BASE # 06

RIDE

ENGLAND

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KAYA K

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WA L E S

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Features

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22 B I R D M E N O F T H E H I M A L A YA

14 E D I T O R ’ S L E T T E R

Paragliding the high country of India’s Himachal Pradesh

The Origins of Exploration

Horacio Llorens & John Stapels

David Pickford

30 R I T E S O F PA S S A G E

18 B A S E N O T E S

Scrambling as a secret gateway to climbing and mountaineering

Brendon Prince makes the first circumnavigation

Jethro Kiernan

of Britain by standup paddleboard The BASE editorial team

38 O N E W I T H T H E R I V E R Kayaking and environmental action on Slovenia’s Sava river

62 K E M P S T O N H A R D W I C K

Carmen Kuntz

The secret diary of Bedfordshire’s greatest adventurer Dan Milner

46 T H E O L D R O A D A bikepacking journey along the route of Britain’s

72 B A S E G E A R

oldest highway

Cycling innovations for autumn-winter 2021

Chris Hunt & Ben Wormald

The BASE review team

54 T I D E L A N D S

74 B A S E T E C H

Exploring the unexpected wilderness of the Bristol Channel

The Wearable Bubble: the story of personal floatation devices

David Pickford

Chris Hunt & David Pickford

66 T H E B A S E I N T E R V I E W

80 B A S E C U LT U R E

Nirmal ‘Nims’ Purja

Mirrors in the Map

BASE talks to one of the best high altitude climbers in history

Tessa Lyons, BASE artist-in-residence

Nims Purja, Catherine Bolado & David Pickford

Contributors Dan Milner

Tyler Roemer

Carmen Kuntz

Catherine Bolado

Tessa Lyons

Mitja Legat

Horacio Llorens

Katja Jemec

John Stapels

Katja Pokorn

Nirmal ‘Nims’ Purja

Sandro Gromen-Hayes

Ben Wormald

Christa Funk

Jethro Kiernan

Michael Clark

Editor & Creative Director David Pickford

Publisher Secret Compass

Associate Editor & Digital Editor Chris Hunt

Enquiries hello@base-mag.com

Publishing Director Patrick Tillard

Submissions submissions@base-mag.com

Design Joe Walczak

Advertising patrick@base-mag.com

COVER: High on Bristly Ridge, Tryfan, looking towards mid-Wales as the sun begins to set over the Carneddau: the perfect end to a great day in the British mountains. JETHRO KIERNAN

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EDI TO R ’ S LET T ER The O r i g i n s o f E x p l o r a t i o n

The surface of the bay glimmers darkly, like a distant planet. Dawn is breaking. A group of men and women have gathered on the beach as the final supplies are loaded into the twin hulls of the ocean-going canoe pulled up on the sand. None of them have any way of knowing the outcome of their imminent expedition. Once the last provisions have been stowed, the canoe begins to thread its way through the lagoon. It clears the line of surf on the outer reef, picking up speed as it enters the deeper water beyond, propelled now by the wind and the equatorial current. With a following swell behind them, these unknown explorers pilot their intrepid craft towards the shifting blue line of the horizon. After a while, the island they have departed vanishes astern; the canoe is completely alone on the Pacific Ocean.

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ncient Polynesians first discovered and populated many of the Pacific islands in antiquity, using ocean-going sailing canoes combined with spectacular skills in natural navigation built up over centuries, and passed down through the generations. The largely undocumented voyages these ancient seafarers made are arguably some the most extraordinary feats of exploration in the whole of human history. Using rudimentary but highly effective nautical technology, ancient Polynesians discovered some of the most remote inhabitable places on Earth. The Marquesas, for example, may have been discovered as early as 100 AD. Today, we know quite a lot more about outer space than the ancient Polynesians knew about the ocean they were exploring. How exactly they made their remarkable voyages still remains an active area of enquiry, both for historians and for modern enthusiasts of the art of natural navigation. Why they made these voyages, though, is a question more relevant to philosophers. Why would you leave Tahiti or Hawaii – places as accommodating to human life as any that can be imagined – for a perilous quest across a vast ocean? Why risk death for the chance of discovery? What’s the point of making a dangerous journey at all? Such questions are of huge relevance, I think, for those of an adventurous mindset.

NASA’s Frank Borman once famously suggested that ‘exploration is really the essence of the human spirit’. If he is correct, then the ancient Polynesians were certainly enacting that essence, just as Borman was as commander of Apollo 8 – the first human-crewed spaceflight to orbit the Moon in 1968. Despite using incomparable technologies, those ancient Pacific voyages have a central principle in common with modern practitioners of exploration like Command Pilot Frank Borman: the acceptance of risk as a necessary dimension of any exploratory endeavour.

The intriguing, complex links between ancient and modern exploration, however, open a series of large questions.

If exploration is indeed the essence of the human spirit, then is some exposure to risks and harms is also a fundamental part of what it means to be human? Perhaps we cannot explore anything without risking something in the process. And if this is true, then does the experience of dealing with risk enable us to properly function as living beings? And what, finally, would happen if we were to live in a world where our exposure to risk was eliminated?

These are questions that demand urgent attention in the early twenty-first century, where physical risk is being systematically eliminated, via various cultural and technological processes, from ordinary human experience. At the same time, popular interest in adventure sports involving various degrees of risk is currently surging. This dynamic is, in itself, hugely revealing.

First coined by the authors Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt in their bestselling 2018 book The Coddling of the American Mind, the notion of ‘safetyism’ describes as a belief system which prioritises safety (including emotional safety) as a sort of sacred value. Cultures of safetyism are increasingly obvious as they proliferate in different areas of human activity: from so-called ‘safe spaces’ for undergraduates to Covid-related biosecurity policies (remember that pandemic catchphrase ‘stay safe’?), and from the highly contentious ethical issues of the postponement of death for the institutionalised elderly, and the ever-increasing levels of parental protection of children. It is perhaps the latter that most clearly shows the current cultural dismantling of Frank Borman’s beautiful idea about exploration – and therefore risk – being a kind of key force at the heart of the human spirit.

A recent study by the British Children’s Play Survey, for example, concluded that primary-school age children in Britain are losing the freedom to play independently. While their parents were allowed to play outside unsupervised by the age of nine on average, today’s children are eleven by the time they reach the same milestone, according to the survey. The researchers pointed out that not enough adventurous play could affect children’s long-term physical and mental health. Anita Grant, the chairwoman of Play England, said after the study was published that ‘play outdoors is fundamentally important for children to develop a relationship with the world around them. Adults’ protective instincts are not helpful when they restrict exploration and a child’s natural instinct to engage with their environment freely.’ If you’re a naturally adventurous person, Grant’s important point would no doubt also strike you as an obvious one.

FACING PAGE: John Webber’s striking portrait of native Hawaiian priests travelling across Kealakekua bay in a twin-hulled sailing canoe, as seen from the deck of Captain Cook’s ship ‘Endeavour’ in circa 1781. Different versions of this basic design, including single-hulled double outrigger canoes, were used by ancient Polynesians to discover the many islands of the Pacific Ocean in antiquity. The majority of these voyages are completely unrecorded. JOHN WEBBER / PUBLIC DOMAIN

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Returning to ocean exploration, the following story provides an interesting counterpoint to contemporary narratives promoting the idea of safety as a core moral value. The brilliant documentary biopic Following Seas tells the life story of groundbreaking American sailors Nancy and Bob Griffith, who circumnavigated the world several times between the early 1960s and the late 1970s, were at one point shipwrecked on the uninhabited Pacific atoll, Vahanga Island, for 67 days, and later skippered the first sailing boat to circumnavigate Antarctica.

‘We all became highly competent individuals’, Nancy Griffith recalls, as she remembers how she raised her young family on the ocean waves. It is a striking line, and a powerful acknowledgement of the moral value of adventure and risk, as well as the obvious hazards of leading a life directed by ocean sailing. Following Seas is also a remarkable document of the era before any kind of ‘safetyism’ existed; at one point, sailing off New Zealand, Nancy reflects on how she once had to dive off the side of her boat to retrieve her toddler, who had accidentally fallen overboard when playing unsupervised on deck. ‘We need to go ashore until these kids have learnt to swim!’ she wryly admits in the voiceover. Such nonchalance might seem reckless, but it has the advantage of building competence in children from an early age; the opposite of the ‘helicopter parenting’ that Anita Grant talked about.

The physical and moral freedom that Nancy and Bob Griffith actively pursued in their sailing careers – and which every adventure-seeker strives for at some level – can be used as a counterpoint to what the American philosopher Matthew Crawford has provocatively called ‘the safety-industrial complex’ of the early twenty-first century. In his brilliant essay The Dangers of Safetyism, which was published at the height of the first Covid outbreak in the West in spring 2020, Crawford writes of how ‘safetyism… has been gaining strength for decades and is having a triumphal moment just now. There appears to be a feedback loop wherein the safer we become, the more intolerable any remaining risk appears.’

Crawford’s insight highlights the profound risks of a culture of safetyism. If left to itself, a society directed by safetyism can

and will develop deeply dystopian features – some of which are already evident, such as the results of the British Children’s Play Survey quoted earlier. But Crawford also offers a way out here for independent thinkers. If safetyism requires ‘a feedback loop’ in which the safer we become, the less we are prepared to take risks, then there’s an obvious way to avoid it: let’s not prioritise safety over other, more worthwhile values. I can think of a few that sound like better options. How about courage, curiosity, kindness, and determination? Being a fierce critic of safetyism doesn’t mean, of course, that you must deliberately expose yourself to high levels of risk; it just means that you don’t seek to elevate safety above all other moral values.

Going back to those ancient Polynesian voyagers with whom we began, we might answer the questions raised earlier about why it is that human beings are drawn to take risks in the first place.

After many weeks – or even months – at sea, having endured storms that threatened to sink the sailing canoe and privations on an unimaginable level, the master navigator (pwo) leans over the side of the left hull. His eyes light up as he spots a tiny strand of pale green seaweed in the blue water of the Pacific, then a frigate bird high overhead – two signs that land may not be far off. After cross-referencing the frigate bird’s flight pattern with the direction of the swell that has brought that strand of seaweed to the canoe, he tells the captain to aim their course a degree to the west. After a few hours, the ancient explorers shout and sing with delight as a dark smudge appears on the horizon. Green and shining in the sun as they close in, coconut trees growing directly from the sand define the island’s perimeter.

They’ve succeeded in their mission: they have found a new world. At the same time, they’ve enacted the exploratory urge that’s the essence of the human spirit. At some deep psychic level, many of us must still take risks in our lives just as those early explorers did – to inhabit different spaces, to be elsewhere, to transform who we are, and to reimagine what we might become.

On that note, I hope you’ll delve deeply into another actionpacked edition of BASE. Enjoy the issue.

