This page exists because I can never remember which mountains or routes I have climbed (or who with, or when, etc.). So here they are, without bothering too much with route details, pictures, etc. Most trips before Sept 2005 are lost in memory, but for the record we did attempt the Matterhorn in 1993 (or was it 1994) and we did end up at Disneyland in 1995.
| Trip summary | Date | Accommodation | Mountains/routes | Highlights/incidents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam, Dave, Steve and I make our way to Ullapool for some winter walking in the Nothern Higlands. We take my car which just about survives the trip. | Thur 3 Feb - Tues 8 Feb 2011 | Ardmair Point Self Catering Chalets | Fri - From Adam's book of excellent non-Munro mountains ... Stac Pollaidh (613m), from the car park next to Loch Lurgain Sat - An excellent day on the Fannichs. Starting from the dam at Lochdrum (on the A835) the following mountains were conquered (at least by Dave and Guy) - Carn na Criche (961m); Sgurr Mor (1110m); Beinn Liath Mhor Fannichs (954m) Sun - From a car park somewhere on the A837 we spent the day on Quinag which is a massif with several peaks - the ones we climbed were Sail Gharbh (808m) and Sail Gharm (776m) Mon - There are two peaks on An Teallach and we climbed Bidein a' Ghlas Thuill (1062m) |
The unbelievable fact that we saw no-one at all (not even at the car parks or in the far distance) in four full days of walking; my car surviving the trip; Adam's sandwiches; the Seaforth Inn in Ullapool - for food; The Ferry Boat Inn in Ullapool - for an evening of 'local ensemble' music. Photos are here. |
| Dave, Steve and I meet at Steve's and drive to Snowdonia. | Fri 19 Nov - Sun 21 Nov 2010 | Dolbadarn | Sat - The Cwm Lllafar horseshoe from Bethseda: Carnedd Dafydd (1044m); Carnedd Llewelyn (1064m); Yr Elen (962m) Sun - Arenig Fawr (854m) |
I don't entirely recall but it was the Dolbadarn, so you can guess the story. We did watch District 9 on the Sat night once we'd worked out the video. Photos are here. |
| Dolomites via ferrata with Steve and Dave, taking in the Loreley 'Night of the Prog' festival on the way; driving across Europe in Dave's Audi. |
Fri 3 Sept - Sat 11 Sept 2010 | A chalet down the road from Passo Falzarego, not too far from Cortina d'Ampezzo - hosted by Fabio (moonlighting from his England job), Nennard and Valentina (see Camping Sass Dlacia). | Fri - Early morning ferry, then drive to Lorely, Germany Fri night - Sun morning - Loreley 'Night of the Prog' festival Sun - Drive to Dolomites Mon - VF Tomaselli - Punta Sud, 5C, 2980m Tues - Walk (due to rain) from Rist. Pietofana to Forc de Ra Vales, approx 2300m Wed - Mountain biking - Plateau of Pralongia - circular 25km route from San Cassiano, 680m ascent, highest point approx 2100m at Pralongia Thur - VF Brigata Tridentina, 3C, 2585m Fri - VF Marmolada West Ridge to Punta Penia summit, 4C, 3343m; aborted due to ice on the via ferrata route Sat - Desperate drive across Europe ... to get the 00:55 ferry back to Dover and then kip at Dave's for the night |
Loreley 'Night of the Prog' festival - a magnificient amphitheatre above the Rhine with a great atmosphere, some good music and meeting some great new people; Dave's phantom bridge over the Rhine; losing Richard somewhere on a scree slope; pizzas; apple strudel at the top of the Brigata Tridentina; Konig Ludwig; mountain biking; the Marmolada glacier - need to come back for that when it's in season. Photos are here. |
| Clarendon Way, 24 mile walk from Salisbury Cathedral to Winchester Cathedral (plus extra couple of miles for getting lost). |
Sat 24 July 2010 | Not applicable, just a day walk | Scenic country walk | Making it to the Black Boy! Photos are here. |
