Category Archives: Uncategorized

Steve Swenson leaned conspiratorially closer, his black hair, bright eyes and slim frame belied his years.  “Don’t believe a word Raphael says, he’s the biggest sandbagger in Canada.” Sat in a large brown leather chair a few days later, looking … Continue reading →

A rod of steel covered in rubber, the footrest of Steve Keates’s Kawasaki Z650, stuck-out at a right angle. The footrest had no rubber on the underside; it was chewed like a lump of carrion. The rod of metal was … Continue reading →

The talk will include a whole host of quirky stories from new routing in Scotland over the last few years. Thin ice tapping and falling and success in New England, USA. An attempt at a new route on the unclimbed North Face … Continue reading →

The term ‘climbing’ covers a plethora of different disciplines – ice climbing, bouldering, traditional rock climbing, mountaineering, dry tooling, sport climbing, Scottish winter climbing, etc. It doesn’t matter which of these sub-cultures you are into, they are all as important … Continue reading →

El Delphin is an orange, semi-circular limestone arch in Rodella Gorge. Squirming through the jagged gap at the apex of the arch – head-jam, body-jam, knees pressed against rock – body-jam… squirm-thrutch-wriggle … thighs pumped, back scratched. Inching, inching, inching … … Continue reading →

A summer of a difference, (sport climbing in areas of Europe that I have not previously visited, The Ariage and Rodellar up to now and maybe some summer Alpinism) instead of traditional climbing in North Wales, which generally involves getting … Continue reading →

  “Well some of us have to work!” My sister said as Katy and I left her £500 000 home in the south of England on the way to climb for ten weeks in Europe. I don’t begrudge anyone who … Continue reading →

Sitting in the passenger seat of the Hippy’s new prized possession – a VW T-5 with a conversion to make it into something like a living room – Ballycastle high street, County Antrim, resembled the town I grew up – … Continue reading →

Spring, a time in-between. A waking. Fresh growth. Sticky green glistening buds.   Lambs balance on legs, legs not used to routine. See through plastic wrap around jackets to save them dying in the winter’s cold – gone.  Playing, growing, … Continue reading →

        The Keswick Mountain Festival will be the final time I give The Echoes and Beyond talk… (I can hear folk cheering as I type!)  Below is a link to the time and cost and where this … Continue reading →