The Skye Trail is a challenging, unofficial - i.e. un-waymarked - long-distance (128km) route, aimed at experienced hillwalkers, which takes in some of the finest landscapes on the celebrated Isle of Skye, and indeed in the whole of the UK. Skye itself, I can report - aside from let's call it a little challenging to get to, and from - is just absurdly beautiful; and its people are beyond ridiculously lovely and kind.... (read more)
Since there's zero chance of me producing proper dispatches of the Nepal trek until after I've finished this little series of books I'm working on, herewith a few highlight photos (republished, i.e. rescued, from facebook) with brief commentary.... (read more)
We had gone from 1440m to 3440m in two days, which was a hell of an elevation gain. Today we'd be climbing up to 3880m, hanging out there for a bit to acclimatise, then coming back down again. And it was a gorgeous day for it - the main reason one treks this region Sep-Nov is the blemishless skies, riven by the snowy 8km peaks...... (read more)
"Jesus, we just hiked up to that bridge we've been staring up at all day..." And soon after we were looking down at it - because it was actually two bridges: one high, one ridiculously high, the two together allowing us to climb and criss-cross our way up this increasingly steep and dramatic river gorge... and up into the Himalayas. It was also the most thrilling scene on the trek so far.... (read more)
Did I mention that, built by Sir Edmund Hilary, the runway slopes at 11 degrees - because, at an absurd 1,729 feet, it would otherwise be too short for anything either to take off from or land upon - and which also means one end is 200 feet lower than the other? And that one end of that runway is a sheer 2,000-foot drop-off - and the other a solid stone wall? This is not the airport of second chances.... (read more)
Making the best out of quite a lot of strung-everywhere electrical lines was a major, and somewhat charming, theme. It did rather offset the dirt, mud, noise, smells, and constantly almost being run down by scooters and small lorries, all of which were less charming.... (read more)
So, after four years of the usual routine of planning, debating, wangling, and negotiating, Mark begged off, Tim dropped out, and Darby convinced me to go anyway - just the two of us. Predictably, we decided to do the Three High Passes of Everest trek - the big one. This three-week epic passes through pretty much all the valleys, high passes, popular trekker’s peaks, and general glories of the Khumbu - the Everest Region of the Nepal Himalaya. We were going to get seriously stuck in.... (read more)
From 12 November 12 - 04 December of 2016, I will be trekking the Three Passes of the Everest Region of Nepal in the Himalayas (with the estimable Darby Kimball). I'm asking friends and loved ones to chip in a couple of bucks/quid to help provide health care, education, and a safe environment for the children of Nepal - one of the poorest countries in the world, further devastated by last year's earthquake, which left hundreds of thousands homeless.... (read more)
