approach to photos as a working outdoor writer then 35mm film (which I gush about on this blog all the time) is only a third of the story. Another third is my full-frame digital camera – no surprises there.