David Pickford

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OPENING SHOT

Photograph | Tyler Roemer / Red Bull

Leading American windsurfer Levi Siver executes a textbook

kitesurfer, or wingfoiler rides multiple waves in a single session by

‘transition’ move on a wave at Gold Beach, Pistol River, on

sailing between them. It sounds easy, but it isn’t. The transitions

the Oregon coast of the USA. Described in the windsurfing

between the waves are one of several highly technical aspects of

community as ‘one of the most talented wavesailors on the

wavesailing, often involving spectacular mid-air jibes and tacks as

planet’, Hawaii-resident Siver travels extensively in search of the

seen in this photograph. ‘[Wavesailing] is the most exciting

kind of epic conditions seen in this image, which can occur very

aspect of windsurfing and never gets old for me’ says Siver. ‘Every

quickly at certain times of the year in the northern Pacific.

wave is unique in its own way, and the challenges are such that

Wavesailing is an advanced discipline in which the windsurfer,

you never stop progressing.’

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BA S E N O T ES

The Long Paddle: th e f i r s t c i r c u m n a v i g a t i o n o f B r i t a i n b y S U P Photography | Will Reddaway

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n late April 2021, Devon-based lifeguard and water safety campaigner Brendon Prince launched his SUP from Torre Abbey Sands,Torquay, to begin an unusual voyage. Dubbed

‘The Long Paddle’, his mission was to make the first continuous circumnavigation of the British mainland by standup paddleboard (SUP), a total distance of over 4000 kilometres.

On September 14th, he finally arrived back at his starting point after an epic journey lasting over four months, completing the challenge and making watersport history. Whilst there have been numerous circumnavigations of the British coast by sea kayak – the fastest being Joe Leach’s staggeringly quick 2012 record of just 67 days – standup paddling presents an alternative means of travelling across the open ocean using a lightweight water craft. Standup paddleboards, however, have a slightly lower cruising speed than sea kayaks, they are considerably more affected by wind and swell, and they’re consequently more challenging craft for long distance travel in comparison to sea kayaks. That doesn’t mean, though, that long distances can’t be successfully travelled by SUP. That’s exactly what Brendon Prince has demonstrated with this remarkable achievement: have SUP, will travel.

Prince’s world record was preceded by Cal Major’s 2018 paddle, in which she became the first person to travel from Land’s End to John O’ Groats by SUP, using a combination of coastal travel and inland waterways. Prince, however, made his entire journey by sea, using a small land-based support team but no support boats. He thus became the first person to SUP from the most southerly to the most northerly point of Britain by the coastal route, and then became the first person to complete the full circumnavigation of Britain by SUP: two world records in one expedition isn’t a bad result. It should be noted, though, that others have made extremely long trips by SUP. Maverick adventurer Charlie Head has travelled many parts of the UK coast by SUP, including all of Scotland. In November 2020, he continuously paddled a 100km section in under 24 hours between Rosehearty and Wick across the Moray Firth, much of it through the night, and which (in the central part) is up to 50 kilometres offshore.

A passionate campaigner for water safety, Brendon Prince left his long career in outdoor education in 2019 to focus on his water safety work, both as the chairman of a Devon-based surf lifesaving club, and as the founder of the charity Above Water, which aims to teach children proper water survival and lifesaving skills. Prince has already visited hundreds of schools and taught over 100,000 children about drowning prevention techniques.

Completing the first circumnavigation of Britain by SUP will raise the public profile of the charity, and highlight its important work.

Summing up his long adventure, Prince wrote on 23rd August as he rounded Ness Point near Lowestoft (Britain’s most easterly point): ‘That’s the four corners of Britain rounded in 101 consecutive days. North was the coldest, East the windiest, South the most gnarly, and West the wildest!’ Prince’s adventure surely sets the tone for future long distance SUP voyages, as this fast-developing watersport continues to evolve.

FACING PAGE: Brendon Prince paddling past the awesome vista of the Isle of Skye’s Cuillin mountains emerging through the mist during the Scottish section of his record breaking round-Britain SUP voyage, which began in late April 2021 and finished in mid-September. WILL REDDAWAY

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Travelling between islands around the west coast of Scotland is up there with some of the best paddling I have ever done anywhere’ - Brendon Prince

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FACING PAGE: Brendon Prince paddling amid the grandeur of the northwest highlands of Scotland during his record-breaking round-Britain SUP voyage.

THIS PAGE TOP: Brendon launching through the early morning surf from Godrevy beach in west Cornwall, during the initial section of his journey around Britain. Here, he is using a rip current to travel through the shore break into the open water.

THIS PAGE CENTRE LEFT: Commenting on the quality of the paddling on his journey, Brendon remarked that ‘travelling between islands around the west coast of Scotland is up there with some of my favourite paddling I have ever done anywhere’.

THIS PAGE CENTRE RIGHT: The key aim of the challenge was to raise the profile of water safety and promote the work of Brendon’s charity Above Water, which teaches children drowning prevention skills.

THIS PAGE LOWER: Brendon arriving in the small harbour at John O’Groats, the most northerly point in Britain and one of the four ‘compass points’ of his journey around the UK mainland.

Find out more about Above Water at ABOVEWATER.ORG

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BIRDMEN OF THE HIMALAYA Paragliding the hi g h c o u n t r y o f H i m a c h a l P r a d e s h Story | Horacio Llorens

Photography | John Stapels / Red Bull

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In autumn 2019, two of Europe’s leading paraglider pilots, Tom de Dorlodot and Horacio Llorens, travelled to the high valleys of Himachal Pradesh in the Indian Himalaya. Their mission was to fly across some of the most spectacular terrain on Earth by paraglider, and to reach the highest altitude possible within safe limits.

This is the story of their extraordinary journey across the roof of India.

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t had always been my dream to travel to India; an even greater dream was to fly a paraglider in the Himalaya. As soon as we arrived in the foothills of

the greatest mountain range on Earth, the unique scale and constant drama of the landscape captivated me completely.

It all started in Bir Billing, a small village in the Joginder Nagar valley close to the town of Manali, where we undertook our first flights. Here, we would test our gear in the thin mountain air of Himachal Pradesh to see how it performed. We then spent three days flying in the surrounding valleys; the first major flight took us from Bir to the Manali valley, where we reached over 4000m in altitude, soaring over lush green pastures, verdant forests, and across the flanks of snowy mountains.

Luckily we arrived at our first planned stop in time, before the thermal conditions disappeared without warning. This is a constant hazard when flying in such high mountains, due to the extremely high temperature variations at different altitudes. We were able to continue flying from exactly the same point later that day; in the evening, we did a mountain-top landing on a small summit at 3,200m. Just below the peak, we found a little hut that was providing shelter for a shepherd, with his family and his goats in tow. They gave us some dinner, and invited us in to keep warm next to their fire. Despite not being able to understand each other in any language, we had a great evening together and we all laughed a lot. Tom and I went to sleep with dreams of higher and longer flights at the front of our minds.

In the middle of the night the wind started to blow really hard: a storm was coming. It rained heavily for hours, and I realised with some trepidation that my lightweight tent was leaking. It was a long and hard night. In the morning we woke to cloud cover, but we were able to take off, flying nearly all the way to Manali. At the end of the valley we hit some heavy precipitation and dangerously windy conditions. We started to fly backwards towards a section of mountainside covered in apple trees – a kind of suspended Himalayan orchard. Luckily I managed to land in a small clearing, but Tom couldn’t make it and had a harder landing. As a result, he slightly injured his shoulder. Our very first day of flying here was a stark reminder of just how challenging flying a paraglider in the Himalaya can be.

As Tom’s shoulder healed, I spent the two following days flying in the surroundings of Manali with Debu, a very well known Indian pilot and my friend for several years since we competed together in the Acrobatics World Cup. I became increasingly amazed by the high mountains around Manali in those two days with Debu: the Himalaya had cast its spell over me already.

Four days later, Tom’s shoulder was feeling better. Debu, Tom, and myself now planned a major flight. Our goal was to clear the 3,978m Rohtang Pass and enter the high Himalaya.This flight had been completed by very few pilots to date: there’s a lot of commitment involved in flying the complex, technical terrain of steep-sided Himalayan valleys with huge thermal changes, and the sudden winds they can generate.

THIS PAGE: Tom de Dorlodot and Horacio Llorens fly across the high ridges of Spiti in the Indian Himalaya. On this expedition, both pilots reached a maximum altitude of over 6,200m.

PREVIOUS PAGES: Horacio Llorens flies over the spectacular 1000 year-old gompa [monastery] at Key in the Spiti valley, one of several large Buddhist monasteries in this region.

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We flew among the enormous mountains that encased us, crossing canyons where white rivers flowed fast and wild

We took off from a clearing in the forest above Manali

day, in difficult, turbulent conditions, and were able to land at

early the following morning. At the beginning of our flight, the

4,000m elevation, from where we would continue the following

thermal conditions were not particularly strong, and we were

day. It was bitterly cold that night, even in our advanced four-

finding it difficult to gain altitude. Eventually, all three of us

season sleeping bags. Flying conditions the following morning

managed to reach an altitude of 5000m on the south side of the

were much better; we quickly went up to nearly 6,000m, where

Rohtang Pass, and we decided to cross. Debu, who was a little

we started to see the Spiti Valley from another perspective.

lower than Tom and I, couldn’t quite reach a safe altitude to

At this point, we both realised we had completely fallen in love

cross the pass itself, so he stayed on the Manali side.

with these mountains.

Tom and I now entered the next valley. The landscape was

We did a gorgeous flight to the 1200 year-old Dankhar

totally transformed as we crossed the northern limit of the

Gompa, the oldest Buddhist monastery in Spiti. We flew past

Indian monsoon rain: north of the Rohtang, the mountains were

enormous rock walls and through perpendicular valleys; we both

dry, just stone and soil with very little vegetation. The strong

enjoyed being at Dankhar so much, in fact, we decided to spend

katabatic winds blowing down from the highest peaks around us

the night right there in the lodgings of the monastery.

would be the keynote from now on.

Later the next day, we took off with the intention of flying

As soon as we entered this valley we realised that the wind

to the nearby hamlet of Ki, where the rest of the team were

was very strong and there were few thermals. We were able to

waiting. After our first ascent, we realised the cloudbase was

climb up with a lot of effort and turbulence and we reached the

growing, and it was starting to rain in some areas of the valley,

summit of the mountain above the Rohtang Pass, climbing up

creating dangerous flying conditions. Instead of flying to Ki, we

to a maximum altitude of 5,300m. All around us, peaks more

did a local flight right over the monastery of Dhankar; neither

than 6,000m glittered in the sunlight. By the early afternoon,

of us could believe we were actually flying in such a magical

we managed to reach the isolated village of Keylong. We landed

place. We were told that nobody had ever flown a paraglider in

here on a small rocky plain and waited for the rest of the team.

this particular valley, and having the opportunity to be the first

The next day we decided to go to Spiti Valley by road, since

to do so was worth more than any international trophy.

it was going to be impossible to reach the team by flying due to

On the other side of the valley from Dhankar, above

dangerous turbulence. When we arrived in Spiti, the valley

the village of Key where we met the rest of the team, the

captivated us immediately: a high altitude desert surrounded by

conditions were better. Here, we managed to climb up to an

shining summits and dotted with white-walled villages and

altitude of just over 6,200m – a personal record for both of us.

impressive monasteries surrounded us.

Despite the fact we were already well acclimatised, we decided to

Tom and I now prepared our flying and bivouac gear for the next stage of our expedition. We made a short flight that

leave it there. Cloudbase was at 7000m, but we weren’t carrying supplementary oxygen and we didn’t want to force things.

