The Great Outdoors January 2022

£15 million Combined Liability Insurance cover Cover yourself for hill walking and mountain activities worldwide BMC Travel Insurance Access policies designed for hill walking and trekking worldwide Mountain Training registration Register for awards such as Lowland Leader and Mountain Leader £10,000 Personal Accident insurance cover As a BMC member, you’re covered (aged 3 – 80) when hill walking Summit magazine The biggest outdoor magazine in the UK 15% discount in Cotswold Outdoor / Snow+Rock Plus many more retail discounts across the country JOIN TODAY By joining 75,000 BMC members, you’ll help us: • Be a powerful voice for all adventurous hill walkers, scramblers and mountaineers• Protect the British mountains• Campaign for improved access to the hills we love• Lead environmental sustainability in the mountains • Provide world-class technical and safety advice• Help hill walkers improve their skills, confidence and achieve personal ambitions• Keep mountain…

DREICHNESS AND DRIZZLE; mist and mizzle; plothering or pouring; spitting, stoating, raining cats and dogs, or just plain pissing it down. We all know the legend about Inuit cultures having 50 words for snow; but here on this windy archipelago on the Atlantic edge of Europe, we’ve developed a large descriptive vocabulary for rain. Fifty shades of grey, if you like. “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing,” goes the line by Alfred Wainwright, often trotted out when talking about these things. With respect to everyone’s favourite fellwalking curmudgeon, it’s clearly not true. Our volatile Oceanic weather can deliver some truly foul conditions of the sort that even the world’s best waterproof clothes can only hold at bay for so long. But one thing is certain: if you want…

Iona Andean Iona is the founder of Iona’s Adventures, a hiking group she set up on Facebook in 2018 to meet like-minded people to enjoy walks and outdoor experiences with. It snowballed into a group with 4,500+ members, and despite Covid throwing a spanner in the works for 18 months, a recent group walk in Glen Tilt marked its happy return. In this issue, Iona and three friends go on a wet, wind-buffeted and ultimately very fun weekend adventure in the wilds of the Lochaber landscape – check it out on p30. Kirsty Pallas Kirsty is a freelance Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor and Winter Mountain Leader based on the west coast of Scotland. She has been instructing for over 10 years and is also a callout manager and training officer for Oban Mountain…

WINTER IN WALES Real adventure in the heart of the mountains. Experience the beauty of the hills and mountains close up. Enjoy climbing and mountaineering in the toughest of seasons. Join us for: • Winter Skills• Winter Mountaineering• Winter Scrambles• Winter 15 Peaks Challenge WINTER IN SCOTLAND The beautiful Highlands never fail to provide an awe inspiring backdrop. Whether you are looking for your next adventure or preparing for an overseas trip, Scotland is the ideal venue to hone your skills. Join us for: • Winter Skills• Winter Mountaineering• Introduction to Winter Climbing• Classic Winter Climbs• Performance Winter Climbing…

Hannah Farthing Medium: linocut A3 (420x297mm) WINTER NIGHTS often evoke images of wild, untamed weather; but Hannah Farthing reminds us that the darkest nights of the year can also offer some tranquillity. “I wanted this print to evoke a sense of hope and wonder, just like how we feel when we gaze up at the universe through a clear night sky,” she notes. “I love to go walking, and regularly draw from observation out on location in the mountains.” Hannah adds that Highland landscapes are the biggest inspiration for her work, particularly glens and lochans. “I drew the design for this print during the winter lockdown, when I would look up at the starry winter skies from Suffolk and dream about being back in the magical Scottish Highlands.” “A reduction print [like this one]…

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