| Adam, Ian, Dave, Steve and I make our way to Aviemore for some walking/climbing in the Cairngorms. Adam and Ian drive after we meet up by way of some convoluted logistics. | Wed 17 Feb - Sun 21 Feb 2010 | Aviemore Bunkhouse | Thur - Steve, Adam and I for this (Dave and Ian were climbing elsewhere): Navigated a very icy road to the car park just short of Achlean, followed by an eight hour round trip to ascend Mullach Clach a Bhlair (1019m) Fri - All of us together today: ascent of a snowy A' Challeach (930m). Sat - Dave, Ian and I: Park at Cairngorm Ski Centre and walk in to Coire an Lochain to climb The Vent, a 100m gully climb (Grade II/III, led by Dave); then a ten yard stroll to the summit of Cairn Lochan (1215m) [Note: Cairn Lochan is not an official mountain (or a Munro), but a 'top'] |
Unbelievable weather - loads of snow before we came, but completely clear during the trip (although very cold, -17 in the mornings); once again Ian's cooking, ineptly aided by his trusty assistant; all 3 mountain days, superb scenery; the expected five minutes of pure desperation on The Vent; The Old Bridge Inn, next to the bunkhouse. Photos are here. |
| Ted, Dave, Steve and I meet at Steve's and drive to Snowdonia. | Fri 16 Oct - Sun 18 Oct 2009 | Dolbadarn | Sat - Circular walk from Nant Peris taking in: Elidir Fawr (924m); Foel Goch (831m); Y Garn (947m) Sun - Circular horseshoe ridge from Minfford car park taking in: Cader Idris (893m); Mynydd Moel (863m) [to be accurate the entire mountain is called Cader Idris and the main 893m summit is known as Penygadair, with Mynydd Moel a minor summit] |
The Dolbadarn was the star as ever. In addition: making last orders on the Fri night (never in doubt); superb weather and a great walk on the Sat; Dave and Ted asleep in their curries and the pub; a good walk on the Sun (despite mist). Photos are here. |
| Swiss Alps: Dave and I drive to Saas Fee via the Dover-Calais ferry, arriving Sat afternoon; Steve joins us on the Sunday via flight to Geneva (then train and bus) after attending a wedding; we all drive back together, via Paris as it turns out. | Sat 29 Aug - Sat 5 Sept 2009 | House Royal in Saas Fee (next to the Bakery) | Sat - drive to Saas Fee Sun - Weissmies (4017m) Mon - Lagginhorn (4010m) Tues - Mischabel Hut (3340m) - base for Nadelhorn climb Wed - Nadelhorn (4327m) - aborted close to summit Thur - rest day / beers / meal (in theory) Fri - drive to Paris, as weather has come in Sat - Paris culture, then drive back (via ferry) in evening |
- The superb setting of Saas Fee - Nadelhorn; even though we didn't quite make the top, there were only 7 people on the mountain and the scenery and remoteness were superb. - The other two 4000ers, both great days out - The guy keeping the cable car open for us, coming down from Lagginhorn - Swiss 'rule obsession': "You're too late", "Maybe", "No, you're too late"; "We're closed for lunch" ... and as an extreme example, the Mischabel Hut 'Bergfuhrer': "Nicholas, what are you doing, you haven't signed in"; "You're sleeping the wrong way round" - Saas Fee bars: Popcorn (The 'Dutch bar') and The Alpen Pub - Paris ... but not the roundabout on the way out Photos are at Alps 2009 photos. |
| Kilimanjaro trip arranged by Exodus, with all ground operations contracted to The African Walking Company - 12 of us meet at Kilimanjaro Airport and take it from there. Quick note on Kilimanjaro: Kili is made up of three extinct/dormant volcanoes - Kibo, Mawenzi and Shira. The real summit is Uhuru Peak (5895m) and is the top of Kibo - this is the highest point in Africa; in addition there is a sub-peak to the east at Mawenzi (5149m) which would rate as Africa's third highest mountain if it was a peak to itself (with Mt Kenya as the second highest). Shira has eroded to a plateau, with the remains of a crater rim on the south. Tanzania's second highest mountain, Mt Meru (4566m), can often be seen during the ascent of Kilimanjaro. |