THIS PAGE: Tom de Dorlodot and Horacio Llorens on a test flight above Manali early in the expedition: high winds and turbulence made many of their flights technically complex.

FACING PAGE TOP: The team hiking in to a take off point in the Spiti valley, watched by an ancient stupa covered in coloured prayer flags.

FACING PAGE CENTRE LEFT: Checking the flight plan for the day on a detailed map of the Spiti region.

CENTRE RIGHT: Fishing for dinner in one of the icy rivers in the Spiti valley.

LOWER LEFT: Flying into Manali after one of the test flights early in the expedition.

LOWER RIGHT: Relaxing by the campfire after a day of stellar flying in the high country of the Indian Himalaya.

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Soaring across the mountains above the Dankhar monastery was one of the best days of flying we could remember

Above Key, we flew among the enormous mountains that

The following day would be our last at Dankhar, and our

encased us, crossing several shady canyons where white rivers

final flight, as it turned out, of the entire expedition. We flew

flowed fast and wild. Finally, at dusk, we traversed back across

high above the glittering white walls of the monastery as the

the valley again towards Dankhar, where the great monastery

distinctive coloured prayer flags fluttered from the rafters.

was waiting for us; it had been one of the best days of flying

The wind was stronger each time we climbed, though, and we

either of us could remember.

soon decided to land for safety. We were satisfied with what we

We landed above the village of Dankhar, and hiked up

had achieved: we had flown, at last, in the high Himalaya.

until we found a little take-off for the next day, which had a

Without any doubts, technical paraglider flights in the

perfect small lake to get water and camp that night. We spent

high mountains should always be done as a team; a pilot flying

the night by a Buddhist stupa that was near the lake. We made

alone cannot operate at the necessary margin of safety required

a little fire, and reflected over the good stories of the last few

in a place like the Himalaya. But flying as a team with Tom,

days under a sky full of stars.

I always feel safe. As we usually say, ‘we are birds!’

FACING PAGE: Flying over the remote, 1000 year-old monastery of Dankhar in the mountain of Spiti was one of the highlights of the expedition.

THIS PAGE TOP: Arriving at high camp in the mountains above Key monastery.

CENTRE LEFT: Hiking out to meet the support team after the final flight of the expedition.

CENTRE RIGHT: Cloudbase falling over Manali on one of the first flights of the trip. Good communication between the two pilots was crucial for safe flying across the challenging terrain of the expedition, with constant radio communication between them maintained throughout.

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R I T E S O F P AS S AGE The secret gatewa y t o c l i m b i n g a n d m o u n t a i n e e r i n g Story & Photography | Jethro Kiernan

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Scrambling in the British mountains is one of the most satisfying forms of adventure anywhere on our islands. It can also act as a catalyst for progress to more technical and challenging forms of mountaineering. Jethro Kiernan explains his passion for the world-class scrambling close to his home in the heart of the Snowdonia National Park, and why it matters in broader context of adventure, both in Britain and elsewhere.

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t’s a misty evening on Tryfan, one of the great peaks of

level. It forces you to live ‘in the now’ whilst also making you

Snowdonia. We’re four pitches up the immaculate rock of

aware of the consequences of any mistakes. Starting off in UK

Notched Arête, one the classic grade three scrambles of the

mountain scrambling, you need nothing but your usual

British mountains. The cloud rolls in and out, teasing us with

mountain walking equipment and a good pair of boots or

the promise of a glimpse of the sunset. Just a flicker of orange

approach shoes – with the latter often being far superior in dry

light appears then vanishes over the Carneddau to the north.

conditions as they are much lighter. As you progress, you’ll

Despite the classic Welsh weather, it had been another

begin to learn to focus on your balance on steeper and more

memorable evening scrambling with an old friend. The sun

exposed ground. You’ll learn to read the terrain and the quality

did make a brief and magical appearance. In fact, the clouds

of the rock as you move along ridges and around notches, down

parted to dramatically reveal a few glimpses of pristine colour

gullies and across ledges, constantly engaging with the

with the lakes below. A few muted ‘wows’ were all that was

changing terrain and responding to its challenges.

needed to share our mutual sense that this evening had been

Scrambling, by its very nature, takes you away from the

worth the optimism of getting out for a quick after-work hit

crowds. It places you far above the well-trodden paths, and

in the mountains.

affords vantage points where walkers below will become distant

That shared moment got me thinking, too, about the art

dots, and the circling ravens and peregrine falcons are your

of scrambling more widely. In particular, I considered its

nearest companions. (Unless, that is, you’re on Crib Goch on a

place in the intersection between climbing, hillwalking and

bank holiday weekend. During busy times, related issues

mountaineering. Scrambling, more than anything else, is the

around crowds on popular scrambles raise themselves – the

‘gateway drug’ that leads from non-technical hillwalking into

greatest danger on a busy scramble is often from other people

rock climbing and mountaineering. It’s the key to the door.

rather than from the terrain itself, so be careful.)

For me personally, that moment in the mists above the

Scrambling is a wonderfully hybrid kind of activity. You can

Ogwen valley covered so many of the elements of what makes

scramble as a runner, a rock climber, a hillwalker, or a full-blown

scrambling in the British mountains such a special activity.

mountaineer. You can slip on your trainers and shorts and do a

It isn’t just the technical aspect of having to use your hands and

fast round of grade one terrain on a sunlit evening, or you could

feet together, and to move your body creatively to cover

go on a claggy day with big boots and waterproofs for some ‘full

pathless terrain, but also the feeling of being completely

value’ mountain time, or it could be just yourself, a pair of

absorbed by the mountain environment and its unique weather.

approach shoes and a camera. Alternatively, you could wait

On a different level, as a photographer, scrambling allows me to

for the snow and bring out the crampons and axes for the

be a participant in the action who’s able to take pictures whilst

ideal introduction to alpine mountaineering: scrambling in the

on the move, rather than being just an external observer. In this

British mountains in the icy winter months.

respect, scrambling photography can be much more authentic

The mountains of the UK may be relatively modest, at least

than a great deal of modern climbing photography that’s often

in stature, compared to the Alps or the Greater Ranges. But

shot from the contrivance of a fixed abseil rope.

crossing Crib Goch for the first time – surrounded by the

Scrambling has marked my own journey through the

shining summits of Snowdonia with the lakes glittering in the

mountains, both as a climber and as a photographer. My very

cwms below – can only be described as a true mountaineering

first climbing pictures were taken on the super-classic Pinnacle

experience. For some, it maybe a pinnacle of a hillwalking

Ridge in the Ogwen valley on a school trip; my first winter

career on otherwise non-technical peaks. For others, it might

scrambling was with the same club on Y Cribin in the snow;

be the beginning of a road to more adventurous trips to the

and with international travel on hold during the pandemic,

Alps and beyond. Whatever your specific interest in

scrambling in Snowdonia once again became an important

scrambling, the unique sensation of moving effectively through

means of exploration and escape in my local area, and has

pathless, rocky, and sometimes very exposed terrain in the

become a focus of much of my time and photography recently.

British mountains is of huge value in itself, and the multitude

Scrambling, far more than hillwalking, requires you to focus

of other experiences and challenges it can lead to gives it a

and engage with the terrain of the mountains at a fundamental

special place within the echelon of established mountain sports.

FACING PAGE: Elinlois Louise taking the harder variation on Pinnacle Ridge (Grade 3 / VDiff), one of the classic harder scrambles at Craig Braich Ty Du (Pen yr Ole Wen) in the Ogwen Valley, Snowdonia.

PREVIOUS PAGES: Gareth Owen finishing Cneifion Arête, a superb long scramble at Cwm Cneifion in the Llyn Idwal area of the Ogwen Valley, Snowdonia.

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APPETISERS

Tryfan North Ridge

The following scrambles represent the transition from

Starting from the lay-by at the east end of Llyn Ogwen, an

hillwalking to scrambling. These routes, whilst technically

exercise in route finding becomes more ridge-like as you climb

easy, cover steep ground and should be treated with respect,

higher up the mountain. Tryfan really is the climber’s mountain

a good base of mountain knowledge, and proper equipment.

of Wales: the place where the action happens.

Crib Goch, Snowdon

Bristly Ridge, Glyder Fach

The classic and deservedly popular Welsh scramble, on a

A snaggle-toothed ridge rising from Cwm Bochlwyd takes you

visually stunning and wildly exposed knife-edge ridge.

up to the rugged summits of the Glyderau. It’s never too hard, but

Despite its popularity, on a midweek evening it’s still possible

always leaves you feeling like you’re actually mountaineering.

to have the place to yourselves. For many, this is the intersection where hillwalking and mountaineering meet.

Bochlwyd Round

With clean rock and big drops with dramatic views all

Combining the two ridge scrambles above with a descent of Y

around, its technically easy, grade one scrambling, but weather

Cribin gives a proper ‘big mountain day’ of grade one scrambling.

will have a dramatic effect on the difficulty. For a bigger day out try the Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) Horseshoe: a truly great

Striding Edge, Helvellyn, Lake District

British round. A layer of snow and ice in winter turns it into

Over in England, this super-classic grade one scramble reaches

a magical (and often intimidating) experience.

the summit of Helvellyn via a spectacular exposed ridge-line.

THIS PAGE TOP: Striding along Y Gribin in the heart of the Glyderau above a sea of clouds.

THIS PAGE LOWER: Heading up the North Ridge of Tryfan (Grade 1) as the sun rises.

FACING PAGE TOP LEFT: Luca Celarno on an early morning spring ascent of Bristly Ridge (Grade 1), Glyder Fach.

FACING PAGE TOP RIGHT: Eilir Davies-Hughes sticking to the ridge line on Yr Cribin, Ogwen Valley.

FACING PAGE LOWER: Epic winter light on Clogwyn y Person Arête (Grade 3), an excellent scramble on the quieter northern flanks of Snowdon.

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Far more than hillwalking, mountain scrambling forces you to engage with the terrain that encases you

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MAIN COURSES

Notched Arête, Tryfan

Moving on from the intersection with hillwalking into the

One of my favourite routes on one of my favourite mountains.

territory of true climbing, these routes will need some

Best approached from the north ridge of Tryfan, it heads up

experience of pitched rock climbing, ropework, and route-

steep, clean rock for four pitches high above the Ogwen Valley,

finding on steep ground. This is the real deal!

before finishing on the north summit of Tryfan itself.

Cniefion Arête, Cwm Cneifion

Clogwyn Y Person Arête, Llanberis Pass

A personal favourite of mine, which helped reignite my love of

Another classic North Wales grade three scramble rising high

scrambling and exploring the rockier sections of the Welsh

above the flanks of Llanberis pass and finishing on Crib Y

mountains. Sitting above Cwm Cniefion (an atmospheric

Ddysgl. I’ve had some fine summer evenings chasing the

hanging valley), the arête is a lovely fin of rock that takes you up

evening sun up the arête to finish as the sun sets over the Irish

to Y Cribin, which in turn can take you to the rugged summits

Sea. For a bigger day, turn left, reverse Crib Goch, and then

of the Glyderau. Catching the evening light, it starts with a

descend the north ridge of Crib Goch for a very fine round.

steep short section that is certainly in the realms of proper rock climbing, before following the ridge line in classic scrambling

Rowan Route, Milestone Buttress

territory. This is a favourite of local mountain guides training

A short, sweet, but tricky grade three scramble in the Ogwen

people up for the Alps, and has that ‘summer alpine’ feel to it.

