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Monthly Archives: December 2017

Gear review: Keen Wanderer Low WP walking shoes

Posted on December 29, 2017 by Paul Webster

Recommended Price: £109.99 Weight: 1280g pair (size 10.5) I’ve been a fan of Keen Targhee walking boots for a few years now; my feet are wide across the toes and I’ve always found them extremely comfortable on the hill. So I was interested in trying out these trail walking shoes (which are also available as a boot). The first thing you notice is the weight – at size 10.5, a pair weighs 1.28kg, which is comparable to many boots. This helps make them feel very sturdy – almost clumpy; the uppers are suede and nubuck leather with a generous padded…

Posted in Footwear, Gear reviews

The Glen

Posted on December 27, 2017 by Peter Cairns

My eye is drawn by the tiny green-headed pines poking their heads nervously above the heather, like prey wary of predator. It’s not that pines are unusual in Scotland but young pines, or at least those growing in such profusion, are conspicuous in a wider landscape largely bereft of young trees. These tentative pioneers are the building blocks for a future forest. Secreted away in the southwestern corner of the Cairngorms, the rampaging waters of the River Feshie carve an ever-shifting channel, dynamic and unlawful, with no respect for property or boundaries. Geriatric trees, partly submerged in sand and gravel,…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Nature, Photography

Roads Less Travelled – the Heart of Scotland

Posted on December 21, 2017 by Helen Webster

In the BBC Adventure Show special that has become a regular part of the Christmas season on TV, Cameron McNeish is making another journey around the landscapes of Scotland, to be broadcast next week. Travelling on foot, by bike, by pack-raft and with his beloved campervan, his journey this year takes him over 300 miles through some of our most impressive wild places. He starts in the whisky country around Ben Rinnes before heading over the wild Dava Moor and into the Cairngorm mountains and glens that have shaped his life. He finishes this first programme – shown on BBC2…

Posted in News

Gear Review: Berghaus Women’s Glissade Waterproof Jacket

Posted on December 19, 2017 by Helen Webster

RRP: £225 (currently on pre-Xmas offer in many retailers) Weight: 645g (size 10) When this jacket first arrived I felt a rush of 90’s nostalgia quickly followed by disappointment that I would be testing a relatively heavy, chunkily styled, old-school waterproof when I’d got used to the high performance of lightweight alternatives. However having worn the Glissade on numerous outings over the last few months I’ve had to humble-pie my initial prejudices and can honestly say this item has won itself a place in my winter hillwalking ensemble for a number of good reasons. The Glissade is made from 2…

Posted in Gear reviews, Jackets, Magazine

Avalanche Forecasts Start Friday 15 December

Posted on December 15, 2017 by Helen Webster

The SportScotland Avalanche Information Service will start publishing its detailed forecasts for the Scottish Mountains today, Friday 15 December. The six mountain areas covered are Northern Cairngorms, Southern Cairngorms, Lochaber, Creag Meagaidh, Glencoe and Torridon. Each report covers snow, avalanche, and climbing conditions. The reports are available from the website or via mobile phone. The SAIS is also asking any walkers or climbers who see an avalanche to report it to them. This can be done on line from the SAIS website. As well as the forecasts, the website also contains a wealth of information about snow and avalanches generally…

Posted in News

Geodiversity and the Burn o’ Vat

Posted on December 12, 2017 by Ben Dolphin

In October this year, as part of a month long rock festival, the best places to see Scotland’s geology were announced. At this point you may well be sitting there with a confused look on your face as you try to picture Ozzy Osbourne shouting Scottish place names into the microphone while raucous guitar riffs and all manner of dazzling stage theatrics reverberate around him. As entertaining as that would undoubtedly be, that’s not the kind of rock festival I’m talking about. This was the Geoheritage Festival, a nationwide celebration of Scotland’s geodiversity. ‘Geodiversity’ a much more commonly used term…

Posted in Magazine

Gear review: Rab Vapour Rise Pants

Posted on December 12, 2017 by Paul Webster

Recommended Price: £105 Weight: 403g (large) We’ve been having a serious cold snap this last week or so – the perfect conditions to don a pair of softshell walking trousers. In the past I’ve often just worn a pair of slightly thicker standard walking trousers with thermals underneath and then overtrousers if things turned really cold and windy. These Vapor Rise trousers from Rab provide more luxurious warmth when the mercury really begins to fall. The outer fabric is Pertex Equilibrium, which provides good protection from the wind, whilst the insides are lined with a microfleece fabric. The design is…

Posted in Gear reviews, Magazine, Trousers

Consulting on Wolves

Posted on December 11, 2017 by Cameron McNeish

A London-based company is currently consulting with stakeholders on the feasibility of creating a Highland Wilderness Reserve for the release of wolves. Cameron McNeish knows who is behind it. HE’S back again. Every so often the millionaire owner of Alladale Estate in Sutherland invites a metropolitan journalist to his luxury hotel near Ardgay, wines and dines them, and feeds them his version of re-wilding. In particular he offers a romantic story of re-introducing wolves into Scotland. This normally results in an emotive feature in a glossy magazine or national newspaper, gets picked up by other media outlets and the whole…

Posted in Access issues, Features, Magazine, Nature

Photographing Scotland – new book and competition

Posted on December 9, 2017 by Helen Webster

Dougie Cunningham, a 40-year old professional photographer and hill walker, has spent the last five years travelling around Scotland, researching, visiting, photographing and writing about the most beautiful places in Scotland for his book, Photographing Scotland published this week by fotoVUE at £27.95. At Walkhighlands we’ve an extract below, the chance to win one of three copies of Dougie’s book, and a discount code – WANDER – you can enter to get 20% off all fotoVUE books at their own website, with free shipping until the end of the year. This 592-page photo-location guidebook – featuring over 800 inspirational photographs…

Posted in Magazine, Photography

Gear review: Berghaus Ghlas softshell jacket

Posted on December 6, 2017 by Paul Webster

Recommended Price: £100 Weight: 525g Sizes: Small to XXL Softshell jackets are generally much more breathable than hard shell waterproofs, providing some warmth and wind resistance whilst also fending off light showers. This means you can leave your waterproof jacket in your rucksack ready to put on over the top when the rain really arrives, and wear your more comfortable soft shell for the rest of the time. The Berghaus Ghlas jacket fulfils this function admirably. With a fleecy fabric on the inside and a smooth outer, the jacket is a little stiffer and more substantial than some softshells but…

Posted in Gear reviews, Jackets