Scotland winter skills 2012  There are still the odd periods of availability for arranging a course this winter. If you've little or no experience of being in the winter mountains, I'd welcome the chance to teach you all the stuff you need to know to get out on your own. If you're already happily scooting around above the snow line but would like to sharpen your skills to take on more demanding excursions, look no further. Give me a call, or drop me an email, and we can have have an no obligation chat about organising a Scottish winter mountaineering course.

I get a fair few enquiries asking exactly what skills are covered and which places we're likely to vist during a typical winter skills course. Tricky questions to answer as no two courses are the same. And to be honest, I do think winter training courses are an opportunity to go off and explore the unknown, which is how it should be. For a rough and by no means definitve idea of what your course could entail, check out this additional winter skills page.

Scottish winter climbing 2012  whatever your level, beginner or regular winter climber, I'd be keen to arrange guiding or instruction, on a daily basis, at any time this winter. There's further info on the winter climbing and guiding pages.

Current winter climbing conditions  there are loads of websites and blogs offering information on current conditions. However, these reports are only as good as the people who compile them. At times vested interests get in the way of impartiality, with conditions often portrayed as being more rosy than they actually are. Here's a short list of sources I personally find reliable, posted by active climbers who seem to tell it as it is.

Nick Carter
James Thacker
Richard Bentley
Kath Bromfield
Adam Hughes

Winter mountaineering in NW Scotland  this is a pastime I can't get enough of. To spread the word, I tried my hand at writing a short piece about some of the area's great mountaineering routes. Routes that are often best approached with one axe and an exploratory attitude. You can read the article here.

Blog  I wish I had the dedication to write a blog or to be honest, I just lack the quick literary skills that would make it anything worth bookmarking. Instead, I try to upload a photo every now and then. You can check out the summer gallery to see the mountain areas where I've recently been climbing and walking with clients and friends.

North Wales - rock climbing 2012  next year's rock climbing instruction will be starting at the end of March. However, it's never too early to get in touch and begin making plans to kick start your climbing year.

Detailed information on rock climbing instruction can be found on the rock climbing page. If you'd simply like to get out climbing, information about guided climbing can be found on the guiding page. Available on a daily basis, it's a great way to just kick back and enjoy some of Snowdonia's classic climbs (or even discover some of the area's less well known gems). Loads of climbing mileage on the blunter end of the rope, at a pace and grade to your liking.

Scottish Rock - 2012  if you can get to Inverness, which these days is pretty easy, you can be picked up and taken on a Highland road trip to climb some all time rock classics.
For classic rock aficionados, a 3 day trip to the far north west could see you climbing the Old Man of Stoer (the mainland's tallest sea stack), the Cioch Nose on the Applecross peninsula and finish with an esoteric route on Stac Pollaidh, the iconic Assynt mountain.
If hard rock is your thing, 3 days is enough time to visit Skye in pursuit of the classic Grey Panther on Kilt Rock, wrestle with King Cobra in the heart of the Cuillin and finish with an 'enchainment' of three star routes on the huge cliff of Sron na Ciche.
The Old Man of Hoy ranks as one of the coolest climbing adventures in Britain. This sandstone column stands 137m above the Atlantic at the most westerly point of the Orkneys. 4 days is advisable to allow time for ferry crossings and to keep a day in hand to get the best conditions for an ascent.

If you'd like more information on a Scottish rock climbing trip in 2012, just call or email. You'll get a quote and an exciting climbing itinerary for whatever time you have available with all the logistics, gear and guiding taken care of.

Gangchenpo - Nepal  I spent last October in Nepal, my second trip there in a year. This time with a friend, Streaky Desroy, attempting to climb the west ridge of Gangchenpo, a beautiful, classically shaped peak at the head of the Langtang valley. Aptly referred to by the explorer Tilman as 'The Fluted Peak' (picture here). We reached our high point on the west summit at 6100m, just under 300m short of the true summit (so close but still an eternity away). The remoteness, commitment required and lack of printed route info was a surreal experience. It certainly cured my addiction to Swiss maps and accurate guidebooks. The whole trip was possible thanks to Steve Williams, the first ascentionist, who explained where the crucial colouir was located - a gateway allowing access through the seemingly impregnable cliffs surrounding the base of the ridge. Thanks for the 'beta' Steve. There's a short article about the trip here. I'm heading back to Nepal in October 2012, again with Streaky, for a foray to climb at the head of the Hinku valley.

Lighter Later  everybody loves sunshine. But every year we set our clocks so that we get less of it in our lives, sleeping through sunlit mornings while we use expensive, polluting electric lights to keep out the dark nights. Lighter Later is a campaign to brighten all of our days, by changing the clocks so we are awake when the sun is out.

The idea is simple: we shift the clocks forward by one hour throughout the entire year. We would still put the clocks forward in spring and back in autumn, but we would have moved an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening, when more of us are awake to enjoy it. Visit lighterlater.org to find out more and add your name to this common sense campaign.