Valley; this is the transition from scrambling to real climbing.

TOP: Topping out to the glorious vista across the Ogwen valley and towards the distant Irish Sea after a days scrambling in the Glyderau.

THIS PAGE LOWER LEFT: The transition from winter into spring is clearly visible in the gullies of Bristly Ridge, Glyder Fach.

THIS PAGE LOWER RIGHT: Two climbers on the stunning Welsh scramble Cneifion Arête (Grade 3), one of the best of the harder scrambles in North Wales.

FACING PAGE LOWER: Crib Goch in all its winter alpine glory: the perfect gateway from scrambling to proper mountaineering.

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BETA

outside your own margins of safety you probably are: go back

Scrambling is a predominantly UK-focused term that covers

down rather than continuing on up. By the very nature of the

what would be called mountaineering in Europe and America.

territory it passes through, scrambling is potentially serious, and

Apart from some summits in the Cuillin Hills of Skye, and a

carries all the same risks we associate with climbing and

few other isolated peaks, you can get to the tops of most UK

mountaineering. Scrambling also has different risks to pitched

mountains by walking rather than mountaineering.

rock climbing: it often carries more risk of injuries from slips, sprains, or short falls from height due to the constant, unroped

Grading

movement. Changing weather is a constant risk in the mountains,

Scrambling is graded from one to three: grade one is

and current conditions should always be checked via the detailed

predominantly exposed walking with relatively short sections

mountain weather information service mwis.org.uk, and of

where you have to use your hands, and grade three can

course via the Met Office local area forecast.

overlap with the easier rock climbing grades, and will often require the use of ropes and climbing gear.

Guiding & guidebooks The best way to get into scrambling is via a professional guide.

Safety

Many guides run specific introduction to scrambling where they

Mountain rescue teams were particularly busy over 2020-21

will help you gain the confidence and knowledge to start tackling

as the UK as the mountains became a much-needed escape

this territory by yourself. The association of mountain instructors

during the pandemic. A few of these incidents were in

is a good place to start looking for a guide: www.ami.org.uk.

scrambling terrain, due to people overextending themselves

Good guidebooks for British scrambling include Mountain Walks

on territory they were not comfortable or proficient with – so

and Scrambles by Mark Reeves (Rockfax guides) and North Wales

be careful out there. A good rule of thumb is that if you feel

Scrambles by Garry Smith.

Scrambling by its very nature takes you away from the crowds, and far above the well-trodden paths 37

ONE WITH THE RIVER Whitewater kayaking and en v i r o n m e n t a l a c t i o n o n S l o v e n i a ’ s S a v a R i v e r Story | Carmen Kuntz Drone photography | Mitja Legat Photography | Katja Jemec & Katja Pokorn

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Put ins and take outs: that’s how whitewater kayakers break down a river. The river is divided in segments, based on the features and the difficulty of the whitewater. Often, we only paddle the most appealing part. When we perceive – or paddle – a river in segments, we don’t discover how she moves and functions. We don’t find out what tributaries feed her upstream sections, or what threats, changes, or pressures she faces downstream. To truly get to know a river, you really want to paddle as much of it as you can.

I

n spring 2021, a small group of whitewater kayakers paddled

source in Slovenia through Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina,

over 250 kilometres across Slovenia on the Sava River as a

to where it joins the mighty Danube River in Belgrade, Serbia.

part of the annual river conservation action, Balkan Rivers Tour

But due to travel restrictions and border crossing regulations,

(BRT). Together, we got to know the river, from its source in the

we were forced to use creativity to bypass our lack of freedom

Julian Alps to where it becomes a lowland river and flows into

of movement, and decided to use our river trip to make a

the plains of northwest Croatia. We were immersed in the flora

documentary about the Slovenian Sava. This way, we still could

and fauna, but we also gained a tangible understanding that

maintain the original objectives of Balkan Rivers Tour – to

humans are also a fundamental part of this river ecosystem.

showcase the Sava River, and to stop the impending

To look at humans and nature as separate entities is like looking

construction of dams.

at each segment of a river as a separate body of water. Humans

Balkan River Defence (BRD) is a Slovenian NGO, which

have an impact on rivers, and rivers impact humans. This is a

for the last six years has been changing the misconception that

natural, traditional and historical connection – especially in this

hydropower is always ‘green’ energy. This once-niche view has

part of the world. The opportunity to understand the complex

gained traction in recent years, and the current situation with the

relationship between humans and rivers, then, made this trip

new mega-dam Ethiopia is constructing on the Blue Nile has

about so much more than just kayaking itself.

only compounded it. Not only environmentally destructive, the

We had originally planned to paddle the entire length of the

so-called Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam clearly shows how

Sava River for 1000 km over the course of a month, from its

future ‘water wars’ might be driven by large hydropower projects.

PREVIOUS PAGES: Paddling the entire Sava River meant two people paddled the south fork, and two paddled the north fork, seen here drifting down the Sava Dolinka just outside of the picturesque town of Bled, Slovenia.

FACING PAGE: Whitewater first thing in the morning is better than a shot of espresso. Upstream of the town of Kranj, we left our riverside camp spot to start day 4 with a zing.

THIS PAGE: After paddling across the calm blue-green water of Bohinj Lake, Bor and Carmen disappeared into the canyon of the south fork call the Sava Bohinjka and spotted a kingfisher nesting hole in the river bank (and lots of fish underneath their boats).

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As a kayaker and freelance writer, I got involved four years ago. I have since moved to Slovenia where I co-manage the

water to major cities as well as water for agriculture, industry and longstanding traditions and lifestyles.

organisation with my partner, Rok. Frustrated with the all-

We started as two crews at the dual sources of the Sava, with

complaints-no-action approach to river conservation he was

two kayakers on the north fork, called the Sava Dolinka, and two

exposed to, he started the NGO in 2015 just before embarking

on the south fork, the Sava Bohinjka. After two days, we arrived

on the inaugural BRT. With this first tour, he unintentionally

at the point where Dolinka’s milky-blue water mixes with

created a Balkan-wide river conservation movement and a

Bohinjka’s clear green, and continued for the next nine days as

branch of grassroots activism where science and river

one crew. Along the way, we worked together to complete the

conservation blend with kayaking and adventure sports. The

first continuous waterfowl survey of the Sava River during

BRD team, together with friends and supporters, have since

nesting season, and also the first complete environmental DNA

completed four tours, using the unique formula of ‘paddle +

(eDNA) sampling of the Sava, while our media crew captured all

protest + press release + party’ to support local river defenders,

the moments along the way.

raise international awareness, and place pressure on decision

After years of exploring rivers around the world, I have

makers to protect the last wild and free-flowing rivers of

learnt that intentional observation is an essential component of

Europe. So far, BRD has contributed to halting the

any good river trip. Growing up in Canada, I spent my summers

construction of a total of seven hydroelectric dams.

on multiday canoe trips, where I noticed that it takes a few days for my senses to start to properly take in the world passing by

Into the Sava

under, above and beside my canoe. I need to detox from the

On June 1st, 2021, we loaded four kayaks with camping gear and

sensory overload of modern life before my senses wake up to the

research equipment into a van with four friends, all of whom are

natural world.

filmmakers and photographers, and set off for Balkan Rivers

Sight and sound seem to be the first senses to awaken, and

Tour 5: to paddle as much of the Sava River as we were able to.

on the upper portion of the Sava we were focused on looking and

The Sava is a special river. Not only is it the home river for

listening for water birds. The survey we performed would

Rok – where he first learned to swim, fish, kayak and connect

provide information on the species present on both the free-

with rivers – it’s also an integral part of Europe’s greater

flowing and the dammed the sections of the river, to give

freshwater ecosystem. It is the largest tributary (by volume) to

scientists a better understanding of how man-made barriers

the mighty Danube, Europe’s second largest river. And, it is a

affect our feathered friends. And it proved to be a great way to

river that connects four Balkan countries, providing drinking

help us tune into life on the river to boot.

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The opportunity to understand the complex relationship between humans and rivers made this trip about much more than just kayaking

Understanding the flow

to quantify the changes a dam makes to a river. In boats, we

As the days passed, I started to get in touch with the flow of the

carried a basic set of sampling tools, and stopped at

river, becoming aware of the pull of healthy, free-flowing sections,

predetermined locations to collect water samples. Using a water

and the dull current and deceleration of the altered sections.

pump powered by a drill machine, we pushed river water

As we paddled through the middle Sava, we could feel – and even

through a special filter. Later, a crew of ichthyofauna specialists

smell – a dam before we could see it. The once lively water felt

would analyse our results in the lab for the presence of fish

sluggish under my boat, and the power of the river disappeared.

DNA with the goal of getting a clear picture about the fish

With the loss of flow came that unmistakable sickly-sweet smell

diversity in the threatened free-flowing sections of the Sava.

of stagnation, and I watched the water colour change as garbage and natural detritus like pollen accumulated on reservoirs.

After we struggled through flat water and portages, the flow came back, and our collective mood improved. We were amazed

The Sava flows past villages, towns and cities – and has a

by how quickly the river regained life after the chain of

series of large hydroelectric dams on it. Portaging around a

hydroelectric dams. Dippers and kingfishers replaced the ducks

dozen of these dams was an ugly affair, and we negotiated razor

and swans of the reservoirs. As we neared the Croatian border, we

wire, deep mud – and irritated hydropower employees. These

were treated to another set of rapids, which would disappear if

dams and dead reservoirs made the wild and beautiful stretches

these new dams are built. With our blood pumping again, we

of river that we found throughout the trip even more incredible.

were reminded of how resilient rivers are, and that if we keep our

But these wild and flowing sections of the Sava in Slovenia are

impact to a minimum, healthy humans and healthy rivers can

threatened by plans for 10 more dams, so our awe of this river

coexist. Our sense of taste was employed when we met locals

was constantly tinted with gloom.

along the river who, over a shot or two of schnops (Slovenian

These new plans for hydropower sites fed our desire to

homemade liquor) helped us understand the connection locals

collect data that would be used as ammunition in the fight to

have had with this river for centuries. Paddling under castles and

protect the wild stretches of the river. By performing our eDNA

old stone-built houses, we realised that those people living closest

water sampling we were providing new information and a way

and connected to the river still have a respect for her.

FACING PAGE: The Sava Dolinka is a proper alpine river, with ever-changing gravel bars and cold, milky water which rise and fall based on the season and weather in the Julian Alps. THIS PAGE: Kayak, paddle, tarp, sleeping bag and mat + (plus) cold beer, freshly caught fish, crackling campfire and dancing stars = (equals) an awesome river trip.

