Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2020 i The Great Outdoors

Describing any hill in the winter months as ‘beginner’ is slightly misleading. Before you get started, you must have a wealth of skills and knowledge at your disposal: the right kit, avalanche awareness, strong navigation techniques, and the understanding that in winter, conditions are just as important as the hill itself. After gaining some know-how via courses or qualified guides, these hills can offer great confidence-building walks. 1. SCHIEHALLION, PERTH AND KINROSS One of the most accessible Munros in the summer, Schiehallion also makes for a forgiving climb in winter. However, it should be noted that visibility can become notoriously poor in bad weather, with the meagre cairn at the summit being prone to hiding. The Braes of Foss car park route takes you straight to the summit, providing suitable…

DON’T MISS OUT! PAY THE NORMAL SHOP PRICE* AND GET THE NEXT ISSUE DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR. ORDER TODAY! ORDER ONLINE AT: SHOP.KELSEY.CO.UK/TGOJAN20 CALL NOW ON: 01959 543747** QUOTE REF: TGOJAN20 Terms & Conditions: Terms and conditions apply. You should receive your copy around November 27 if you order before November 13 and as soon as is possible if you order after that date. *Delivery is included in the cover price for UK customers only. An additional £1 will be added to any overseas addresses. **Lines are open Mon-Fri 8.30am - 5.30pm. Calls charged at your standard network rate. Front cover is for illustration purposes and subject to change.…

FEATURE PUBLISHED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH 1 ASIA Tien Shan, September 2016 980km, +30,000m, 25 days The central Tien Shan range spans the entire Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan. Home to the snow leopard, yurt-dwelling nomads and some of the tallest mountains in the world, the beauty and splendour of the Tien Shan are the reason this project began. No route existed and the feat had never previously been attempted. 2 AFRICA Atlas Mountains, October 2017 860km, +25,000m, 22 days The High Atlas Mountains are defined by dry, rocky slopes and small Berber communities – the indigenous group that live in the Atlas. With stable weather and shorter distances between communities, this range appeared easier; but cultural issues over a solo female adventure weighed in on most aspects of the expedition. 3…

START / FINISH Blughasary DISTANCE: 33km / 20 miles ASCENT: 2610m / 8,562 feet DURATION: 2 - 3 days David’s circuit took in the lesser-known southern summits of Assynt: the peaks of Ben Mor Coigach (743m), Sgurr an Fhìdhleir (705m), a subsidiary of Beinn nan Caorach (648m), Sgòrr Tuath (589m), Beinn an Eoin (619m) and Beinn Tarsuinn (544m). While none are particularly high in Scottish terms, these peaks rise from sea level and the terrain is mostly off-path and rough underfoot. The circuit begins and ends at the tiny car park of Blughasary – look out for the signs (often half buried in gorse) as you head north from Ullapool. The turning is on your left as you reach the bottom of Strath Canaird. The ‘Postie’s Path’ is not to…

Our walks this month 1 Central Highlands Geal Charn & Carn Dearg 2 Skye Beinn na Caillich 3 Lake District Helvellyn via Grisedale 4 Yorkshire Dales Melbecks Moor & Gunnerside Gill 5 North York Moors Barker’s Ridge & Cold Moor 6 Brecon Beacons Ystradfellte CONTRIBUTORS…

1 Start/Finish National Park car park in Glenridding GR: NY385169 Turn R along A592 for almost 900m. 2 As road bends L, take dead-end lane signposted Grisedale on R. 3 When surfaced lane bends sharp R, keep straight on along rough track. 4 At cairn at top of valley climb, with Grisedale Tarn ahead, keep R, soon ascending pitched path. 5 Gradient eases at cairn on Dollywaggon Pike. Head R for true summit. Now walk along E edge of high ground, generally N, over High Crag, Nethermost Pike and then on to Helvellyn. (Main ridge path, encountered briefly on several occasions, keeps back from edge.) 6 From summit of Helvellyn, continue along E rim, ignoring paths to L. Beyond Lower Man, descent steepens. Stony path drops into slight dip and…

Jenny Tough A specialist in fast and light expeditions, Jenny Tough has completed three world-first mountain range traverses. She is currently working on a project to fastpack, solo and unsupported, across a mountain range on every continent – read her account of her latest extraordinary journey in this project on p30. She is also on a mission to get more people outside and challenging their own comfort zones, particularly women and girls, which she has championed by launching a book called Tough Women: Adventure Stories. Pete Elliot Pete is a freelance photographer, videographer and writer based in Southampton. Driven by exploring new places and meeting new people, he loves to travel near or far and is content simply being outdoors with a camera in his hand. You can often find…

www.tgomagazine.co.uk/awards It’s that time of year again! Vote to recognise your favourite people, brands, businesses, campaigners and more in The Great Outdoors Awards 2020 Established in 2012, The Great Outdoors Awards have a simple purpose: to recognise the very best in the British outdoor world. Pubs, people, places, brands, organisations, and more – our awards help you, the British hillwalking public, to give something back to those that help us all get the most out of our time in the hills and mountains. The awards are divided between the Gear of the Year Awards, which are chosen by expert judges, and the Reader Awards. Our Reader Awards are unique to the UK in being 100 per cent public-nominated and public-voted. We set the categories, but you choose the winners. GIVE…

