The Call of the Mountains - Book launch - Waterstones, Piccadilly - Oct 2013

Thank you one and all for coming along and packing out Europe's largest bookshop! The video is on the Youtube channel here:

The Call of the Mountains - Book launch - Waterstones, Piccadilly - Oct 2013

The Call of the Wild

When the rain pelts the flysheet, what better than to slot in the ear-plugs and listen to a book by the likes of adventurer, gambler, and raconteur Jack London. 

Pilgrimage to the Delectable Mountains

Flicking through The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan the other day, I was reminded of how he introduces us to the Delectable Mountains. These are havens of rest for pilgrims en route to the Celestial City. From House Beautiful, the pilgrims are shown “a most pleasant Mountainous Country, beautified with Woods, Vineyards, Fruits of all sorts; Flowers also, with Springs and Fountains, very delectable to behold."

Above the Aletsch Glacier

This summer, I hiked with a friend across Switzerland via the Alpine Pass Route. A later posting will talk about that. But we added on a day at the end, which I recommend highly: a trip up above the Aletsch Glacier.

Back online ...

Too much walking and kayaking, and not enough blogging! It's been quite a year so far: Patagonia in March, the Cape Wrath Trail in May, Corsica's GR20 in June, and preparations for Switzerland's Alpine Pass Route in August.

I'll provide a post on each of these shortly, but one of the memorable experiences has been dipping my toe in the water: kayaking off Scotland's West Coast with http://www.wildernessscotland.com /adventures.php?tripID=141 ... A great way to see the Cuillin from a new angle.

Top 14 B & Bs for Munro-bagging

I can personally recommend each of these establishments; all have offered a very warm welcome.

And Ian and Debbie at Ewich House near Crianlarich even baked us a surprise cake to celebrate a final Munro...

The Way of the Sherpa

I was recently reminded of how we can walk more enjoyably and more efficiently, by learning a few simple lessons from the Himalayan porters.

It turns out that a Himalayan porter can travel uphill 60% faster than a Caucasian mountaineer. Half of this better performance comes from the fact that the body of the Himalayan porter has a more efficient metabolism. BUT, the other half of the difference is that the porter moves more efficiently.

Research shows that they keep their centres of gravity moving in a smooth line: not bobbing up and down, not surging forward and backwards, not wobbling from side to side. In other words they glide uphill.

I tried this simple glide technique for a full day along the North Glen Shiel Ridge and it worked a treat!

See the original research here http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/273/1602/2791.full

Himalayan porter's specialization: metabolic power, economy, efficiency and skill; Alberto E Minetti et al; Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2006