Day One After an early morning flight from Luton costing around £140 return with Ryanair we arrived at Marrakech airport. First post of call was to obtain some local currency as you cannot obtain it outside of Morocco. The next port of call should of been to the duty free shop to get some drink supplies but we passed on this which would later haunt us. Our Moroccan host Mohammed Aztat had arranged for a taxi to pick us up from the airport to take us to our mountain base camp in Imlil which was about 90minutes away. We played a [View Full Entry]

---

---

For a while now I have been in contact with Ian who is a mountain guide who lives on the Isle of Skye, so when a chance offer of a winter skills course came about I jumped at the chance. Joining me on this weekend was Paddy and Gill. After setting off from Hartlepool around 1:30 I arrived at Incree outdoor centre and we found Ian waiting for us in the bar, which is normally a good place to find me actually. We had a few drinks and headed off to the accommodation for some of Leanne's homemade soup and Gill's [View Full Entry]

---

---

I arrived in Nant Peris around 7pm and met fellow FC members Pete, Paddy and Gill in the Vaynol Arms. We decided on climbing Snowdon and another mountain. After pitching my tent in the campsite opposite the Vaynol Arms we headed up the road for fish and chips. Before decking down for the night we sank a few ciders outside the tents and took in the great views provided by the full moon. The overnight temperature really dropped and i awoke to a frozen tent and field. After breakfest we headed for Snowdon but the car park was full, so Pete [View Full Entry]

---

---

A bit of a last minute job this trip. Got bored on the way home from London and next thing i know i have managed to arrange a weekend trip to the lakes. We stayed @ Scotgate Holiday Park near Keswick. Bit of a crowded caravan type park, great facilities though but i like seclusion. Anyway Thomas made loads of freinds so Bonus !! The walk i done was featured in this months trail magazine and included 5 Wainwrights. Ullock Pike, Long Side, Carl Side, Skiddaw and Bakestall. It took me bang on 4 hours and i can say i was [View Full Entry]

---

---

After reading endless reports and getting teased with amazing pictures in Trail magazine of Striding Edge i finally got my taste of this classic lake land climb. Chris aka Darksky form the UKwalkingforum joined me on this walk. We had previously stayed the night at a cold Swirral camping bairn close to Glenridding, it was basic but well worth the £7 a night charge. We set off early around 8:30 following the track up towards Red Tarn, our first glimpse of the Helvellyn range came when Catseye Cam popped its head over the hill line. Soon we were at Red Tarn [View Full Entry]

---

---

Thomas and Leanne joined me a weekend camping trip to the Lakes, our destination Hollows Farm @ Grange in Borrowdale. We arrived early and quickly pitched my new tent the North Face Tadpole 23, which i can now confirm is officially the best tent on the planet lol. 2 adults and a 3 yr old child managed to fit in it which was quite surprising. once the tent was up we headed for a car park just North of Skeghill bank. It started to pur down with rain but luckily for Thomas we had his all in one waterproof Spotty Otter [View Full Entry]

---

---

Leanne joined me on a 10 mile round walk starting at Square corner car park. As you can see from the photos snow was falling and the moors were covered in mist when we set off. We scrambled straight up the side of Black Hambleton not knowing about a path further down the trail. Thick heather covered in snow made life difficult and we stumbled upon the trig in thick mist. After a quick refreshment provided my new toy Jetboil we set off back on the route. The weather today was varied and included, thick mist, snow, rain, sun, wind and [View Full Entry]

---

---

This report was written by my good freind Mr Blister. I’ll put this one down largely to UKmase, who really wanted to do the walk, to test his stamina over long distance in preparation for his Cleveland Way trip. After lots of PM’s flying here and there, the walk was set for a very windy Saturday 1st March. Night before saw gales and sleeting rain, and so it was some relief that I saw the next morning that the rain had stopped. Sure the wind was still blowing, but the local weatherman assured me it was going to calm down my [View Full Entry]

---

---

Thomas climbed Roseberry Topping on 9/2/08. He has been asking to join his dad on a mountain climb so we took him to our local Matterhorn - Roseberry Topping near Great Ayton. Kitted out in Spotty Otter suit he walked unaided all the way to the top, taking about hour and half. We stopped once so Thomas could rest his legs and have a snack. The weather was great, but a tad windy on the top. After reachind the trig point we sat down and eat some sandwiches then set off back to the car. Thomas made it unaided back to [View Full Entry]

---

---

Ben Nevis Challenge The gauntlet of climbing the highest mountain the UK was laid down and a team of seven signed up; myself, Ashley Bowers, Phil Cartmell, Sam Thrower, Owen Bouwer Claire Nicholson and Kathryn Shackleton. Arriving on Friday 29th September we soon realised the extent of what we had let ourselves in for. I would describe the Nevis Range as the lake district on stilts. After a very cold night camping at Glen Nevis campsite we got our gear ready and set off at 8:30. We quickly realised that map reading skills were not needed as plenty of other climbers [View Full Entry]

---

---