Mountains Maps Marathons

One of a few poor decisions over the weekend DON’T do this: I was attempting to paddleboard the length of Loch Avon with a DIY paddle and no rear fin, in winds gusting at 60 mph. I got flipped and blown-in wearing a rucksack that contained a lot of camping kit and most of a trad climbing rack (probably a couple of kgs worth of metal). To top it off, I dislocated my shoulder on the way in. Flailing about in the middle of the loch with all this kit and one arm, not going to lie, I thought I was about to drown. Me and the SUP featuring an improvised paddle Post shoulder dislocation and panicked swim to shore DO follow these steps: Step 1 - Stop panicking and grab the giant inflatable paddleboard strapped to ankle. Step 2 - Flail/swim to shore. Step 3 - Relocate shoulder. Step 4 - Be laughed at and photographed by friends as you attempt the above steps. DO plan a weekend in the hills with your mates no matter what the weather looks like: The weekend of ...

Staggering through the wind and rain along the summit plateau of Ben Nevis, I realised that being on top for the very first time wasn’t going to be how I’d imagined. I’d spent the last 15 hours alone, out in the hills in an attempt to tag all the summits of the Lochaber Munros on a surprisingly little known route called Tranter's Round. At this point, I’d run just under 60 km and ascended over 6000m of elevation but this made little difference to the swarms of people at the summit. As much as I wished for it there was no pristine sunset, no welcoming party and no hot cups of tea waiting. I was just another hillwalker and despite my elation at reaching the final summit literally nobody else cared. The first few Munros from the southern section of the route Tranter’s Round is a slightly shortened version of the now classic long-distance challenge known as the Ramsey Round. The route takes in much of the same terrain (minus the notorious dog leg out to Loch Treig) coveri...

On the drive up to the Cairngorms for the Type 2 Fun Run on 31st August 2019, I was repeatedly telling myself three things: 1. It hadn't rained that  much, the river crossings should be relatively easy 2. I can definitely survive two days without sleep 3. It was going to be a nice and steady run, I'd finish well within the time limit I only had to glimpse the raging waters barrelling down into Braemar to crush my hopes of crossing any rivers easily. I should have known that in 30 hours time I’d be dashing for the finish hardly able to stand up.  Some checkpoints from the northern sector The Type 2 Fun Run is a new event for 2019 merging the skills required for both mountain marathons and ultra-distance running into an epic overnight battle with the Scottish mountains. Starting and finishing in Braemar, competitors were provided with a set of 42 checkpoints  (CP)  scattered across the Cairngorms National Park and given a 30-hour time limit...