The UK's most popular outdoor travel blog
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.
We’ve created a mountaineering calendar of the world’s greatest mountains and the optimal time of year at which to climb them, listed month by month
Since I first started climbing, I must have spent hours typing “when is the best time to climb…” into search engines and then crawling through websites to find the key piece of information I needed. Only when I have a date in mind can I start to think about the practicalities of actually trying to climb a mountain (i.e. booking time off work, flights, budget, gear etc).
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.
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.
My comprehensive Everest base camp kit list includes everything you’ll need to reach the foot of the highest mountain in the world
Having just returned from my Everest base camp trek in Nepal, I thought it would be useful to share my entire Everest base camp kit list as a point of reference for future trekkers.
Our complete Aconcagua gear list includes everything you’ll need to summit the highest mountain in the Western and Southern Hemispheres
Aconcagua in Argentina, at 6,961m (22,837ft), is South America’s highest mountain and one of the seven summits (the seven peaks that make up the highest point on every continent).
I recently returned from climbing Aconcagua with Acomara Aconcagua Expeditions. A good trekking company will issue you with a detailed kit list, but I always like to see what other people have used.
From dizzying walkways to epic ascents, these hiking trails in Málaga are a superb way to tread beyond the touristy coastal resorts
For many, Málaga is simply a gateway to the crowded seaside resorts of the Costa del Sol. Relatively few will venture far from the beach. If they do, chances are they’ll head into the city which, after decades of being ignored by the masses, has undergone something of a reinvention.
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.
From a faked summit photo to an ascent in less than half a day, these are the most interesting facts about Denali
I was planning and preparing for my climb of Denali for over 18 months. Between training sessions, I spent hours poring over maps of the route and reading reports on previous expeditions, all in an attempt to absorb as much information about the mountain as I could.
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.
My complete Denali gear list includes everything you’ll need to summit the highest mountain in North America
Denali in Alaska, USA, stands at a lofty 6,190m (20,310ft), making it North America’s highest mountain and one of the seven summits (the seven peaks that make up the highest point on every continent).
I recently returned from climbing Denali with American Alpine Institute (AAI). Any good guiding company will issue you a detailed kit list, but I always like to see exactly what others have used. As such, I thought it would be helpful to share my complete Denali gear list for future climbers to reference.
My sleeping system for Denali worked a treat and ensured I always enjoyed a good night’s sleep on North America’s highest peak
The coldest I have ever been in my life was while climbing Denali – hardly surprising considering it’s one of the coldest and windiest places in the USA. During the expedition, there were several times when I felt the cold intensely, so much so that I even suffered some mild frostbite on my fingers after we were delayed on the fixed ropes for several hours. That said, I was never cold when safely cocooned in my sleeping bag.
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.
Britain’s best long-distance footpaths provide excellent access to the outdoors while showcasing the finest scenery our isles have to offer
When you think of the best long-distance hiking trails from around the world, little old Britain probably wouldn’t top of your list. Hikers will more likely be drawn to the Triple Crown of the Appalachian, Continental Divide and Pacific Crest trails in the US, New Zealand’s Great Walks or the famous Annapurna Circuit and Everest Base Camp treks in Nepal.
From an exposed ridge on a Colorado fourteener to a remote Hawaiian jungle trail, these are America’s most dangerous hikes
While most will – and do – complete these hikes unscathed, the trails can be perilous enough that a spot of bad luck, small mistake or slight miscalculation can leave you seriously injured, or even dead.
Exposure, crevasses, avalanches – all the usual threats can be found on America’s most dangerous hikes. But there are also a few wildcards here that can turn a walk in the park into a dice with death. Huckleberries, anyone?
The most beautiful mountains in the US are a contentious subject, for this is a land that brims with beauty. We scoured the states and whittled them down to a list of 21
Legendary climber Reinhold Messner said that there are three rules of mountaineering: “It’s always further than it looks. It’s always taller than it looks. And it’s always harder than it looks.”
From the paths less travelled to the longest and the newest trail, we take a look at the best Kilimanjaro climbing route
The ‘roof of Africa’ was the first high-altitude mountain I ever climbed. At 5,895m (19,340ft), Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is Africa’s highest peak and while I had some hillwalking behind me, I had no prior experience of high-altitude trekking. I opted for the cheapest and quickest route to the summit via the Marangu AKA the ‘Coca-Cola’ route.
The most beautiful mountains in the world have captivated climbers for centuries. Here, we examine their lethal appeal
“You are not in the mountains. The mountains are in you,” said John Muir, the renowned naturalist, author and environmental philosopher.
If our resident seven-summit hopeful is anything to go by, Muir makes a valid point. Those who spend time in the mountains seem to be driven by a deeper force.
From El Capitan in Yosemite to remote challenges in Greenland and Antarctica, we profile the world’s most stunning big wall climbs
It was five years ago that I first came across a big wall climber. A tiny speck on the side of a gigantic granite wall, the climber was bivvying in Yosemite National Park, the Holy Land of big wall climbing.
I couldn’t comprehend how someone could sleep tacked onto the side of a wall, suspended thousands of feet above the ground, sometimes in treacherous weather conditions.
Trekking the Fann Mountains of Tajikistan is an adventure through one of Central Asia’s hidden gems. Here’s how to make it happen
Tajikistan is the smallest of the Central Asian republics. Landlocked, misshapen and squished and squeezed by its neighbours, it has remained largely undiscovered by tourists even though it was at the centre of the Silk Road for much of its past.
