Mountain Athlete
With the national lockdown continuing to restrict travel, I am again reminded how lucky I am to have access to local flying. Although it's definitely not the most spectacular mountain paragliding Scotland has to offer, just being allowed take to the sky and enjoy the views on a clear winter day is a treat. Last …
This Christmas was a difficult one for a lot of people. Isolation, lockdowns and travel restrictions kept families apart and impeded the conventional holiday traditions so many of us enjoy. For me this was further compounded by illness. Stabbing stomach pain, a trip to the hospital and being contact traced which resulted in being stuck inside …
Over the last few weeks, tightening of travel restrictions and deteriorating weather have made me really appreciate the freedom I enjoyed this summer. Not working, just climbing and flying whenever possible was the silver lining of an otherwise extremely tough year. It seems ironic that the greatest loss of freedom I have ever endured, actually …
For a long time now i've been fascinated by paragliding. The idea of gliding effortlessly above the mountains has always been appealing. For me, flying with equipment so minimalist that it more closely resembles a tent than an aircraft, somehow makes it even more alluring. For the last six years I have been skydiving and …
Even for an experienced equipment tester helmets are an inherently difficult thing to review. Despite their many and varied design features helmets are really there for one obvious reason, to protect your head from the type of serious impact you ideally want to avoid. So their is always a certain guilt associated with commenting on …
I have long been a dedicated fan of synthetic insulation. The last 12 years of winter climbing in Scotland have taught me many things about surviving brutal winter conditions in the mountains. Among the most critical, is that if you want your insulation to fight with you to the very end as you do battle on …
Continue reading "Review: Black Diamond Stance Belay Parka & First Light Hoody"
This review is a quick follow up to this post from back in February: https://scottbecker.co.uk/2019/02/08/review-rab-mythic-sleeping-bag-alpine-bivi/ At the time I discussed the features of Rab's top end Alpine Bivi bag, but had yet to personally test it in action. Having recently come home after almost two months in Patagonia for the winter season, I can assure …
As I packed my bags to return to the wild mountains of Patagonia this winter it became pretty clear to me that I was going to need a serious clothing system. With some ambitious plans in the pipeline, I needed hard shells that could do everything. I needed comfort for the brutally long approaches, as …
Continue reading "The Sharp End: testing top of the range pro shells from Black Diamond"
Mention solo climbing to anyone and you will inevitably get mixed reactions. Most people will immediately conjure up extreme images in their head of the most insanely epic freesolo climb they have ever heard about, before promptly calling you crazy. Others will take a more pragmatic approach in their judgement, considering the practical issues and …
Continue reading "Patagonia winter solo attempt: Aguja Guillaumet"
In the mountains sometimes success finds you when you least expect it. When Matthew Tufts suggested I join him and Pedro Fina for the start of their icecap traverse so I said why not, knowing little about the actual objective the had in mind. There were several days of good weather on the forecast and …
Continue reading "Cerro Rincon: a new route and a summit in Patagonia at last!"