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These people depend on the Sava for food production,

wandered downstream and were tempted to see what this river

industry, drinking water and tradition. And they are the ones

looks, feels, smells and sounds like as it winds its way toward the

who will lose their farmland, tourism agencies, and way of life if

mighty Danube, which eventually drains into the Black Sea.

these dams are built. They are active members of society, not a

During our time on Slovenia’s Sava, our previous notions of

bunch of off-grid hipsters. They know that spring flooding is a

humans and nature being separate entities was dissolved.

natural cycle of any river, so they don’t build houses too close to

Humans have learned – and in some ways maintained – the

the flood plains. They know their drinking water comes from the

knowledge of how to live with nature rather than separate from

rivers, so they don’t use pesticides on their fields. Too many

it. And watching this in action, from the seat of a kayak, made

people working with and around rivers today have lost this basic

for a unique and colourful learning experience, and a storytelling

understanding that rivers represent life itself.

opportunity too.

The environmentalist George Monbiot has pointed out, for

With a better understanding of the deep connection

example, that the collapse in the wild salmon population in the

between rivers and people here in Slovenian, I’m increasingly

River Wye on the Welsh-English border can be directly linked

convinced that our approach to the environment shouldn't be an

to the unregulated expansion of industrial chicken farms in the

'us–and-them' relationship, but should look at how humans can

surrounding countryside (for which planning permission is a

coexist as part of nature rather than as a force against it. People

grey area at best) and consequent leeching of animal waste into

depend on the Sava just like the birds and the fish do – and we

the water table. There are many other such examples of the

can live harmoniously with the river.

disconnect between big business, environmental regulation, and an understanding of the impact of human activity.

Ensuring no new dams are constructed on the Sava is our main objective, but we also strive to help people of Slovenia, the Balkans and elsewhere see that their backyard rivers are still rich,

Towards the confluence

alive, and have many healthy stretches. The remaining wild rivers

On the evening of June 11th – our eleventh day on the river – we

of Europe are worth fighting for, and that struggle is something

pulled our boats on shore just a few hundred meters upstream of

to be proud of. Our hope for the Sava is that its free-flowing

the Croatian border. With the sun setting upstream, our minds

sections are preserved for generations to come.

FACING PAGE: Parting the Karavanke Mountain range (on the left) and the Julian Alps (on the right), paddling the glacial valley of the Sava Dolinka is a full sensory experience and one of the great kayaking trips in the Balkan region.

TOP: Kredar is a pool known for Danube salmon (hucho hucho) fishing and strong eddies. This playground would be flooded by one of the proposed dams, which is why the BRD crew is making a documentary about the stunning Sava River.

CENTRE LEFT: Using kayaks to access the environmental DNA sampling locations made for an effective and efficient method of gathering data to help stop the 10 new dams proposed on the Sava River in Slovenia.

CENTRE RIGHT: Mavčiče dam is the hydro large dam on the Sava River proper; when constructed in the mid 1980s, it flooded incredible whitewater kayaking spots, fishing locations, and destroyed the endemic plants of the Zarica Canyon.

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THE OLD ROAD A bikepacking journey alo n g t h e r o u t e o f B r i t a i n ’ s o l d e s t h i g h w a y Story | Chris Hunt

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Photography | Ben Wormald

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Southern England might not be the first place that comes to mind when it comes to long distance bikepacking trails. A densely populated region of low-lying, rolling farmland, this isn’t the Southern Andes or the remote expanses of The Silk Road that are the stuff of long-distance cycle touring legend. Dissecting this complex and hugely diverse landscape, though, is a lone chalk vein; an ancient trail used for at least 5,000 years, bridging the English Channel and the North Sea coast. This link between the seas of England is The Greater Ridgeway, Britain’s earliest highway.

A

mixture of well-signposted, well-trodden white chalk

The Wessex Ridgeway

paths

the

The terrain that lines Dorset’s Jurassic Coast is notoriously steep,

extraordinary highway of The Greater Ridgeway once provided

and we’re abruptly reminded of it as we take our bikes for their

a dependable trading route from the Dorset coast to the Wash

first walks of the journey. We struggle our way down

in Norfolk. Largely atop a chalk ridge, the elevated dry terrain

waterlogged singletrack gullies filled with nettles and across

made for safe transit in the past, capable of supporting livestock

rocky streams, pushing our bikes up through steep grassy fields

and carriages alike, and the landscape’s openness provided its

and hauling them over wooden stiles. We’ve been riding for close

travellers with an advantage against potential attackers.

to an hour, and we’ve only travelled 8km. We’ll feel every

Archaeological evidence suggests that this ancient way laid the

kilometre of the five hundred-odd ahead of us.

and

overgrown

grassy

desire-lines,

foundations for the trading of cultures and goods, not only

We make our way up beside the Iron Age hill fort atop the

within England but across the Channel and the Irish Sea.

chalky outcrop of Pilsden Pen, the second highest point in

Today, it provides a modest sense of wilderness that’s easily

Dorset, and the views are expansive. The chalk here is an outlier

accessible from anywhere in Britain.

from the Cretaceous period [145 to 66 million years ago] sat

The route can be divided into four individual trails: The

amongst the Jurassic strata of marl and clay. Here on the border

Wessex Ridgeway, The Ridgeway, The Icknield Way and The

with Devon, it’s a fitting nod to the geographical context of our

Peddars Way. Together, these linked routes traverse more than

route. With our backs to the granite that forms the land to the

five hundred kilometres of secluded, rolling chalkland traversing

west, we follow the chalk north east.

through 11 counties. This is an ancient highway steeped in

Just 30 kilometres in, and I slump my already weary body

history, with Stone Age long barrows, Bronze Age round

onto a bench in the middle of the Beaminster village square and

barrows, and Iron Age hill forts all constructed along its path.

start an assault on the large paper bag of baked pastry obtained

At the end of the long, dark winter of lockdown in 2020-21,

on arrival. Unable to mask the hole left by the effort I put in to

my regular riding partner Ben and I started talking about linking

those first hours, it’s not long before I’m back on my feet

up what remains of the four routes by bike. Much of it, we knew,

returning for more. We soon pass the Cerne Giant – Britain’s

existed as bridleways open to biking and horse riding. What we

best known chalk figure, famous for its enormous phallus. The

weren’t sure of was how well the route would naturally flow

origins of the giant have been contested for centuries, and while

together as one complete entity. How close should we stick to

still not 100% certain, recent soil samples suggest it was first dug

the exact route of the old ways? And – considering the amount

out in the late Anglo-Saxon period.

of rainfall during the 24 hours preceding our departure – we

Today, much of the Greater Ridgeway is signposted as its

were unsure, at best, as to how our gravel bikes would cope with

separate designated trails, but like most prehistoric routes, it

the mud and the notoriously slippery chalk after rain.

would never have been a singular track. Paths would have

Riding the train south from Bristol through the flooded

differed between the seasons and across successive ages. Various

plains of the Somerset Levels – and eventually alongside the

off-shoots provided branches to forts, burial grounds and henges

swollen banks of the River Exe – did nothing to settle our

along the way. The pioneers of this route some 5,000 years ago

uncertainties. As the skies grew darker, we reached the beach at

didn’t have bikepackers or hikers in mind, after all.

Lyme Regis. Our first bivouac spot beside some empty beach-

Whilst riding the full 550km loaded with all our food for

huts on the edge of the Channel marked the beginning of our

the journey was indeed possible, it didn’t sound like much fun.

long journey towards the distant coast of the North Sea.

And, unlike the traders, drovers and druids who went before us,

The clattering of pebbles as the first of the morning’s dog

we live in a world of convenience in the shape of grocery stores

walkers hit the beach was our starting-pistol for the trip. Under

and coffee shops. Detouring to Shaftesbury, we enter into the

an overcast dawn sky, we’re only hopeful that those seemingly

seemingly mandatory ritual of any bikepacking journey –

short hours of sleep were enough to dry the trails. It was time

sprawled across a supermarket carpark floor, we make our way

to get moving.

through a mountain of calories to set us up for the day ahead.

PREVIOUS PAGES: The chalk vein makes for some incredibly scenic riding; this was day two on the Wessex Ridgeway.

FACING PAGE: Following Britain’s oldest road, the Old Chalk Way is a mixed terrain bike packing route we developed to cover the best sections of road, gravel, mud and grass which largely follows the ancient highway of the Greater Ridgeway.

In partnership with

Thick with dust and chalk, you’d be forgiven for thinking our bikes had been unearthed as part of an archaelogical dig

From here, we head up over Cranbourne Chase, a high chalk

The Ridgeway

plateau of striking beauty where the county lines of Dorset,

We take a moment’s rest at Avebury henge. Home to the largest

Hampshire and Wiltshire converge. The downland here is

megalithic stone circle in the world, this is where our route picks

scattered with Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments, as well as

up The Ridgeway. Sat with my back against the stones, from

the remains of several Iron Age settlements.

deep within my frame pack I dig out the last remaining

The flat gravel tracks traverse interlocking fields of

stragglers from a broken packet of yoghurt-coated raisins. Thick

rapeseed, barley and cattle. After waiting for a gap in a

with mud, dust and dried chalk, I glance at my bike; you’d be

seemingly endless stream of traffic, we intersect the A303

forgiven for assuming it had been uncovered as part of a recent

parallel to Stonehenge. Rolling north, the clouds close in and

archaeological dig at this ancient site.

the first few drops of rain threaten. With the red military flags

Joining the first section of The Ridgeway, our tyres roll with

of Salisbury Plain lowered to indicate no live firing is in

a welcome lack of resistance across the firm chalk channels.

progress, we cut across the training area: 10km of rolling, rocky,

We snake along the trail, weaving and hopping between

hard-packed gravel. Here, we’re totally exposed to the wind and

confused grassy tracks as they connect and reinvent themselves.

the rain; and once we’re committed to the exposed plateau, both

Enjoying the calm of the moment and the silence around us, we

start right on queue. It takes just moments before we’re wet

both come naturally to a stop. Noting the dark sky behind us, a

through, and our bikes, bags and clothes are splatted with the

solitary drop of rain splashes off my shoe. Followed by another,

sand and mud from the now-saturated track. We grind our way

and another. I almost welcome it. In this quiet moment, the rain

across rocky paths alternating between tail and headwind,

feels refreshing on my weary body.

avoiding the kind of potholes which threaten the shape of our

But things soon step up a notch. Forced into the trees for

wheels. If you want to get a taste of what medieval commuting

shelter, we’re stopped on an intersection of several minor trails,

might have been like, just ride a bike cross-country over

all of which are quickly transformed into fast-flowing torrents of

Salisbury Plain in a proper downpour.

white water. We could be in trouble here.

In partnership with

BETA What bike to take Covering road, gravel, mud, chalk and clay, large volume tyres are a must for this route. While we rode on 650B X 47c rubber, we’d recommend anything above 35c tyres with good tread. You could ride anything from a gravel bike to a hardtail mountain bike.

The author rode a VAAST A/1 magnesium all-road bike with a full set of Apidura’s expedition bikepacking bags.

What kit to take If you’re intending to do it with overnight bivouacs, take a waterproof sleeping bag (pre-booked accommodation is a more luxurious option). A lightweight stove, multitool, chain quick-links, spare tubes, and a puncture repair kit are other must-haves.

