The summit of Everest with a dark blue sky

In defence of climbing Everest

The reality is I’ve probably already hit my mountaineering ceiling but climbing Everest will always be the apex of my ambition

It has been a strange year. Usually, press trips, treks and working holidays mean it’s not uncommon for me to spend up to three months away from home. This year, however, I’ve been away just twice. This year, it was all about one thing: Denali.

never break a zipper again as a man zips his red down jacket closed

How to never break a zipper again

From minor mishaps to serious crises, the failure of outdoor gear can ruin your entire trip. Here, we explain how to never break a zipper again

Technical outdoor gear is not cheap. I dread to think what I’ve spent on it over the years. Backpacks, sleeping bags, Gore-Tex jackets, fleeces, waterproof trousers, tents… it all adds up. What do these items all have in common? The humble fastener, AKA the zipper.

12 Christmas gifts for travellers 2024

Our tried-and-tested list of Christmas gifts for travellers, be they hikers, shutterbugs, adrenaline junkies or culture vultures

This year has been unusual in that Peter and I haven’t taken a single trip together for the first time in 14 years. He spent three weeks climbing Denali – one of the coldest places on Earth – and I certainly wasn’t going to join him on that. Later on in the year, he spent six days on the High Scardus Trail in Albania which, given my feelings about camping, I wasn’t going to do either.

a hand placing hiking gear in a washing machine

How to look after your hiking gear: 12 kit checks

From safely washing a sleeping bag to measuring partially used gas canisters, here’s how to look after your hiking gear

Last spring, I spent the best part of three weeks climbing Denali, the highest peak in North America. There were few opportunities to stay clean on the mountain so by the time I got off the slopes, I – along with all my gear – was in a pretty nasty state. 

Britain's last remaining wild places featured img

Britain’s last remaining wild places

From desolate moorlands to windswept Atlantic islands, we take a look at Britain’s last remaining wild places

In Britain, wilderness has largely been abolished. The abolition began millennia ago. Between 7,000 and 5,000 years ago, around 75% of the UK was covered in forest. Then large-scale forest clearance started around 3100 BC when Neolithic agriculture was introduced. Now, the UK has around 13% forest cover, making it one of Europe’s least densely forested countries.

A lone house surrounded by rolling hills on the High Scardus Trail

High Scardus Trail in Albania: everything you need to know

The High Scardus Trail in Albania is a wild alternative to the well-trodden Peaks of the Balkans Trail. Here’s all you need to know

“Welcome to Hotel Radomirë Korab,” Agron greets me with an enormous smile as I arrive at my lodgings. It’s the end of my second day on the High Scardus Trail and I am in dire need of a drink. “Can I get you a beer?” he adds, clearly reading my mind.

Atlas & Boots’ top 100 travel experiences – ranked

Atlas & Boots’ top 100 travel experiences – ranked

Kia and Peter rank their top 100 travel experiences, hand-picked from over 100 countries, seven continents and thousands of places of interest

This week, it will be exactly 10 years since we packed up everything we owned, put it in storage and went off on a year-long journey around the world. It started on 11th August 2014 with a 36-hour journey from London, through Singapore and Brisbane, to our final destination of Vanuatu.

Cold shoulder: 13 dramatic climbing controversies

From dubious first ascents to tense clashes at high altitudes, we explore 13 dramatic climbing controversies – some resolved and others less so

There was a time when climbing controversies were sportingly confined to the slopes. The petty trivialities, the robust exchanges and the heated clashes were just part of the cut and thrust of the mountaineering world. 

Denali behind tents at base camp

How to climb Denali: all your questions answered

Our Q&A-style tips on how to climb Denali, gathered from the many questions asked by our readers and followers

Whenever I get back from a big climb, I invariably receive an array of questions about the expedition via email and social media. As usual, I’ve collated them all below in a detailed Q&A that includes all my tips on how to climb Denali. If I’ve missed anything, please do get in touch.

Peter on the summit of Denali

Climbing Denali: a dream almost slips through my fingers

Although it was the natural next step in my bid for the seven summits, climbing Denali proved to be an altogether different beast

At around 6.30pm local time on Tuesday 28 May 2024, six grown men stood on the summit of Denali, the highest peak in North America, crying their eyes out. Among us was a triathlon athlete, a veteran of the Marathon des Sables and an Everest summiteer returning to Denali for his second attempt. One of our group, a Californian who regularly climbed in the Sierras, was on his knees sobbing over his ice axe. I tried to record a video message for Instagram but couldn’t speak through my tears of relief.

