Expedition Guide

How do I become a Mountain Leader? I regularly get emails that ask me the question - how do I become a Mountain Leader? The idea of this article is to answer that question as fully as possible to help you decide if becoming a Mountain Leader is for you and point you in the [...]

Choosing an axe and crampons for winter walking Winter offers the ideal excuse to head off to the nearest gear shop and spend some of your hard earned on shiny new gear. Even better, some of it is shiny, jangly, metal gear! Everyone knows that when there's snow on the ground you cannot be [...]

Occasionally people have a vision, a dream, a fantastically great idea...but they don't know how to get there, or perhaps even what it means! This little article is for anyone that has ever dreamt of being a mountaineer and has made the first step in finding a course that will help them achieve that goal. [...]

This is a series of videos that I presented for the Association of Mountaineering Instructors and The BMC that looks at rope work for scrambling. Rope Work for Scramblers: Introduction Rope Work for Scramblers: Part 2 Rope Work for Scramblers: Part 3 Rope Work for Scramblers: Part 4 Rope Work for Scramblers: Part 5   [...]

Here I look at route finding advice on scrambling terrain. How to: route find when scrambling

Here I show what we should consider carrying on an easy scramble, from basics like food and water to emergency kit in case the weather changes or something goes wrong. How to: choose kit for scrambling

Tips on how to move when on an easy scramble. Giant strides or tiny steps? Which is best on steep ground? How to: move when scrambling

Navigation Timing Card Here is a navigation timing card that you can print off, laminate and keep with your compass. It will help you work out timings and save you from having to do maths on the mountain!

How to take a bearing A reminder on how to take a bearing - by Rob Johnson How to use a compass Grid North, Magnetic North & True North There are three norths commonly in use in Great Britain: Grid North: the direction of a grid line on the National Grid. True North: the direction [...]

Understand Contours - by Rob Johnson If you can get your head around contours then your map reading will improve massively. When map makers sit down with a blank piece of paper the first thing that they plot are the contour lines, they will always be accurate and they exist to represent the shape of the [...]