Features

Winter comes to Lakeland as three felltop assessors gear up for a new season
The Lake District's felltop assessors will begin their daily ascents of Helvellyn this week; we spoke to 'new boy' Wes Hunter to get his thoughts on his new 'dream job'.
Climber Shauna Coxsey puts injury behind her with sights on Olympic glory
In a little more than 18 months, the profile of climbing will gain a massive boost when millions of television’s worldwide audience will be able to view top proponents of the sport fight for Olympic medals.
Climber Mick Fowler looks forward to a return to Himalaya after his most taxing year
He has won the ‘mountaineering Oscar’, the Piolet d’Or three times and has posted numerous first ascents both in Britain and abroad, but 2018 has proved one of the most challenging of Mick Fowler’s life.

England has a new mountain: Miller Moss. Now go find it
England has a new mountain for hillbaggers to add to their list. Amateur surveyors John Barnard, Graham Jackson and Jim Bloomer lugged their profes...
British Mountaineering Council's new president Lynn Robinson: lots of work to do
In a year when women’s issues were firmly in the public eye, the British Mountaineering Council’s members elected the organisation’s first female president.
We join Lake District felltop assessor Zac Poulton to brush up our winter skills
Heading for a hillwalking excursion on Britain’s hills in winter is a different prospect from a mountain walk on a nice spring or summer day.

Review: Downhill from Here – Running from John O’Groats to Land’s End, by Gavin Boyter
Boyter is a confirmed distance-running nut and film-maker and the book is his account of his Jogle journey, which was anything but smooth.
Dismantle current governing structure of BMC, review body says
Seven months ago, 170 or so members of the British Mountaineering Council crowded into a meeting room at the National Mountain Centre at Plas y Brenin in north Wales.
Kendal Mountain Festival: the land of white waterproofs and false moustaches
For many years I didn’t get mountain festivals. Why travel to a town surrounded by enticing hills and sit in a darkened room watching celluloid t...
Hill sleuth Myrddyn Phillips's border research suggests Wales should shrink a little
A Welshman who is a keen hillwalker and amateur surveyor believes research demonstrates his home nation should shrink a little and England could be expanded.

Hill sleuths' survey reveals true values of Snowdonia peak Foel Penolau
Many hillgoers will be aware of some of the ways of classifying the UK’s peaks – the best known probably the 282 Scottish munros.
Kendal Mountain Festival: big names mingle with big crowds as event grows
For a few days in late autumn, the genteel Cumbrian market town of Kendal sees its population swell as hordes of waterproof-clad types roam up and down its main street and cluster around a collection of marquees to participate in the annual ritual that is the town’s mountain festival.
Thinking of heading up Tryfan? Read this first
Tryfan’s shapely profile beckons the visitor from its commanding position right next to Thomas Telford’s Holyhead Road as it sweeps through the western reaches of Snowdonia.

Patagonia: the campaigns go on as company nears $1bn milestone
At the heart of our love of the outdoors is a conundrum. Whether you’re a walker, climber, mountain biker, paddler or ski-tourer, you want the be...
Review: Trails with Tales – intriguing walks round Leighton Moss, Silverdale and Arnside, by Beth and Steve Pipe
Thousands of people speed past this area of outstanding natural beauty as they head north to the fells of the Lake District, but for the authors, the area between Carnforth and Arnside is a special place they made their home after moving from Hampshire several years ago.
The great big grough guide to Christmas gifts for your outdoor fan
Christmas is fast approaching and the outdoor enthusiast’s thoughts might well be turning to those little gadgets and gear that may enhance his or her excursions into the hills and countryside of the UK and farther afield.

Film review: Bonington – Mountaineer
As Sir Chris Bonington ‘creaks’ along in his eighth decade, this film by Keith Partridge and Brian Hall offers not just a retrospective on a long career but also on an era of mountaineering that is unlikely ever to be seen again.
Film review: Alan Hinkes – the First Briton to Climb the World’s Highest Mountains, by Terry Abraham
Ask a member of the general public to name a famous British mountaineer and chances are the answer won’t be Alan Hinkes.