We share our top 10 posts of the year, from a solo trip to China to a three-month stint in Antarctica
This time last year, I wrote about Peter sumitting Denali, which brought him one step closer to climbing the seven summits. This year, in classic Watson style, he’s in Antarctica, starting a three-month stint as a wildlife monitor.
Meanwhile, my milestones have mainly happened at home. My fifth novel, What Happens in the Dark, came out in June. I started the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism that I’ve wanted to do on-and-off for about 10 years. The New York Times named Take It Back one of 7 great legal thrillers. And best of all, I was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (which is kind of a big deal for writers). 🥳
This year has shown me that, even in a time of extreme personal upheaval, Peter and I still have one thing in common: we follow our dreams – even when they take us to the end of the earth.
I’m proud of us and I’m proud of this little corner of the internet that we have built together.
As is tradition, I’m taking a moment to look back and share our top 10 posts of 2025.
Have a wonderful Christmas and we’ll see you next year.
1. I’m going to spend three months counting penguins in Antarctica
By Peter
Read: I’m going to spend three months counting penguins in Antarctica
In 2023, Peter secured a coveted job at the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT), a charity responsible for preserving British heritage sites in Antarctica.
Every year, UKAHT sends a small team to Port Lockroy to run the world’s southernmost post office and a museum that serves as a time capsule of early polar science.
This year, Peter will be joining the Port Lockroy team in Antarctica for three months. His job? Wildlife monitor, which involves counting penguins on the tiny football-pitch-sized Goudier Island on the Antarctic Peninsula, 9,000 miles away from London.
2. What I hoped to show my nieces with my solo trip to China
By Kia
Read: What I hoped to show my nieces with my solo trip to China
The fact that I have travelled the world is an act of resistance against the conservatism of my family and community. Every time I show my nieces a video of me abroad – maybe jumping out of a plane, hiking to an active volcano or diving a plane wreck – I’m drip-feeding them feminism.
This piece explains what I hoped to show them with a solo trip to China.
3. 10,000 years a mountain: why Denali should keep its name
By Peter
Read: 10,000 years a mountain: why Denali should keep its name
Denali was in the news this year, not because of any mountaineering feat but because Donald Trump vowed to rename the mountain after William McKinley, the 25th US president, who was assassinated in 1901.
This was not the first time a mountain’s name has caused controversy. With that in mind, this piece takes a look at the latest war of words surrounding Denali.
4. 10 climate photographs that changed the way we see the world
By Kia
Read: 10 climate photographs that changed the way we see the world
There are certain photographs that have changed the course of history. Usually, they are political: Tank Man in Tiananmen Square, Iraqi soldier on the Highway of Death, Napalm Girl in Vietnam. These photos are chilling but powerful.
Climate photographs are less celebrated but often just as powerful. In this piece, we chart 10 climate photographs that have brought the crisis of our times into sharp relief.
5. Is the GR20 the toughest trek in Europe?
By Peter
Read: Is the GR20 the toughest trek in Europe?
The GR20 – or Grande Randonnée 20 – trail takes hikers across steep, exposed, technical terrain along the length of Corsica, the rocky Mediterranean island southeast of mainland France.
Formed from the same mountain-building forces that created some of Europe’s highest peaks, Corsica’s ridges and cliffs share the same ancient rocks. Millions of years ago, the island was connected to the mainland before it drifted to its current position, creating the most mountainous island in the Mediterranean, hence its moniker, the ‘mountain in the sea’.
After trekking the northern section of the GR20, Peter asks: is the GR20 the toughest trek in Europe?
6. Why we don’t mourn for daredevil adventurers
By Kia
Read: Why we don’t mourn for daredevil adventurers
This year, I was startled to read the news that Felix Baumgartner had died. Baumgartner, also known as “Fearless Felix”, was most famous for his 2012 skydive from the edge of space.
Baumgartner died at the age 56 during a paragliding incident in Italy. As a pioneer of extreme sports, he understood the risks involved. He would know well that if you court death, sometimes death will answer you. This pieces asks: should we civilians mourn daredevil adventurers like him?
7. US national parks were created at a cost to Native Americans
By Peter
Read: US national parks were created at a cost to Native Americans
The establishment of US national parks had severe consequences for Native American peoples across the continent. Research on the religious history of US national parks illustrates how religious justifications for establishing parks contributed to the persecution of Indigenous tribes, a reality that the National Park Service has begun to redress in recent decades. This piece investigates.
8. 10 stunning archaeological World Heritage Sites in danger
By Kia
Read: 10 stunning archaeological World Heritage Sites in danger
If we asked you to name a famous World Heritage Site, there’s a good chance you would say the Great Pyramids of Giza. Other likely contenders are the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu and Petra. These archaeological sites are some of man’s greatest marvels and are accordingly protected.
Not all World Heritage Sites, however, enjoy the same security. In this piece, we look at 10 archaeological World Heritage Sites currently in danger.
9. How much does it cost to climb the seven summits? (Updated for 2025)
By Peter
Read: How much does it cost to climb the seven summits? (Updated for 2025)
Peter’s longest-held dream is to climb the seven summits. After sumitting Denali last year, he’s well on his way, but from here on in, it gets really expensive.
In this piece, he updates his annual review of how much it costs to climb the seven summits, using figures from seven established guiding companies in Nepal, the USA, the UK and New Zealand.
10. true-life outdoor survival movies
By Kia
Read: 10 true-life outdoor survival movies
It is said that humans can survive three minutes without air, three days without water and three weeks without food. On occasion, however, humans perform extraordinary feats of survival that far surpass these limits.
Usually, they are athletes used to courting danger, but sometimes they are laymen caught in a nightmare they couldn’t predict. In this piece, we share 10 extraordinary outdoor survival movies based on true-life stories.
Bonus: Atlas & Boots’ top 100 travel experiences – ranked
By Peter & Kia
Read: Atlas & Boots’ top 100 travel experiences – ranked
One from the archives: In this piece, Peter and I rank our top 100 travel experiences, hand-picked from over 100 countries, seven continents and thousands of places of interest.
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