Reweirding, bringing back the birch belt, the pressure of being taken seriously, and looking back at the Kendal Mountain Festival | The Pinnacle
In addition to my links of interest, I have quite a few news items and recently published bits and pieces, so I'll dive straight in with the links this time!
Links of interest
Ben Dolphin: Even Scotland’s hardiest bird might be no match for climate change – treasure every ptarmigan you see, because they might not be here forever.
A Reweirding Proposal – 'The Highlands remains, for whatever reason, a magnet for visions of romanticised primitivism and illusionary pasts, all of which seek to attract attention to some aspects of the place, and mask other aspects behind an SEP. It’s also worth saying that not all of them are delivered upon the Highlands from the offices of Guardian columnists, or the tax havens of absentee landlords – many are also home-grown.'
Bringing Back the Birch Belt – Scotland's Lost Mountain Woodland – 'Hikers used to dense plantation forestry on the British pattern sometimes worry that new woodlands will be hard, or uninteresting, walking terrain. But as a 28 year veteran of hiking in Norway, I can report that the birch belt is a joy to hike in. At higher elevations the bushes top out below head height; lower there is very rarely a closed canopy.'
The story of Sherpa mountaineers from early expeditions to the present day – Mark Horrell has a very exciting new book on its way. It was a pleasure and a privilege to help him out with this one, as ever.
The pressure of being taken seriously – 'Will this life's work ever be completed? Of course not, there's never enough life for a life's work. And I play around with this strange idea there won't be enough time. That my time will suddenly run out and all of 'THIS' will stop. There will be a last photograph ... we make.'
Going slow on The High Lonesome Loop – Andrew Terrill heads for the hills. Fabulous pictures here. I'm currently working on his second book, On Sacred Ground, and finding it even more enthralling than the first.
Book news and more
I have a small stock of copies of both The Farthest Shore and Wanderlust Europe that I'm able to provide signed and personalised within the UK. If you'd like one, please email me.
The Farthest Shore is now out on Audible! Get downloading, audiobook fans...
The Farthest Shore was also included in Vertebrate Publishing's recent blog post of their top-ten bestselling books of the autumn so far.
Finally on The Farthest Shore updates, the book has had some great reviews lately. I've posted quotes and links to them on my book page here if you're curious.
I was recently featured in this online TGO piece by my brother James Roddie. Craghoppers hired him for this one, and we had a cracking day out in Glen Feshie. What this piece doesn't show is that the midges were horrendous...
Recently published
There are a couple of bits from me in the latest (Jan 2022) issue of The Great Outdoors magazine. I helped to judge this year's Gear Awards, and I worked with Judy Armstrong to produce this month's comparative review, with covers base layers.
Book review: The Vanishing Ice by Iain Cameron – my review of Iain Cameron's new book. Despite a few flaws, it's worth reading.
Looking back on the Kendal Mountain Festival 2021 – a look at my first festival as a speaker.
Until next time,
Alex
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