When to go Despite great drainage on the high chalk, with a large number of miles off road the Old Chalk Way has the tendency to get very muddy and slippery; this is a route best ridden in the summer months, or during a dry spell in spring or autumn.

How to ride it While we rode it in one go, wild camping with bivvy bags along the route, with strong train links along the entire route, The Old Chalk Way can easily be divided into much shorter sections ridden separately over individual days. The route passes close to and through several towns making hostels, pubs and campsites all accessible. Scan the QR code here on komoot to view the route in detail.

Sodden chalk is not, it should be noted, the preferred terrain

Ashridge Estate and up to Invinghoe Beacon. Amongst the

for a bike ride. We’re now pushing our bikes uphill through the

remains of another Iron Age fort on top of the beacon, we’re again

inch of water flowing back down the hill against us. The downhill

reminded of those who walked these routes before. East of here,

is worse as we slide around, struggling to stay upright, and it’s

the land flattens into the Fens. As we battle our way through the

made ten times worse by the weight of our loaded bikes. At last,

traffic of Luton, the geography around us transforms itself again.

we hit the road downhill into the nearest town.

Waking the following morning in a small, empty barn on the

The Icknield Way

edge of Wantage to a perfectly crisp, sunny spring morning, we’re

Famed by the white coastal headlands and white spires rising

soon stuffing the contents of our bikepacking bags back into

from the waters of the English Channel, it was the warmer

place and pre-breakfast snacks into our mouths. The air is still a

climates of the Cretaceous period that saw higher eustatic sea

little cold, but the trails have mostly dried out. We fly down into

levels creating shallow inland seas, resulting in huge quantities of

town following a mixture of single and double track through the

chalk deposited across the county. Lasting nearly 80 million

forests. Amidst Thameside grandeur, we’re reminded again of our

years, it was a period in which the Earth was free of ice when

proximity to civilisation, and the densely populated nature of

dinosaurs roamed the land, and these inland seas were inhabited

southern England. Even in the most isolated parts of this section

by now-extinct marine reptiles. Much of the landscape of

of the route, we’re rarely more than 10km from the nearest town.

southern England is now defined by those large chalk deposits,

Eastwards, The Ridgeway lines the edge of the Chiltern Hills

and their boundary draws a perfect line from the Dorset coast

through forests and valleys. This is our biggest day as we set off,

to Norfolk’s North Sea. History, so often, is driven by

aiming for 160km through some punchy forest trails. Into

geographical factors: our ancient highway almost perfectly

Hertfordshire, we ride the well-maintained tracks through

shadows this line.

FACING PAGE: Crossing the endless rocky gravel of Salisbury Plain, on a route that has been used by humans for thousands of years.

THIS PAGE TOP LEFT: Entering Thetford forest, The Icknield Way takes us through the clay farmland as we cross the county border into Norfolk.

THIS PAGE TOP RIGHT: The full route of The Old Chalk Way seen on komoot’s navigation app.

THIS PAGE LOWER: Resting against the ancient standing stones at Avebury, our muddy, dusty bikes resemble something more akin to an archeological dig.

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Bruised skies and muggy air threaten another change in the weather, and the vibe is cinematic

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Joining the Icknield Way, we trade the grassy chalk spine

As we come over the brow of a hill, a faint silver line stretches

we’ve become accustomed to for sandy gravel trails passing

across the sky: the North Sea. Side by side our pace quickens, the

pig farms, huge grain stores, and open farmland. The bruised

unmistakable skeletal forest of an offshore wind farm resolves into

skies and muggy air threaten another change in the weather,

view. We wheel our bikes over sand dunes and through beach grass

and the vibe is cinematic. Whilst the landscape here is still

towards the shore. Forming a transect from coast to coast, our

very British, somehow it feels more like we’ve entered the

journey had led us more than 500 kilometres across southern

American mid-west.

England, and the continuous tread of our rubber tyres has

Through the heather and pines of Thetford forest, the

followed the same lines forged by foot and hoof for more than

sandy forest trails extend seemingly without end. The soft

5,000 years. And the ghostly presence of those countless traders

tracks make for fun riding, but thanks to the intermittent

and drovers, druids, soldiers, and ramblers who’d passed along this

downpours, our bikes feel and sound terrible. They’re caked

way before us was never far away.

with wet sludge, mud, grit and sand once again. We’ve got more

This wasn’t an epic, life-changing adventure to the ends of

than 400 off-road kilometres in our legs, and my perception of

the earth. Besides some route-planning, it required minimal

time slips into the realm of the psychedelic.

logistics. Completing the journey in five days including a

Eventually we reach Thetford, stuff our faces with the

weekend, it didn’t require major adjustments to our working

quantity of food only familiar to these kinds of trips, and bed

schedules, either. Yet the trip did provide a welcome escape from

down in the wedding gate of a tiny rural church on the

everyday life, and a chance to ride the hidden contours and by-

outskirts of town. In the morning, we’ll join the final leg of

ways of our home country. At the same time, the journey was also

our journey: The Peddars Way will lead us all the way to the

an opportunity to connect with the texture of history that’s

North Sea.

literally lined into the mud and chalk of England.

The Peddlars Way

With thanks to VAAST, who loaned us the use of their A/1

Widely accepted as a Roman construction, the original

magnesium all-road bike. Extremely light and responsive yet

Peddars Way is likely to have preceded the time of the Roman

remarkably capable, it proved to be the perfect match for riding this

conquest. As we join it, our direction shifts. Having ridden the

challenging route. ‘The Old Chalk Way’ is a new bikepacking route

past four hundred-odd kilometres consistently north east, we

designed by Ben Wormald and Chris Hunt. Set to launch in 2022,

now point our bikes directly north.The energy of the final push

you can keep up to date with the project via Instagram at

kicks in with refreshed minds and refreshed surroundings, and

@theoldchalkway . You can also find the full route on komoot via the

the last 75km is a breeze.

QR code on the previous pages.

FACING PAGE: Holme-next-the-Sea, the end of The Icknield Way, and the end of our coast-to-coast crossing of southern England: The Old Chalk Way. THIS PAGE TOP: Britain’s best known prehistoric monument isn’t on today’s official version of this ancient highway, though artefacts found at Stonehenge come from far and wide, suggesting it was likely part of an extension, with the movement of people and culture from across the country and Europe.

THIS PAGE CENTRE LEFT: Endless farmland doubletrack across the high Wessex chalk leads through through quintessentially English countryside.

THIS PAGE CENTRE RIGHT: Our VAAST A/1 magnesium all-road bikes and Apidura luggage systems performed brilliantly throughout.

In partnership with

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TIDELANDS Exploring the unexpec t e d w i l d e r n e s s o f t h e B r i s t o l C h a n n e l Story & Photography | David Pickford

55

To the bridge

and thinking about purchases at Cribbs Causeway retail park.

In the distance, the bridge stretches across the vast expanse of

Below them, I am in a rather different environment. Alone on

murky water like a curving silver blade. The enormous concrete

the powerful stream between Wales and England, I’m being

supports of the suspended section silently guard the tidal

pulled towards some of the wildest tidal water I’ve ever seen.

cauldron surging beneath them: the Shoots Channel. High

It’s not so much frightening as fascinating; with the skills and kit

overhead, the afternoon light glints against the steel retaining

to deal with what’s coming up, I’m not in any danger here.

rails of one of the UK’s major roads, held in improbable

The huge rapid evolves as I enter it. Upstream of the bridge,

equilibrium above the five kilometre-wide estuary. At certain

multiple chains of small standing waves pile on top of one

times of the year, the difference between high and low water

another for hundreds of metres as the tide flows over the

under this bridge can be over fourteen metres, the height of a

shallow shoals surrounding the limestone reef of Black Rock.

three story building. This is not a place for the faint-hearted.

On either side of the rock, the standing waves morph into

The powerful tidal current is now vectoring towards the

crazed colonies of miniature whirlpools, spinning off from one

bridge as if the body of water itself were attached to an invisible

another like the isobaric map of the central Atlantic during

elastic band. I check my watch: 10.5 knots. That’s not a normal

peak hurricane season. This is the sluicing, surging heart of the

speed at which to be moving on a standup paddleboard. I am

Bristol Channel; even on a perfectly calm day, it’s an extremely

paddling more to maintain a position in the dead centre of the

intimidating environment. The serious nature of the place is

two huge central supports than to propel myself forward. Right

compounded by the infrequency of safe landings; this is a

in front of each of the bridge supports, enormous standing

distinct characteristic of tidal estuaries in general. From here,

waves rise as current meets concrete, forming multiple

there are just two places I can feasibly land in the next twenty

whirlpool-columns at either side; think ‘bow-wave of a

miles: Beachley and Chepstow. I’m aiming for the latter.

supertanker’ and you get the idea. They are clearly things to be

My strategy was to now enter the river Wye on the flooding

avoided. As the bridge rears up directly ahead, I can feel my

tide, the mouth of which lies a short distance beyond the bridge.

heart rate rise as the character of the water begins to change.

After what seems like a disproportionately long time, but on

From a smooth, rolling current with intermittent eddies,

later reference was actually just 15 minutes, I clear the worst

it begins to shift, first to a series of overfalls, then to something

water of the Shoots Channel. With the Welsh coast now just a

different altogether.The crests and swirls of a massive tidal rapid

few hundred metres to port, the hull of the board suddenly falls

now dance in the near-distance. Spanning the entire width of

quiet as the parallel mudbanks of the Wye estuary open up dead

the Shoots Channel, the rapid advances towards me like a

ahead. An oystercatcher lands on the water ahead of me,

monstrous apparition, a kind of hydrological chimera.

breaking the silence with its distinctive cry. I’m now in calm

The water suddenly turns dark beneath the hull; I’ve crossed

water at last, and glide the final two kilometres upriver to land

into the bridge’s shadow. A hundred metres above, drivers on the

on the floating pontoon at Chepstow, which leads – somewhat

Second Severn Crossing are listening to The Archers Omnibus,

auspiciously – to the garden of The Boat Inn.

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And the widening river’s slow presence, the piled gold clouds, the shining gull-marked mud - Philip Larkin

A wilderness apparent

You could say it’s the diametric opposite of a highly curated

Making the crossing from England to Wales via the Shoots

Instagram feed. It’s not obviously photogenic. There’s nobody

Channel by kayak or SUP compresses a big adventure into a

about. And it’s profoundly, exhilaratingly real.

relatively short journey that can be done, potentially, on an evening after work. It also brings you headlong into the

Tales from the islands

liminal, transitory, ever-changing and uniquely beautiful

Perhaps the finest trip of all in the Bristol Channel is the voyage

environment of Britain’s tidal estuaries, of which the Severn is

out to the two tiny islands of Steep Holm and Flat Holm – an

the largest by a substantial order of magnitude. As Mark

strange pair of ‘desert islands’ holding an unlikely position

Rainsley points out in his excellent Southwest England Sea

between the fleshpots of Penarth and Weston Super-Mare.

Kayaking guidebook, whilst ‘characterised by mudflats and

These islands are, in fact, fascinating places. They appear to float

motorway bridges… an outwardly unappealing prospect, [the

improbably on the sea from certain angles; Steep Holm, the

Bristol Channel] is actually one of the region’s most

higher of the two islands, has the character of a kind of West

challenging paddles’.