Postal address The Editor, The Great Outdoors, Kelsey Publishing Ltd, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent ME18 6AL. Please include a phone number and postal address. Waterproofs that go the distance? When I read reports in the The Great Outdoors on waterproof jackets (Chris Townsend review, October 2020 TGO), the items tested are always brand new. I would like to hear more about how clothing performs after several years of use. Over the years I have used several different waterproof jackets with differing technology. All of them, bar one, have failed after one to three years during extensive and very heavy rain. The only one that has remained waterproof and breathable has been my Páramo. I have used it for more than 12 years and it is still…

Edited by Philip and Myrtle Ashmole for Borders Forest Trust Whittles Publishing, £18.99 THE WHOLE ethos of this book, and the project it describes, can be summed up as ‘one man’s dream becomes reality’. The man is Philip Ashmole, and his dream was to rewild a substantial piece of land in the Borders; to restore this land, which at the start of the project was almost treeless, to a mixed landscape with a variety of species creating a mosaic instead of the monotone of bare fell (or alternatively regimented blocks of quick-growing conifers) that epitomises too much of Scotland today. First they had to acquire the land, which is a whole story in itself. With this achieved in 1999, partly due to a generous grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund,…

THE FIRST TIME I ever saw Craig Cwm Silyn – the 2408 feet (734 metre) high point on the ‘Ridge of the Red Cairns’, now more commonly referred to as ‘the Nantlle Ridge’ – was on a weekend meet of the Mynydd Climbing Club held in Dyffryn Nantlle some time in the very early 1960s. I remember a Saturday spent rock-climbing on the Great Slab of Craig yr Ogof in Cwm Silyn – a venue to which I was to return many times over the following decades, and a Saturday evening in the Cwellyn Arms in Rhyd-Ddu. The amount of beer poured down my 14-year-old throat by certain wayward older elements of the club resulted in my being heartily and noisily sick outside the Good Companions tent (remember those?) that…

THE BASIC CHOICE in insulated jackets is between down fill and synthetic fill. The latter have improved noticeably in recent years, but despite this down is still warmer for the weight and more compact when packed. Down is longerlasting too, though the latest synthetics are pretty durable, and also soft and very comfortable, moulding to the body for near instant warmth. The big plus point of synthetics is resistance to moisture. They soak up less water and dry much quicker than standard down. Hydrophobic down, which has a water-repellent treatment, is more resistant to moisture but it’s still not as good as synthetics. Nothing is very comfortable when sodden, though! In rain, down clothing is generally too warm to wear while moving anyway and you probably won’t need it at…

1 Start/Finish Culra bothy GR: NN523762 Head SW from Culra bothy for 2.5km before leaving the path and heading straight up the front of the constantly narrowing ridge – the Lancet Edge – of Sgor Iutharn. 2 From the summit of this peak drop W into a gap then rise again on a boulder field to reach the Geal Charn plateau and small summit cairn. 3 Head NE and carefully pick your way through the line of crags to reach a saddle and then climb again to Diollaid a’ Chairn. 4 Continue on an easterly line to Carn Dearg. 5 From here, drop E back to Culra bothy. NOTE: Getting to Culra bothy from Dalwhinnie is a long walk in itself at approximately 15km each way. To complete this walk…

1 Start/Finish Car park in Gunnerside GR: SD950982 From car park, cross bridge in Gunnerside and walk E for 220m. Take surfaced bridleway on L and at first bend keep ahead on rough track, soon turning to grass. Pass small barn on R and join walled path climbing to plateau of rough pasture. Turn R through gate and keep ahead for 1km to meet tarmac track. 2 Walk ahead for 700m to houses at Blades and go N on good track, past a couple of houses. Go through gate after 600m and walk NE on rough track for 1km to meet unfenced road. Turn L to descend to Surrender Bridge, with old smelting mill on R. 3 Cross bridge and turn L on good track along N side of Mill…

1 Start/Finish Car park in Ystradfellte GR: SN929134 Turn L out of car park and R in front of The New Inn, passing church on L. Continue along lane crossing Afon Mellte and take next footpath on R, which leads to Cwm Porth car park. Signpost indicates path down to Porth yr Ogof – well worth viewing. 2 Cross road and you have two options. Recommended route is to turn L uphill then R along track/public footpath and follow this to Hendre-bolon and an intersection/signpost 11 beyond, where you join Four Falls Trail. Turn R down to waymark post 13. (Alternatively from road you can continue along path signposted for Sgwd Clun-Gwyn, keeping ahead at gate – path that forks R signed ‘Access for Cavers’. Before long you reach a…

