Blog Posts in Category: General

2018 in 100 Photos

Alastair BegleyGeneral, Landscape, Mountaineering Short Link

Looking back over 2018 it is safe to say that photographically it was a year dominated by snow for me. In the UK we had an exceptional winter which just went on and on, combined with my summer of road cycling which resulted in very few photographs and then an alpine summer which resulted in more snowy photographs. UK Winter Our winter in the UK started with a weekend trip up to Scotland to see some of our friends before they departed to New Zealand for 2 years. We had an enjoyable day walking before a day hiding from the weather. Gael Charn We then were able to make the most of the excellent winter by getting some winter walking done in the Lake District on the Avon Mountaineering Club’s annual winter Lakes trip. Unfortunately due to the quantity of snow it was not possible to climb, but it was certainly a beautiful day. Lake District It was then time for the annual AMC trip to Scotland. This year was the first time the AMC went to Torridon for a week. The week of the trip happened to coincide with. Read the full article…

2017 in 100 Photos

Alastair BegleyGeneral, Mountaineering Short Link

2017 was a very busy year with plenty of trips away, however due to a lack of motivation it was another year with limited climbing. This year we discovered road cycling which took up a large part of summer and we bought a house which resulted in numerous weekends at home packing, unpacking and doing DIY. We did manage to find plenty of time for walking in the mountains, and enjoyed an excellent summer holiday in Italy. Winter The winter got off to a strange start on the Avon Mountaineering Club’s (AMC) winter Lake District trip. The weather had been very mild leading up to the trip, and the forecast for the weekend looked brilliant. Due to this George managed to persuade Becky and me to go rock climbing on Gimmer. This was a brilliant day, if a little cold at the start before we were in the sun! It was soon time to head up to Scotland for the AMC winter trip, while there was plenty of snow on the trip there was a distinct lack of ice. I managed one day of climbing with George on Ben Nevis,. Read the full article…

2015 in 100 Photos

Alastair BegleyGeneral Short Link

Overall 2015 was a very successful year, but it certainly wasn’t without it’s ups and downs. In addition to climbing I had lots of positives in my personal life as I attended four weddings and moved in with my girlfriend. Winter I spent a lot of time out in the mountains in the winter and had some fantastic days but I would have liked to have done some more harder ice climbing. My best weekend climbing was an impromptu trip to North Wales where we climbed Western Gully and El Mancho. As ever I enjoyed taking less experienced people out climbing and I really loved learning to ski tour in the Cairngorms. My winter highlights were Ski Touring in the Cairngorms Western Gully (North Wales) Left Hand Branch & El Mancho (North Wales) Zero Gully Comb Gully Curved Ridge The Haston Line An Teallach Summer Rock My summer climbing got off to a fantastic start with a weekend down in Cornwall at Easter. And over the next few months I went from strength-to-strength which culminated in a fantastic weekend in Pembroke at the start of June. I was just loving. Read the full article…

A fantastic 2014 in 100 Photos

Alastair BegleyGeneral Short Link

As we are fast approaching the end of the year I figured it was probably time to have a look back through what I have been up to this year. It has been a fairly contrasting year when compared to last year, which was mostly significant due to the significant amount I achieved in winter and in the Alps. However, this year with terrible weather and conditions during winter in the UK and in the Alps during summer. Despite this I still managed some great routes in Scotland and had an even better time in the Alps taking some chances and being lucky with weather and conditions on the routes we did manage. This was also the first year I have undertaken technical & committing routes in the Alps, rather than busy trade routes, and I am now looking forward to more alpine adventures in 2015. The Flèche Rousse, North Ridge of the Weissmies and the North Face of the Tour Ronde were all long, serious and committing routes. On the first two routes there was no one else attempting the routes which makes you feel very isolated and committed. Additionally,. Read the full article…