Chris Townsend is something of a hero to me. When I was first looking to undertake multi-day backpacking trips more than 20 years ago, it was Chris’s book, The Backpacker’s Handbook that I referred to for information and advice. I’ve followed his work and his exploits ever since. Chris has a huge depth and breadth of long distance walking experience – both on trail and off trail – and his advice…
It’s never been easier to reach wild and remote parts of our planet, and we’re doing it more and more for recreation and adventure. The question is though, what do we do when things go wrong? If you’re in an emergency situation in the outdoors, if you’re lost, if your stranded, if you’re in a situation that may ultimately become a survival situation, what do you do? How do you prioritise?
Jules Pretty OBE, Professor of Environment and Society at the University of Essex joins me to discuss his book The Edge Of Extinction: Travels With Enduring People In Vanishing Lands, the powerful messages it contains and his work in general…
I have in the past written about the value of a long-log fire in the context of articles detailing the building of a lean-to shelter and later, the renovation of a previously used shelter. This has prompted readers to ask questions about the long-log fire itself, how it should be built, how it should…
In episode 6 of my podcast I travel to northern Sweden for a winter camping trip and along the way pass on some advice for winter outdoor life, build a special survival fire and meet a Sami man who provides insight into his traditional way of life…
When snow falls in the forest, you have multiple winter shelter designs to choose from. One of the classic northern forest shelters is a lean-to with a raised bed and a large long-log fire in front to keep you warm through the coldest of nights. I’ve written about the classic northern forest lean-to shelter…
Every year, there are cases of people who get lost in the woods. And they don’t always do the right thing. In the video above, I share some tips, tricks, and best practice of what to do if you should you find yourself lost or even a little bit geographically confused…
Award-winning adventure film-maker Justine Curgenven joins me to talk about the incredible, unprecedented sea kayak journey she and Sarah Outen made along the Aleutian Island chain and Alaskan peninsular, which resulted in a rich wilderness experience of wild, remote islands, unpredictable seas, isolated native communities and abundant wildlife…
Because they’re frozen, extreme cold environments are practically deserts. In this video and the associated article I share a couple of really effective methods of generating water in a frozen environment. Unless you have a specialist tool to cut through ice, getting at the water underneath the ice is extremely difficult. There is plenty of water present though, in the form of snow and the key to accessing it is…
The Norwegian winter mountain environment is challenging but with the right training, experience and equipment this terrain provides one of the best opportunities for wilderness adventure in northern Europe. In this article I run through in detail the equipment I am currently using for ski touring trips in Norway. Your backpack and its contents are your life support system…