Beautiful hike yesterday. View from the top. Images to follow
Notes – 2026 (128)
We'll, well, well. Cordoba, just round the corner. Who'd have thought. Amazing how they can identify and date a 2200 year old elephant bone.
A bone from one of the elephants that Hannibal left behind in southern Spain before his epic invasion of Italy has turned up near the city of Córdoba.
https://explorersweb.com/elephant-bone-from-hannibals-army-found-in-spain/
What an absolutely cracking day. Couldn't ask for better mountain conditions. Testing our lightweight Petzl Leopard crampons ready for a late spring visit to the Pyrenees. How did they do? Well, they didn't fall off 🤣. They were fine and confidence was built.
Borge Ousland's Polar Equipment List, Part II: Key Gear - it's interesting to see what he took
https://explorersweb.com/borge-ouslands-polar-equipment-list-part-ii-key-gear/
Always nice to discover a new hiking area, especially after 24 years. Yesterday we did a circular walk around the hills surrounding the village of Lagos near Motril, on the southern slopes of the Sierra de Lujar range. Sunny with no wind so felt like spring had arrived with temps up to 23C.
At stake is the question of when personal judgement and risk-taking become a matter of criminal liability. If the climber is found guilty it could mean "a paradigm shift for mountain sports", says Austria's Der Standard newspaper.
And a guilty verdict could also have implications for other mountain climbers, and how much they could be liable for their companions in the future.
T-shirt and shorts day today for me in the hills overlooking the Med. Nice to feel that warm sun on your back.
The Cerro de Caballo (3009m) in Spain's Sierra Nevada doesn't look like it's summit is 2400m vertical above the town of Lanjarón in the Alpujarra. Its deceptive, but nevertheless a lovely mountain that's relatively unfrequented due to its difficult and remote access. I believe it's also Europe most southerly and westerly 3000m peak.
Winter is back. Snow on the hills above our house this morning. Snow level about 1600m
April showers and its only February! Another threatening wet weather spell inbound to the Alpujarra
In 24 years I have never seen the river like this. Destruction all over
"I’m the Prime Minister of Spain. This Is Why the West Needs Migrants." by Pedro Sánchez
Andy Kirkpatrick - Pacing Beads - A 3,000 word study
"In this short article, I thought I’d run with a small detail of navigation, something most people don’t use, but they should, and see where we get."
https://www.andy-kirkpatrick.com/blog/view/pacing-beads-a-3000-word-study
Sunrise this morning has a bit of everything. Sun, clouds, showers and even half a rainbow
Hair stylist @khusky 🤣
Not surprisingly the Rio Lanjarón is in full flow at the moment.
I used to be a big fan. Not now. 5 years ago I became sick of the corruption and dual standards. Never watched another race. But, an annual highlight for me in the mid 2010s was a visit to nearby Jerez to see the pre season testing.
A chance to get up close and personal to these machines hurtling past. Used to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Ground entry for the day only €10 too and, a chance to drink lots of fine sherry in the evenings 😂 Good times.
Battening down the hatches here for tonight and tomorrow. Amber warnings for wind and rain. No doubt our house roof will leak under prolonged heavy downpour (they all do 🤣). Schools and Universities in Granada closed until Thursday.
This is a big one and with an expected 100ml+ rain here in 12 hours there's going to be a massive amount of new snowfall in the mountains. Will be excellent conditions once the snow has settled and consolidated though.
Today's dog walk in between winter storms reminded me that spring is indeed just around the corner. This particular walk is only 100m lower in altitude than my house but I was surprised to see the white and pink almond blossom out in full force. Lovely.
A friend just shared this video he took from a ski touring trip we did together way back in January 2013. Must admit it has got me feeling all nostalgic for times past.
Nobody on the mountain, some good ski and crampon conditions, sun, snow, distant views. What more could one want? As the song says, I have indeed been a "Lucky Man".
touring