Country Atlantis: an ‘edgeland’ of the highest order.

There’s a deeper point about the relationship between the

It’s essential to do this trip in fair weather, due to the

environment, adventure, and the exploratory imagination here.

considerable tidal vectoring required, and the risk of missing the

Sometimes it’s in the most unlikely of arenas that the most

islands completely if blown off course. It is a complex paddle,

compelling adventures can be found: the Bristol Channel is

and shouldn’t be undertaken by an inexperienced team.

most certainly one of them. Fringed by the industrial outskirts

Whilst Steep Holm is now uninhabited, the relics of human

of two large cities, it remains a haven for marine wildlife and

activity are everywhere; there are derelict Victorian fortifications,

migratory birds, even as large container vessels approach and

abandoned Napoleonic cannons, a spooky WW2 searchlight

depart Portbury Ducks, one of the UK’s major commercial

post, and even a ruined tavern above the island’s only landing

shipping hubs. Despite – and in some ways because of – its

beach. It’s a bit like Mad Max with seagulls.

rudimentary, sometimes post-apocalyptic aesthetic, the Bristol

The best strategy is to head out with the ebb and arrive at

Channel is a place where you can explore the British coastline

Steep Holm just before low tide, and then make the short four

on its own terms, almost totally undisturbed by the exigencies

kilometre crossing from Steep Holm to Flat Holm at slack

of tourism. This vast estuary is a magnificently wild region.

water, which lasts for less than thirty minutes around here.

PREVIOUS PAGES: Gavin Symonds taking a west-south-west tidal vector towards Steep Holm island, one of several islands in the Bristol Channel.

Now uninhabited, it contains many interesting historical features including a derelict pub, visible to the right of the landing beach.

FACING PAGE: In the dead-centre of the Shoots Channel, heading for the New Severn Crossing.

THIS PAGE: Dorka Fekete heading upriver from the Severn into the Avon on an early morning flood tide. The distinctive riverside property on the right is the Old Powder House, built in 1775-76 to store gunpowder for ships, which was not allowed into the Bristol docks for fear it might explode.

57

Even on a perfectly calm day, these waters can be an extremely intimidating environment

Timed right, you’ll arrive on the latter just as the tide is

The Bristol Channel even creates its own weather through

beginning to flood. We took a quick lunch break here on a

various wind acceleration zones. During high pressure spells, it

shingle beach that’s only visible around low water under the

often generates strong north-easterlies when there’s barely a few

striking lighthouse on the southern tip, imaginatively called

knots of wind inland; during cyclonic periods, the Exmoor coast

‘Lighthouse Point’. Suitably refreshed, we headed back for

accelerates the prevailing wind coming in from the Atlantic,

England and our launching spot on Sand Point, the headland

often producing powerful westerly and northwesterly airstreams.

north of Weston Super-Mare. The return journey is more

Because of its status as one of the most navigationally

complicated than the outward leg, as it involves a long ferry-

complicated and dangerous shipping lanes on Earth, this estuary

glide of roughly ten kilometres across the Bristol Channel’s tidal

even gave rise to its own unique design of sailing boat, the

flow. After a while, though, we hit the swirls and eddies of the

‘Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter.’ Developed locally by master

powerful tidal rapid that flows off Sand Point, and arrived back

boatbuilders during the nineteenth century to escort pilots

at our launch spot on the beach to the north after a memorable

quickly to waiting ships, the boat’s combination of speed,

seven hour quest deep into the tidal wilderness.

manoeuvrability, seathworthiness and ease of handling (it could

Our trip out to Steep Holm and Flat Holm was completed

be sailed by just two people) has been described as ‘the best

in early summer 2020, as the UK was emerging from the

sailing boat design ever’ by maritime experts. It had to be that

strange isolation of the first Covid lockdown. International

good, because of where it was used.

travel was all but impossible; the government’s revised guidance

Unexpected stuff always happens out here. The late

was to ‘stay local’. If our island-hopping trip between England

September light refracting in kaleidoscopic gold over the Severn

and Wales was an imaginative interpretation of that advice, so

bridges as we approached from the north on the powerful ebb

be it.

current. Finding that magical landing-spot on a vast shoal of pale,

I’ve pieced together various sections of the English and

tide-washed sand the size of five football pitches just

Welsh coasts of the Bristol Channel during various trips,

downstream of Lydney. The hard graft of battling a sudden

spread over several years, and I’ve now travelled the entire

crosswind as we turned the huge bend at Frampton-on-Severn.

length of the Severn Estuary and the Bristol Channel by SUP,

Approaching the big rapid upstream of Newnham surrounded by

from the upper tidal limit at Gloucester to the Exmoor coast

floating tree-trunks like prone primeval monsters. Watching the

where the estuary meets the Celtic Sea. The more time I’ve

strange mystery of the tide flowing in both directions at the same

spent on and around these waters, the more I’ve become

time under the bridge at Beachley. Standing awestruck by the

intrigued by them, and the more I’ve come to respect their

primordial roar of the Severn Bore [a tidal wave that takes place

wildness. At dead low water on a spring tide, for example,

at certain times of the year] as it moves upriver. And listening to

there’s nine miles of treacherous mud between Burnham-on-

the constant, eerie sluice of the powerful current under the hull,

Sea and the sea itself. Nine miles!

a reminder of the natural energy of this highly-charged place.

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FACING PAGE: Dorka Fekete heading for Foreland Point on the Exmoor Coast, one of the key landmarks of the English coast of the Bristol Channel.

THIS PAGE LOWER: Gavin Symonds coming in to the slipway at Beachley after a 38km trip on the ebb tide from Newnham-on-Severn.

THIS PAGE TOP: Gavin Symonds and Dorka Fekete on the crossing between Steep Holm and Flat Holm islands which lie in the centre of the Channel halfway between wales and England; this technical trip requires excellent conditions and proper tidal vectoring to ensure success.

59

The vast expanse of this great estuary is a shape-shifting, visionary space of unexpected power and beauty

60

The vast expanse of this great estuary, like its counter-

this estuary is a living representation of the adventurous

directional tides, is both a gateway to the past and a portal into

mindset of human beings. The long and arduous voyages to

the future. It’s a shapeshifting, visionary space of extraordinary

unknown lands that once departed from here; the immigrants

power and beauty. With the constant ebb and flood of the

who first arrived here; and the adventures in technology,

tide, the countless ghosts of its nautical history move across

transport and energy that are now enacted here – all of these

the same water that runs past large industrial plants,

are fundamental parts of the human story. By exploring this

monumental bridges, nuclear power stations, wind turbines,

unique wilderness on its own terms, strange secrets might

and other infrastructural components of an advanced twenty-

appear and vanish in its mud and silt: the lost channels of

first century economy.

vanished rivers, abandoned jetties, shifting shoals, and the

Because the notion of adventure itself is a human concept,

ghostly shadow of a medieval harbour now overlooked by

it is perfectly adapted to spaces that have themselves been

cranes assembling one of the world’s biggest nuclear reactors.

shaped and changed by humans over time – just like the Severn

And then the tide roars back in from the Celtic Sea to the west,

Estuary. True adventure doesn’t require a wilderness devoid of

covering the littoral land completely, making it seem for a few

human life to enact itself to the full. In more than one sense,

brief hours as if none of it had ever existed at all.

FACING PAGE TOP: Dorka Fekete in the heart of the Bristol Channel’s tidal wilderness, exactly halfway between Steep Holm and Flat Holm islands at the mid-point between Wales and England. Steep Holm is visible in the background.

FACING PAGE LOWER: Gavin Symonds and Dorka Fekete take the tidal route into central Bristol on the river Avon; here, they’re underneath the main rail line between Bristol and London!

THIS PAGE TOP: Heading southwest for Beachley and the Old Severn Bridge aided by the powerful ebb current on a perfect September evening. (The famous photograph of Bob Dylan on the front cover of his ‘No Direction Home’ EP was taken whilst he was waiting for the old ferry that pre-dated this bridge.

THIS PAGE LOWER LEFT: The tidal rapid off Sand Point, just north of Weston Super-Mare, in a Force 8 gale. The Upper Brahmaputra meets the Bristol Channel!

THIS PAGE LOWER RIGHT: Gavin Symonds riding the flood tide under a crowd of gulls on a wild winter’s morning as he enters the river Avon, one of the major tributaries of the Severn. Only a few miles from the centre of one of the UK’s major cities, this place remains a haven for marine wildlife.

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KEMPSTON HARDWICK

The secret diary of B e d f o r d s h i r e ’ s g r e a t e s t a d v e n t u r e r Story | Kempston Hardwick

Illustration | Dan Milner

Part 6: Beyond Adventure!

W

hat I really love about the whole adventure journey is

would have, which was the reason I’d driven in the first place.

how it empowers you to just go do your own thing,

There’s always an XR sticker in the rear window of the Volvo

however and wherever you want. We are a beanie-helmeted

SUV. We support environmental action, as long as it doesn’t

army of liberated, independent wild spirits cut loose in the

involve any personal inconvenience.

wildest corners of our wild planet. Ours is a world constructed

Normally I don’t drive much, and most of my journeys are

from muddy running shoes and bent tent pegs, devolved from

short. I take Luke to Under-9’s soccer and Rose to Young-Yin-

the choking confines of social expectations. We’re elevated

And-Yang-Yoga. And I drive both of them to school. (Kate and

above moral accountability as we graze from a smorgasbord of

me fought to get them into a better school, but to be honest it’s

selfless experiences, whilst exercising our fundamental right to

not strictly in-catchment). And, of course, I drive to reach The

adventure anywhere we want. Hashtag: TrueFreedom.

Big Outdoors. It’s all essential travel. Try telling Luke to walk

My mate says you can find adventure in your own

to his penalty shoot-out, or Rose to her Young-Adults-Down-

backyard, but to me proper adventure means simply pushing an

Dog-Club just to help the planet. No way. It’s hard enough to

envelope of intensity through a letterbox of no return. It means

get them to chew their avocados. So, yes, sometimes it can be

going farther, longer, higher and way deeper into the unknown;

tricky to prioritise planet Earth when heading out of the door

it means going to places where discomfort’s cruel embrace can

to enjoy its wild, untamed beauty.

only be softened by the latest gadgetry.

But believe me, in every other way I am sustainable. I shun

So I am a little envious of those intrepid explorers lining up

the mindless consumerism of others, and only buy essential

to adventure to Mars right now. The red planet represents a

outdoor kit if it’s really essential. I use the Essential=N+1

whole new wilderness to embrace; a brave new world of untold

formula here, where N equals the amount of kit I already have.

risks. Just imagine the buzz of five hundred tonnes of aviation

I wear recycled plastic fleeces, and I even have a bamboo

fuel igniting to catapult you on a white-knuckle ride into the

toothbrush with bristles humanely donated by jungle badgers,

greatest outdoors we have ever gazed across: space itself !

and crafted by an artisan of the Bamboo Whittlers Association

So, I’ve now put Mars on my lengthy ‘places-I must-explore’

of China. (Oh, it actually says ‘Made by Xiang Cheng

list. (The list is on the fridge door next to that NHS rainbow

Corporation’ on the packaging, but I think that’s just the

Rosie painted last year.) Don’t get me wrong: I love Planet

whittlers’ solar-powered co-operative HQ). I got it next day

Earth. Caring for the Earth has been my life. And so it should

delivery then I dropped my two-week-old plastic toothbrush in

be: as an adventurer I breathe the fabric of its life-affirming

the recycling bin with our yoghurt pots, even though our

deliverables, like barefoot running across Kinder Scout’s peat

council says they can’t recycle either. Yeah, take that, ignorant

bogs or skiing one of Morzine’s black pistes. Yes, being

councillors. It’s my war of attrition, you see. They’ll come round

ecologically minded is rooted in my very DNA. Or maybe it’s

to my way of thinking in the end.

even deeper than that. That’s just about possible, isn’t it?