Mon 29 Jun - Fri 10 Jul 2009 | The Ilboru Safari Lodge in Arusha for the first and last days; mountain campsites for the rest | Mon - leave Heathrow to fly to Kilimanjaro via Nairobi Tues - arrive Kilimanjaro airport 09:00, transfer to Ilboru Safari Lodge Wed - drive to Londorossi National Park Gates for registration then onwards (via a ditch) before starting our walk, ending up at Shira One (3550m) Thurs - To Shira Hut (3840m) via Shira Cathedral Fri - To Moir Hut (4200m), with acclimatization walk to the summit of the Lent Hills (4600m-ish) Sat - To Lava Tower camp (4550m) with acclimatization walk to the Arrow Glacier (4800m) Sun - To Karanga camp (4000m) via the Barranco Wall Mon - To Barafu campsite (4600m) Tues - To the top ! Reach Uhuru Peak (5895m) at 06:30 via Stella Point (5735m); then back down to Barafu for breakfast/lunch and onwards to Millenium camp (3800m) Wed - Down through the Forest to Mweka National Park Gates and on to Mweka for lunch and transfer back to Ilboru Safari Lodge; food, beers and swim, although missed out on the Masai Camp! Thur An epic tale of cancelled flights (for me), starting with a wake-up call at 03:30 and climaxing with meeting the rest of the group at about 22:00 at Nairobi (wouldn't have had it any other way) Fri - Arrive at Heathrow and back to normality (or is it) Note: all heights subject to recalibration by Calum | Terrific people, terrific experience. Almost impossible to pick out highlights ... but here's a shot: - The top, and almost as much, Stella Point because we knew we were nearly there - Lazing outside the tents and in the mess at Barafu after the summit - The beer at Millenium camp - Bjorn's speech - The group's expert animal impersonations - A beer at the airport after a very long day ! - Most of all ... just being on the trail, in the mess tent or around camp sharing the experience Photos are at Kilimanjaro photos. |
| Steve, Adam and I fly from Stansted to Kerry, pick up Nissan Note hire car and drive to Adam's mum's house in Kenmare, County Kerry. | Fri 5 May - Mon 4 May 2009 | Adam's mum's house for two nights; Sunday night at Mike's house in Castlegregory, near Dingle. | Sat - MacGillicuddy's Reeks, taking in Caher (1001m) and Carrauntoohil (1038m) Sun - Hungry Hill (685m), Beara Peninsula (also called Cnoc Daod) Mon - Dingle for lunch, hungover |
The ridge walk on Saturday taking in Ireland's highest and third highest mountains (the second highest, Beenkeragh at 1010m, is on the list); Adam's mum's cooking; Irish band and night out at Ned Natterjacks in Castlegregory; Mike's cooking; being converted to Dark Side of the Moon and Marillion (for one night only) after returning from the pub. Photos are here. |
| Steve and I fly from Gatwick to Inverness and drive hire car to Fort William, Scotland; we meet up with Ian, Nick, Dave and Adam who have driven. | Thurs 5 Feb - Mon 9 Feb 2009 | Calluna, Fort William - run by Alan Kimber | Fri - Sgurr Thuilm (963m), from Glenfinnan Visitor Centre. [Steve, Guy, Adam and Nick; Dave and Ian were climbing] Sat - Gulvain (987m), from the South. [Steve, Guy, Adam, Dave and Nick; Ian was injured] Sun - Forgotten Twin (Grade II winter, led by Dave), after abseiling to the climb from Aonach Mor. [Guy and Dave; Ian/Nick also on Aonach Mor (with skis); Steve/Adam walking elsewhere] |
Ian's cooking and lunches; the Grog and Gruel in Fort William; terrific snow coverage and freezing weather; a superb clear day and great views for the Gulvain snow plod; Dave's expert cornice-cutting on Forgotten Twin ; all in all a great trip. Photos are here. |
| Steve picks me up in Winchester and drives to Snowdonia; we meet Dave for a Dolbadarn breakfast the next day. | Fri 12 Dec - Sun 14 Dec 2008 | Dolbadarn | Sat - Carnedd Dafydd (1044m), starting from the North (Bethseda) Sun - Mynydd Mawr (698m) |
More classic Dolbadarn as the only guests (sandwiches, beer and a film when we arrived at midnight - superb); great snow on the Carnedds and Steve had a very handy axe (but Dave and I survived); river leap at our limit; Dave's spicy Indian. Photos are here. |
| Pick up Ted from Winchester station and drive to Snowdonia, meeting Dave just in time for an illicit pub dinner. | Fri 7 Nov - Sun 9 Nov 2008 | Nant Peris campsite (Cae Gwyn) opposite the Vaynol Arms on Friday; Dolbadarn, Llanberis on Sat. | Sat - Circular walk from Idwal Cottage taking in: Y Garn (947m); Elidir Fawr (924m) Sun - Moel Siabod (872m) |
