Getting into Backpacking for the first time?
Interested in preparing an overnight camp in the mountains but are a bit wary of the weight to be carried. This is to encourage you and give you a place to start the journey of what to bring and what to pack.
Review of the OMM Core Hoodie integrated into a lightweight mountain clothing system
My experience of how the OMM Core Hoodie fares as one layer of a 3 layer adjustable, flexible and lightweight mountain clothing option
Travelling ´Arse About Face´ in the Mountains
Rethinking the way you approach your mountain trips and the benefits that that might bring.
Review and first test of the Motorola Defy Satellite Link
The deterioration of Google Search and the alternatives
A few observations about the search relevancy of Google and what I am doing to counter
To Blog or Not To Blog, that is the Question?
Some thoughts on why I write blogs and will continue to write blogs, even if nobody reads them!
Earlier this year we decided to update our old kitchen that had been installed sometime in the early 1990s. It was decidedly pokey and was desperately in need of some modernization. How on earth did I manage with that for 20 years!
DAI Part 2 - They Can Rebuild Him
Just home after spending 5 days in the Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves in Granada having a couple of operations replacing my DAI, "Desfibrilador Automatico Implantable" or Pacemaker to be less exact.
Yesterday I found myself at the centre of a dispute between the surgeon and my health insurance company. In the end nothing was done. A complete waste of time.
Wildfire in the los Guajares hills!
Some photos and comments from the wildfire in the Los Guajares and Pinos de Valle hills which started on 8th September at 14:00. Tragic circumstances and kudos to all those involved but it did lead to some spectacular imagery
Let's go see the bird migration she said. Thing is, I'm more of a landscape than a bird photographer. And let's face it, landscapes don't move, well not much anyway. In contrast those little feathered blighters have wings that can flap hundreds of times a minute
After many years of neglect our outer walls and cortijo walls have been repaired, re plastered and repainted.
Blurred images and lost opportunities
In trying to learn camera techniques to take good landscape images you are bound to have some failures. It's a shame as those failures can sometimes happen in superb mountain settings, resulting in lost opportunities.
The best photo I have ever taken?
The story behind the circumstances that led me to take the best landscape image I had ever taken.
Catching the sunrise, Sierra de Lujar
At 5:30 this morning I dragged my weary ass out of bed, out into the morning cold and drove up precipitous mountain dirt tracks in the dark
In response to the Electricity Companies doubling their prices we have gone solar. Sod em!
I've never been one for spending my weekend cleaning cars, preferring the mountains to that thankless chore. After nearly 20 years in Spain my car cleaning was both seasonal and eco friendly ie when it rained.
Bionic Man - They can rebuild him
Got out of hospital last night at long last. Was in there 4 nights in total. Every thing is good and I have a €20,000 device, half the size of a mobile phone stuck under my left collar bone. Good job I was insured.
The story behind receiving my very first dodgy Christmas Jumper at the ripe old age of 66!
First tentative steps up a mountain
I climbed my first hill in 1963, the year that President Kennedy was shot and when I was just eight years old. My Dad was an accountant and had a job doing the books of a pub in Appleby in Cumbria. On a day off he drove me to the village of Dufton and we set off up Dufton Pike
Swapping Life Stories with Kenton Cool
It's not often we meet celebrities here in our hidden away part of southern Spain. This week we welcomed a well known figure of the mountaineering world, Kenton Cool with 15 Everest ascents under his belt and various other big climbs since 1993
Atom Packs Lightweight Trekking Backpacks
My Atom Pack 40 weighs in at just 680 grams and is, in theory, perfect for multi day summer trips into the mountains. Saves me a whole 700 grams on my current Deuter pack.
The Class of 21. An Outdoor First Aid Course
An Outdoor First Aid Course giving us certification for another 3 years. A renewal of confidence by refreshing old skills and then learning new techniques, which we can apply in our daily lives to assist others in distress.
Record Breaking High Temperatures today in Lanjaron
The previous "high" was in July 2017 when we reached 41.7C. Today we have been closely watching the rise in temperature and late this afternoon we beat our record. Highest recorded temperature since 2006 is now officially 42.1C!
Woke up at 2am yesterday evening with head filled with the previous days events. A particular memory came flowing back. For some strange reason the words started to flow and I had to write them down. Is it poetry? Is it prose? The words don't rhyme. So here it is.
A Collection of My Favourite Mountaineering Quotes
Some of the best ones are here, some happy, some sad. But mountaineering quotations that will make you think!
A collection of emails sent home in the early days of my arrival in Spain. In late 2002 packed up my pickup truck with my worldly possessions and Rocky, my black Labrador and headed south. The first place we came to was Lanjarón in the Alpujarras.
Investigating My Grandfather’s Part in World War One
I have kept sane during the enforced Covid19 lock down by getting involved in projects that normally I wouldn't have time to complete. One such project is researching my grandfathers role in World War One. Below is a summary of my research including battle maps
Queen Boudica (Boadicea) of the Iceni was my 66th Grandmother!
Yes, it's true! I came from Granny Boadicea. My 66th Grandmother in fact. Here is the research done by my father establishing that. Thanks Dad.
The Cameron Clan - speculation as to the story and heritage of our family
My father spent many years researching his Cameron Ancestry. In the days before the internet this meant studying documents in churches, schools and official buildings. Most of what he found is fact but there were some gaps that he tried to fill with speculation
2011 - Reflections on a year in the mountains
2011 has been unforgettable in so many ways. There were ups and downs, of course (it is the mountains after all…..ha ha!), but experiences in the Sierra Nevada and Patagonia have shown me some insights I thought I’d share with you
Rocky the Labrador. First dog, faithful friend, never forgotten
Sadly my first ever dog, Rocky, died on Friday 22nd May 2009 after losing a battle with the horrible disease, Leishmaniasis. He was a great dog and faithful companion
Un mulo, dos arrieros, dos perros y tres montañeros
With the humble effort of a mule, 2 drovers and 4 mountaineers. If all who use the refuge care and respect it. Keep it, the lake and the environment clean. Take our garbage and leave the window and door locked when we leave. We will continue to have shelter for many years to come
A Little Piece Of Green in A Far And Distant Land
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