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Miles Away I’ve entered my wee film Miles Away into the BMC women in adventure film competition. I noticed that they rank and shortlist the films based on the number of views on BMC TV. So even if you already saw it please do take a couple of minutes to enjoy Alicia Hudleson’s articulate thoughts on running in the mountains, and the lovely Swiss and Catalunyan hills.

Last night I worked till around midnight (editing Mick Tighe's voice) which is kind of early for me normally. But I didn’t get to sleep and so was a complete mess when the alarm went off at 7 to belay Alicia at Laboratori. I belayed until noon and felt so sleepy I decided not to even climb. As we packed the car I changed my mind and decided to have a play on Photo-Shot 8b. After a couple of ridiculous tries where I first fell off the hardest move by fumbling the hold, and then fell off the easiest move by completely missing the jug, I got it done in full roasting hot sun. This was not a very professional performance. But it was a good fight nonetheless. Lesson. Get your work done early, go to bed. Wake up with a functioning brain.  Video above.

This week, I am in Margalef, getting fit for projects, getting fit on projects, and editing video in every spare moment in between. We just arrived and after failing on some hard routes, I did a quick 10 min redpoint of La Bombi, 8b with the head torch. The following day I got a 1st redpoint of Zona 30 8b before moving onto my main course of failing on hard routes. There is some beta for Zona 30 in the video above. I am suffering from slight lack of focus. I still can’t really pull on two-finger pockets because of a torn lumbrical although I’m fine on crimps. Anyone who has climbed in Margalef will understand why this presents a bit of a problem. What I really need a good project to get stuck into. But the two hard routes I’ve tried so far are either not very nice climbing or pretty reliant on being able to pull with that ring finger. I’m trying to decide whether to try an 9a that I know I’ll just be able to play on until my finger gets better, or get on some other classic 8cs. Problem...

Scottish Winter Kit list from Ellis Brigham on Vimeo . Here is a video I made going through the kit I take for Scottish winter climbing - sack, clothing, climbing equipment, food etc. It’s something people quite rightly obsess over since it makes a huge difference to your day on the face. Thanks to Ellis Brigham, Mountain Equipment and Gore-Tex for arranging the video. Speaking of Brighams. I’m speaking and running ice climbing technique masterclasses at their stores in London Covent Garden on Feb 3rd and Manchester on Feb 10th. If you’d like to win a free ice climbing masterclass at the indoor ice walls in both locations, head here to enter (and best be quick). The classes are during the afternoon. In the evening lectures, I’ll be speaking about various adventures on Scottish hard bits of climbing and other adventures on big faces around the world. Look forward to seeing y’all there. You can get your tickets for the evening lectures from here , and it may be a plan to get them in ...

Enjoying the fine position on the second pitch of Southern Freeze IX,9 Photo Helen Rennard The Arrochar Alps are not just my favourite winter playground because I’m from Glasgow. I still love going there in winter even though I live under the Ben these days. Just before I moved to the highlands in 2007 I visited the south peak of the Cobbler to attempt Ken Johnstone’s summer E2 ‘Southern Freeze’. It was an obvious winter line, being festooned with luminous lumps of moss and turf. That day I discovered that the route was pretty hard and sustained. It took me around two hours of being continually pumped to climb the first 25 metres to the crux bulge. When I got there, I just didn’t have any more juice in the tank. I scraped about uselessly at the bulge, then lowered off. The Cobbler south peak in fine condition. Southern Freeze takes the left skyline through the bulges. It was always on my mind and I made a couple of abortive tries to go back, mostly finding it out of condition or poor w...

Judging by the number of books we’ve been stuffing into the wee postbox in Inverroy since January 1st, there are a lot of climbers out there with new year’s resolutions to change your habits and up your level. Great! Let me know how you get on. I would say ‘good luck’, but that would be irrelevant. You’ll make your own luck, or you won’t.  Both 9 out of 10 climbers and Make or Break are in part behavioural science books. They explain how having willpower is not really the centre of behaviour change that leads youth better climbing performance, or getting back to full form after an injury. Rather, changing the environment helps you to make the changes you need without having to constantly force it by willing yourself to do something against your natural tendencies. My own new year’s resolution is pretty simple - to get more sleep. 8 hours minimum and 10 hours after a heavy training day. I think it has been the missing link in my own training for a long time. I’m ashamed to say I’...

Fort William Mountain Festival 2016 showreel from Fort William Mountain Festival on Vimeo . I just put together the reel for the Fort William Mountain Festival which is coming up in mid February. The showreel has just a fraction of the films and speakers involved in this year’s festival I’ve been to the FWMF every year for a decade and I know I’m highly biased, but it is the best mountain festival I’ve ever been to. Why? The combination of location, great shows and especially great vibe.  I remember being blown away at a previous festival when during a hill running night the MC asked the audience how many people in the room were active hill runners and I reckon over 250 people raised a hand. I don’t know anywhere else where you get such energy of like minded people coming together and sharing their keenness. The great thing about FWMF is that folk are always out on the hill or in a workshop during the day enjoying some climbing or other activity. So everyone shares the ‘glow’ a...