The poor decision to put up the tent after going to the pub on a wet Friday night, ultimately leading to our move to the Dolbadarn on the Sat; two gale-force days in the hills; buckets throughout the Dolbadarn catching water from the ceilings. |
| Dolomites, via ferrata with Steve and Dave; flights from Stansted/Liverpool to Venice, and a Nissan Note to get us around. Nb: Via Ferrata grades are from 1A (easiest) to 5C. |
Sat 30 August - Sat 6 Sept 2008 | A chalet down the road from Passo Falzarego, not too far from Cortina d'Ampezzo - hosted by Nennard, Vito and (unnamed) waitress (see Camping Sass Dlacia). | Sun - Punta Sud (by Tomaselli descent route), 3C, 2980m; VF Tomaselli (downclimb), 5C; Lagazuoi tunnels, 1A Mon - VF Etore Bovero - Col Rosa, 3B, 2166m (aborted due to storm) Tues - VF Giovanni Lipella - Tofano de Rozes, 4C, 3225m Wed - Cortina expedition, including Mountain biking - from Rifugio Duca d'Aosta (2098m) via Pie Tofana (1668m) to Cortina cable station Thur - Via Delle Trincee - La Mesola, 4B, 2727m Fri - Sentiero de Luca/Innerkofler - Monte Paterno, 2B, 2744m |
The summit of Tofano de Rozes; spooky tunnels; downclimbing a 5C; pizzas; Konig Ludwig lager (and Grappa); mountain biking; evenings in the restaurant / bar, before being 'ushered' out each night; Dave falling off a cannon; Steve's mouse. Guy's photos are here. Dave's photos are here. Steve's blog is here. |
| Pyrenees trip with Exodus - 4 of us meet up with James, our guide (who also runs Marmot Tours), at Toulouse airport and drive to our base in Ax. | Sun 27 July - Sun 3 Aug 2008 | A mountain lodge in Ax Les Thermes courtesy of Alan (see The Alpage). | Mon - Puig de la Coma d'Or (2826m); TV interview Tues - Pic de Soularac (2368m); Pic de St-Barthelemy (2348m) Wed - Pics de Font Negre (2878m), in Andorra Thurs - Rest day Fri - Cycling via Col de Marmare, Prades, Comus, Camurac, ski station, Col de Chioula Sat - Pic de Tarbesou (2364m) |
Great people, great scenery, great cake. Photos are at Pyrenees photos. |
| Drive Steve to the Lakes and meet Adam and Ted (and dogs); meet up with Simon on the Sat morning. | Fri 11 July - Sun 13 July 2008 | Great Langdale Campsite, Langdale on Fri; high camp on Sat. | Sat - From the campsite to our high camp in the shadow of Great End, taking in: Great End (910m) (most of us); Scafell Pike (978m) Sun - Bow Fell (907m); Crinkle Crags (859m); Pike of Blisco (705m) |
Scafell Pike to ourselves at 10pm, apart from about twenty Three Peaks walkers; great high camp; shandy at the end. |
| Drive from Adam's to Snowdonia and meet Steve and Noel. | Fri 18 Apr - Sun 20 Apr 2008 | Swallow Falls Hotel, Betws-y-Coed | Sat - Ridge walk from Idwal Cottage to Capel Curig taking in: Y Garn (947m); Glyder Fawr (999m); Glyder Fach (994m) Sun - Mynydd Mawr (698m) |
Snow above 600m, and some very powerful wind - good walking. |
| Steve and I meet at Adam's and Adam drives to Wasdale Head, Lake District. | Fri 7 Mar - Sun 9 Mar 2008 | Wasdale Head Campsite (National Trust) | Sat - Pillar (892m); Red Pike (I think) (826m) Sun - Great Gable (899m) - except I didn't participate on Sunday (see to the right) |
A definite lowlight - sick as a dog (a labrador, say) from about 2:00am on the Sunday after a curry at the Wasdale Head Inn. Dragged myself from the tent to the toilet block to throw up about five times overnight. |
| Drive from Adam's to Snowdonia and in theory meet Steve. | Fri 2 Nov - Sun 4 Nov 2007 | Swallow Falls Hotel, Betws-y-Coed (youth hostel section) | Sat - Carnedd Dafydd (1044m); Carnedd Llewelyn (1064m) Sun - Moel Siabod (872m) |
Listening to a bad reception Arsenal-Man U match on the Saturday descent (and in the car for the last minute finale). |
| Steve drives to the Lakes (Ambleside), where we meet Adam. | Sat 26 May - Mon 28 May 2007 | Campsite somewhere in Ambleside | Sun - Scafell (964m); Scafell Pike (978m) Mon - Helvellyn (950m) |
I've no idea, but I know we were there |
