September 2010
- 8
Walking The Pyrenees: Summits Or A Long Distance Path
On two occasions recently in the Pyrenees, I got some extensive and useful advice from local Spanish walkers. The first time I’d walked up from Refuge Larri, above the Pineta Valley, on what I came to realise was a madcap plan. After I’d got a lift from cloud sodden Gavarnie to the sunnier Spanish parts, I wanted to return to the High Route which meant, if possible, going up to the Barroude Lake. There appeared…
- 11
Mountain Walking: Physical, Emotional, Mental, Psychological
In a recent article, mountaineer Ed Douglas challenged one of the central notions of Robert McFarlane’s book Mountains of the Mind (The Great Outdoors/TGO magazine October 2010). He doesn’t believe, he says, it was only when the Romantics appeared that we learned to appreciate mountains. I know what he means. While it’s no doubt true, as McFarlane notes, Wordsworth and others reframed public perception of mountains and contributed to their popular appeal as places of…
- 15
Pyrenees Mountain Walking Gear
Some years ago I bought a Berghaus Goretex jacket I subsequently found was not a good choice. It’s got a mesh lining and roll away collar which are somewhat awkward, and elasticated cuffs which don’t work very well. I reasoned I needed a lighter and sleeker design for summer, bought a North Face Paclite jacket in a January sale and found it suited me better in all but bad winter conditions when the extra length…