10 famous trees cut down by humans

Following the felling of the beloved Sycamore Gap tree, we dig into other famous trees cut down by humans

It was an act of vandalism that scandalised a nation. Britain’s iconic Sycamore Gap tree was cut down with a chainsaw in the early hours of 28th September 2023. The senselessness of the act was particularly poignant. There have been other famous trees cut down by humans, but there has usually been a reason: accident, protest, exploitation. In the case of the Sycamore Gap tree, it appears to be sheer malice.

Kia looks out across the Drake Passage

On travelling solo as a small brown woman

“People think they can push me around – sometimes literally,” says Kia as she reflects on the trials of travelling solo

I am not one of those women who move through the world looking sleek, elegant, aloof and inscrutable. You know the ones. They’re usually wearing clothes that are ‘dry clean only’ and their wrists drip with expensive accessories. Men find them attractive but also a little frightening – as if they might turn you to stone if they deigned to look at you.

15 best hiking apps to download in 2024

We share the best hiking apps to download this year, from navigation and route planning to first aid and stargazing

Occasionally, when Kia and I are driving somewhere remote – the Kalahari in Namibia, say, or the Australian Outback – she will marvel at the fact that travellers used to do this with only paper maps. Unlike me, Kia grew up in inner city London and had little opportunity to venture into the outdoors. As such, she never learnt how to use a compass and map or how to build a campfire, or any number of the skills a frequent hiker should have.

Jaipur Cycle Tour: testing my mettle in the frantic Pink City

The Jaipur Cycle Tour is not for the fainthearted – but is it worth the panic? Kia finds out

The legend of Jaipur is that it’s India’s first planned city. Historians will tell you that its founder – scholarly prince Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II – was passionate about astronomy, mathematics and science, that he studied European cities and collected maps from all over the world.

The Taj Mahal reflected during our Essential India tour

Essential India: the highs and lows of our two-week tour

From the rush and thrill of New Delhi to the pyres of Varanasi, we share the highs and lows of our Essential India tour

“India is not a holiday; it’s an experience,” says our guide in what sounds like a promise but might also be a warning. India, she’s trying to say, is unpredictable – not easily tamed and packaged for the average tourist. 

Siberian tiger in Russia – one of the countries where you can see tigers in the wild

Countries where you can see tigers in the wild

From the Russian taiga to the Indonesian island of Sumatra, we profile the places and countries where you can see tigers in the wild

A century ago, as many as 100,000 wild tigers stalked the planet but by the dawn of the 21st century, that figure had plummeted by around 95% largely due to habitat loss and poaching. Current numbers are hard to confirm – tigers are masters of camouflage after all – but estimates by the Global Tiger Forum put the global population at approximately 5,574 in 2023.

A tiger crosses a riverbed while visiting Jim corbett

Tips for visiting Jim Corbett National Park: 12 dos and don’ts

Our essential tips for visiting Jim Corbett National Park, India’s legendary tiger reserve in the foothills of the Himalayas

The state of Uttarakhand in India, bordering China and Nepal, takes its name from the Sanskrit words uttara meaning ‘north’ and khaṇḍa meaning ‘land’. To Hindus, it’s known as Devbhoomi – the land of the gods – because of its cluster of high-altitude shrines shrouded in mist.

crowds at Yellowstone national park watch a geyser erupt

9 US national parks that require a reservation in 2024

America’s outdoor spaces are becoming increasingly congested, so more US national parks will require a reservation in 2024

In 1872, the US established Yellowstone National Park. It was the first protected site in the country and only the second in the world after Bogd Khan Uul in Mongolia. Yellowstone soon became the international standard for the preservation of biodiversity and cultural history; a standard that has since been widely replicated around the globe.

Lenin's bust surrounded by snow

Poles of inaccessibility: the middle of nowhere

The poles of inaccessibility are arguably the true last frontiers for explorers. But what and where are they?

I’ve long been fascinated with the most remote places on Earth and the epic journeys of discovery to reach them. I’ve spent countless long mornings in bed leafing through giant reference books on the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration and even longer afternoons poring over immense maps detailing epic quests across untamed oceans.

A turtle seen while snorkelling Baros Reef Maldives

Snorkelling Baros Reef in the Maldives

Snorkelling Baros Reef in the Maldives offers encounters with turtles, sharks and octopuses just steps away from powdery white sand

The private island of Baros in the North Male atoll of the Maldives is one of our favourite places on Earth. We first visited in 2012 on a press trip with flights, accommodation and all excursions included.