| Jordan (Wadi Rum and Petra) trip with Exodus - 13 of us met up with our guide in Amman. Not really a mountain trip, but a desert trek. | Sat 21 April - Sat 28 April 2007 | Camping in the desert, plus hotels in Amman and Petra. | Sun-Thur - Trek through the desert, including a partial ascent of Jebel Burdah (to the arch) on the Tuesday. Fri - exploring Petra |
Great people, great scenery. Photos are at Jordan photos. Poem is here. |
| Drive to Snowdonia and meet Steve and Adam. | Fri 5 May - Sun 7 May 2006 | Glanllyn Caravan and Camping Park near Bala | Sat - Aran Fawddwy (905m) Sun - Arenig Fawr (854m) |
Good weather; Adam's bacon butties |
| Drive to Snowdonia and meet Steve and Adam. | Fri 20 Jan - Sun 22 Jan 2006 | Llanberis Heights | Sat - Cnicht (689m); Moelwyn Mawr (770m) Sun - Rhinog Fawr (720m) |
Can't remember, but Llanberis is always good |
| Flight and hire car to Scotland with Dave, Nick and Steve. See Steve's blog notes for more details. | Fri 30 Sept - Sun 2 Oct 2005 | Blackwater Hostel at Kinlochleven | Fri - Ice Factor Sat - Meall a' Bhuiridh (1108m); Creise (1100m) Sun - Ben More (1174m); Stob Binnein (1165m) |
Two good nights in the Tailrace Inn. Dave falling out the top bunk. Mouse in the bunkhouse. |
| Drive to Snowdonia with Nick and Steve. | Sat 17 Sept - Sun 18 Sept 2005 | Dolbadarn Hotel at Llanberis | Sat - Grooved Arete, Tryfan (HVD, led by Nick) Sun - Slick, Clogwyn yr Oen (VDiff, led by Guy) |
Fri night in Bedford - fight in Chicken Cottage. Descending Tryfan in the dark. Falling asleep in our curries. |
| Two weeks in the French Alps with Nick and Steve. Logistics: return flights from Gatwick to Geneva; stayed in an apartment in Tacconaz, near Chamonix; hired a Nissan Almera Tina from Budget. Ian (climbing with Brent) stayed for a while as well. Also see Steve's far more detailed blog here. | Sat 20 Aug - Sun 4 Sept 2005 | Neil's Tacconaz apartment | Sun-Tues - rained, did some low level rock climbing Wed - Le Belvedere, F rock, 2965m Thurs - Petite Aiguille Verte, PD snow, 3512m Fri-Sat - Domes de Miage, PD snow, 3669m - aborted due to weather Sun - Chersys, low level multi-pitch climbing + abseil with Nick Mon-Tues - Aiguille d'Argentiere, PD or PD+ snow, 3902m Thurs - Crochues traverse, PD rock, 2840m Fri - Aiguille de L'M, PD rock, 2844m |
Too many to mention, but we did watch Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Photos are at Alps 2005 photos. |
| Mt Toubkal Morocco trip with Exodus - 12 of us met up with our guide in Marrakech. Mt Toubkal is the highest mountain in North Africa. | Sun 22 May - Sun 29 May 2005 | Various refuges on the road and two nights in a hotel in Marrakech. | Mon-Fri - Trek culminating in Mt Toubkal, 4167m |
Too many to mention, but let's say meeting new and interesting people. Photos are at Morocco photos. |
| A week in the Swiss Alps with Nick and Steve. Logistics: plane to Geneva, hire car to Chamoson (near Saas Fee). | Sat 30 Aug - Sat 6 Sept 2003 | Steve's grandmother's caravan. | Mon-Tues - Allalinhorn, PD snow, 4027m; then to Langflau hut in preparation for Alphubel (aborted) Wed - Weissmies, PD snow, 4023m Thur-Fri - Alphubel SE ridge (via Tasch hut), PD snow, 4206m |
The Monkees at the top of Allalinhorn, the Langflau mountain hut entirely to ourselves ... and my first 3 4000ers. Photos are at Alps 2003 photos. |
| A week in the French Alps with Nick and Steve; also joined by Simon for much of the trip. Logistics: ferry from Dover - Calais, then drive to Chamonix (Steve's car). | Fri 2 Aug - Sun 11 Aug 2002 | Flat somewhere in Chamonix, that periodically flooded. | Sat - rained Sun - rained Mon - Aiguille de L'M, PD rock, 2844m (aborted); Albert Premier hut in preparation for Aiguille du Tour (got to bivvy point, but went back due to thunderstorm) Tues - rained Wed - Thur - Aiguille du Tour, F snow, 3542m Fri - rained Sat - rained |
Le Chucas, Le Garage. Due to rain, ended up mostly a drinking holiday; but our only peak, the Aiguille du Tour, was the highlight. |