AS I WRITE THIS COLUMN, I think back to an autumn day in 1990. Cameron McNeish had just taken over as editor of The Great Outdoors and had given me a call. We met at Pitlochry and walked round Loch Faskally together. Cameron outlined his plans for the magazine and, to my great delight, invited me to become a regular columnist. I’m still here 30 years later which makes me extremely fortunate. Amongst the topics Cameron and I discussed as we walked was the future of the Cairngorm ski area. This was something close to both our hearts. A plan for major westward expansion of the ski area had been thwarted, but we were both sure the subject would not go away. Nor has it, and we are now faced…

By Ian McNeish Extremis Publishing, £9.99 Ian McNeish is a retired policeman who, like many of us, discovered an affection for mountains and wild places that over time developed into a deep and abiding passion. In this book he relates how this love of high places grew, and regales us with tales of both triumph and disaster, always in a very readable style. Any regular hillwalker will identify with Ian’s hilarious account of river crossings in Fisherfield, and share with him the feeling of fellowship when other like-minded souls are unexpectedly encountered in the hills. The book covers hillwalking in Scotland and elsewhere, describing expeditions to a whole gamut of hills from little Dumyat in the Ochils near Ian’s home to the Inaccessible Pinnacle and the Fisherfield peaks such as…

THE RIVER RUSHES past with increasing violence; or at least it’s increasing in my mind. The past couple of days have been unusually hot, and the snow on the passes I’ve been crossing for over two weeks is now melting rapidly, flowing down to the rivers I need to cross here in the valley below. Torrenting streams collide, as if about to burst the banks. I count to three, and jump in. The ice cold of the snowmelt doesn’t even register. I’m focussed on placing my feet on the rocky bottom, on not being pulled in by the fast-moving water. Soon, realising the water is too deep, I hastily retreat to shore, clambering back up the muddy bank with limbs already frozen. Every inch of the landscape seems to be…

■ MONTANE TRAILBLAZER 30 The first pack created specifically for fastpacking, it's lightweight and highly adjustable, and keeps me quick and organised on the trail with plenty of accessible pockets. It doubles as my pillow at night, and I've put more than 2000km worth of memories on mine so far. ■ MONTANE FLEET JACKET In any mountains, a good waterproof is probably the most valuable investment you can take. I’ve been using this jacket for years, and it’s kept me dry in all terrains and on every continent, from Scotland to the Tien Shan, Iceland to the Rockies. ■ MONTANE VIA TRAIL SHORT It’s always shorts weather, as far as I’m concerned. Being able to move fast and free is what I love, and I’ve been rocking the same pair…

Fencing for deer is a hot topic in the Assynt area at the moment, as there are plans afoot for a 12-mile enclosure to protect pockets of native woodland around Eisg Brachaidh, just south of Inverkeraig (a little to the north of this route). Much of Assynt sits in a National Scenic Area (NSA; arguably the Scots equivalent of an English National Park) and the new fencing will have a visual impact from the mountain tops. Paddlers and anglers also have concerns regarding access to the lochs. On the other side of the (ahem) fence, it’s worth noting that the deer population of Scotland is said to exceed the carrying capacity of the land by a minimum of 10 to 12 times (60,000 is reckoned by some to be the…

The Nantlle Ridge is a string of summits which, taken together, make for a wonderful and airy ridge-walk: Y Garn, Mynydd Drws-y-coed, Mynydd Tal-y-mignedd and Craig Cwm Silyn. The range of hills lies to the west of the Snowdon massif, and while they lack that mountain’s scale and sublimity, they still make for an exciting outing, with some exposed terrain and a bit of easy scrambling to spice things up. More importantly, it sees a fraction of Snowdon’s crowds. In this feature Pete and his friends started from Rhyd-Ddu and walked the summits as far as Mynydd Tal-y-mignedd, wild camped, and returned the same way. As a day walk, there are a few options for taking it on. Making a complete circuit from Rhyd-Ddu which incorporates Craig Cwm Silyn and descends…

1 Start/Finish Small layby beside chambered cairn on Broadford to Elgol road GR: NG626220 Cross cairn to join rough track NW then W to tarmac lane near Coire-chat-achan. Follow it past the first house. 2 Turn right to cross stream, then head up to its top in Coire Fearchair. Cross corrie floor N to head up the NE ridge to Beinn na Caillich. 3 Head down N past large cairn then NW down ridgeline. At 400m level, head W below the crag-rimmed Coire Reidh, then NW down Coire Garbh to pass below crags of Beinn Dearg Mhor’s north ridge. 4 Cross a moorland hump W, to hollow An Slugain. Beyond stream follow path S over a wide col, then down the left side of Srath Beag. 5 As valley opens…

1 Start/Finish Chop Gate car park GR: SE559994 Leave the car park via the small wooden bridge at the side of the toilet block and stay on the main track leading directly uphill. At the top of the slope is a standing stone at Cock Howe. 2 Continue ahead past Cock Howe for about 100m, then turn R on the firm path leading NW. Just after Green Howe, turn R onto the path, still heading NW, over Barker’s Ridge. When the track splits, ignore the main path to the R that leads downhill towards woodland, and instead turn L then immediately L again. After about 100m turn R on the footpath and continue to Brian’s Pond. 3 At the marker post, take the small track that forks R gently downhill…