And obviously I buy local, from a superstore just a mile

Okay. So now I have Mars in my sights, but there is still No

away. It has a killer deal on Chilean merlot, so I fill the boot of

Planet B. I held a placard that said as much during a climate

the Volvo with it. And I have reduced my meat consumption as

march three years ago. That day is etched into my memory,

I’m meant to nowadays. I haven’t gone veggie: saving Planet A

mostly because it was near-impossible to find parking nearby.

is about compromise, not extremes. And I get enough ‘extreme’

And when we did, it cost as much as the four train tickets

in my adventures, thanks very much!

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To me, proper adventure means simply pushing an envelope of intensity through a letterbox of no return…

So apart from post-pub kebabs and Sunday breakfasts,

minute helicopter ride over a couple of glaciers. Yes, it was

I now only eat organic, free-range cows reared on prime

troubling to see the ancient ice dwindling so fast. But man, it

Somerset land. Apparently it’s too flat for growing anything

was awesome too. The pilot even hovered right over a serac just

except cows, and the label says those cows have a carefree life.

as it fell off. Humbling stuff ! That sight and sound alone was

No, okay, it’s not a model that is quite scalable for feeding the

worth the £300 ticket - a bargain as the helicopter burns 30

world, but I’m alright with that. If everyone could eat organic

litres of fuel a minute. And Kate liked it too, which was a relief.

Somerset cows, there’d be nothing special about them. And

I’d bought the flights for our anniversary.

then we’d be back to square one, wouldn’t we?

Yes, Earth-orbits and trips to Mars are a new chapter in

So, you see, I’m about as green as you can get. And I like to

our right to explore. It’s all extremely important. I mean, that

reaffirm my green credentials by burying myself in the

electric car guy will probably find a solution to everything up

Adventurescapes that sculpt our very outdoor existence; places

there. Maybe he’ll even develop a bivvi bag that doesn’t get

where you can find Quality Planet Time. #QPT is my Zen-

clammy. And the rockets are all re-usable, which is neat. Okay,

Zone. It’s for truly appreciating the planet I call mine, and it’s

so we might have a few issues down here on Earth to resolve,

something that demands a whole hillside to yourself. But a lot

but if we all do our bit, and recycle stuff, and buy more eco-

of British Adventure Life Lovers (#BALLs) want QPT too.

friendly margarine, then it will all be alright. I know it will –

It’s rather irksome. Nothing kills the transcendental buzz as

a toothpaste advert dentist said so. And she was really smiling.

quickly as sharing the South Downs with strangers (except on

Yes, deep space is the ultimate step in adventure’s final

social media). So for my QPT sessions I usually head to

frontiers, and as explorers we have a duty to explore them.

Scotland. I can get there and back on just two tanks of diesel

It’s a letterbox worth pushing through whatever the postage

(I have a ‘two-tank rule’ for QPT outings, FYI).

cost, and for us waiting our turn, we must salute and applaud

Which makes me wonder if there’s a two-tank rule for

these intrepid pioneers.

SpaceX, too? Maybe not. but I’m sure it’s all justified. I mean,

Galactic joyrides, planting flags on other planets, and

how else can someone look down on our planet and

feeling good about it all are just the next essential steps in our

authentically appreciate the juxtaposition between natural

long adventure journey.

beauty and human ruination? It reminds me of that time I took a day off from hiking the Tour de Mont Blanc for a quick 45

After all, without some rich white guys exploring remote places we’d never have got to where we are today, would we?

Kempston Hardwick is a keen-as-mustard-adventurer and dad (in that order). Old enough to remember the Sony Walkman, Hardwick def ies his rapidly amassing years by seeking outdoor recreation at every opportunity, and the exponentially mind-expanding escape from domesticity it offers. His irrepressible readiness to embrace al-fresco challenges has delivered him with worldly-wise opinions that he applies to every turn in life, whether bagging Munros or browsing the organic frozen pizza aisle of Waitrose. He sports a curiosity of self that’s akin to most adventurers, something that is largely attributed to holidays in Anglesey with nonchalant parents. It is believed he was named after the place where he was conceived; a railway station on the Bedford to Bletchley line. He is a good friend of adventure photographer Dan Milner.

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T H E BA S E I N T ERV I EW

Nirmal Pur j a t a l k s t o D a v i d P i c k f o r d

Nirmal ‘Nims’ Purja is one of the world’s most successful contemporary mountaineers. Born in Nepal of Magar descent, Nims grew up in the foothills of the Himalaya. Before beginning his climbing career, he served with the British Armed Forces as a Nepalese Gurkha, and later entered the Special Boat Service (SBS), an elite unit of The Royal Navy. Today, after a decade of climbing in the world’s highest mountains, he holds many records that together have redef ined what is possible in high altitude mountaineering. In 2019, Nims climbed all of the world’s fourteen eight-thousand metre peaks in just over six months; the previous record was just under eight years. Nims was also the f irst climber to reach the summits of Mount Everest, Lhotse and Makalu in under 48 hours. In 2021, with a team of nine other Nepalese mountaineers, Nims successfully completed the f irst winter ascent of K2: a sort of ‘Holy Grail’ prize in high altitude climbing, which had seen multiple failed attempts at a winter ascent since the 1970s. BASE recently spoke to Nims about his extraordinary life on the roof of the world, the unique challenges of high altitude climbing, and the big issues facing the people of Nepal and the Himalaya region today.

Prior to your mountaineering career, you served with the British

In 2012 you climbed Lobuche East (6,119m), your first major

Armed Forces as a Gurkha, and then with the SBS. Was your

summit. Did you then realise that mountaineering would

experience in the military also useful in the mountains?

become a major part of your life?

Most of the skills that you learn from the military are

Yes, although it wasn’t just about summitting Lobuche East.

transferable. If you look at really successful people in the world

It was when we were trekking up past Namche Bazaar and I

it’s the same mindset – you wake up early, you’re super

saw this gigantic peak – Ama Dablam – the most beautiful and

disciplined, you’re precise about the decisions you make and

iconic peak of the Himalayas. And from there we started seeing

you have to have that positive mindset, determination and

Everest and Lhoste – and it was such a happy environment for

character. They are transferrable skills from one career to

me, I was in my own bubble; the whole experience of going up

another – hence, what I learnt in the military was transferable

into the Everest region made me want to climb more.

to the mountain setting. The biggest thing that my Special Forces training taught me was about how to operate in a very

You then climbed Dhaulagiri in 2014, your first 8000er, in a

stressful environment and situations. You always have to make

very quick time. What are your memories of this expedition?

the right decision – and that’s the same in the mountains.That’s

I figured out how strong I was at high altitude, because I pretty

one of the key skills I’ve taken from my military career to my

much trail blazed about 65-75% of the summit push. Those

mountaineering career.

were good memories, I remember!

In brief, what are some of the similarities between a military

After Dhaulagiri, did you realise you were particularly well

exercise and a mountaineering expedition?

suited, both physically and mentally, to high altitude climbing?

Planning everything in great detail, and anticipating what

Yes, I realised I could work with massive speed which is a

could go wrong are probably the key similarities. However,

very big factor in successful high altitude climbing, and

I must highlight that high altitude mountaineering is a

mountaineering generally. Obviously being in the Special

completely different game to the military, not everyone who

Forces you had to be very fit, but then I also have some special

climbs mountains can be in the military and vice versa. You still

physiological advantages that mean I can operate very well at

need different skills to climb big mountains – that’s why most

high altitude, so it was combination of those factors.

of mountain guides take six years to finish their guiding course.

FACING PAGE: Nirmal ‘Nims’ Purja photographed during his 2021 expedition to climb K2, and the first expedition to ever reach the summit during the winter months. SANDRO GROMEN-HAYES / TEAM NIMSDAI

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When I’m in the highest places on Earth, I become most alive as I’m living only in that moment

You began your Project Possible challenge – to climb all 14

so that was my next mission. It took some time, but I was at

8000ers in one year – in April 2019. Did you expect to complete

last able to buy a house for them in Kathmandu so they could

it successfully when you started?

be together.

In March 2019, I gave up my military career, my pension and everything. This was a huge risk, but I have always believed that

You broke a number of mountaineering records during those

somebody had to do the challenge to show the world that

climbs in 2019. What was the hardest part of Project Possible?

nothing is impossible in terms of high altitude mountaineering.

The hardest part was definitely securing the funding. But in

It was very tough, because I only had 15% of the funding

terms of the climbs themselves, that would be on

I needed. No-one really believed it was possible, so the funding

Kangchenjunga, where we gave up our oxygen at 8,450m to

which was the main vital part of the project wasn’t there, but

rescue two climbers. Only the people with some experience of

I flew to Nepal anyway because I always believed that once I

high-altitude mountaineering can really understand how

started climbing in the manner I said I would, then people

tough it can be up there when things go wrong.

would believe that it was possible. Yes, it was a huge risk, and I had to calculate that for myself and my team, but we managed

You often climb in the Himalaya without supplementary

to make it happen.

oxygen, but you did use it on Shishapangma. How do you decide whether or not to use oxygen in the world’s highest mountains?

You climbed Shishapangma in Tibet in October 2019,

Yes I always used oxygen from higher camps during Project

successfully completing the final summit of Project Possible.

Possible, and it’s purely because we were breaking the trails, we

How did it feel when you’d finished the challenge?

were fixing the lines. For those people unfamiliar with high

Of course, I was very happy that the challenge was completed,

altitude mountaineering, if you are trailblazing in waist-deep

but as soon as I finished that I was straight into my second

snow and fixing lines with oxygen, that is way harder than if

mission which was to buy a place in Kathmandu for my parents

you are following without oxygen on a path that has been

so they could stay under the same roof. My mum was staying in

trailblazed and has fixed lines. And I can speak for both these

one room rented in Kathmandu, and my dad was in Chitwan,

experiences, because I have done both.

THIS PAGE: Nirmal Purja holds a flag with the Union Jack and the Nepali flag together on the summit of K2 (8,611m), the world’s second-highest mountain and the most northerly 8000m peak, during the first winter ascent on January 16th 2021. TEAM NIMSAI FACING PAGE LEFT: The awesome bulk of K2 (8,611m), the world’s second highest mountain, seen from near base camp on the Godwin-Austen glacier.

The normal route up the mountain via the Abruzzi Spur is clearly visible on the ridge-line to the right of the summit. MAREK OGIEN / RED BULL FACING PAGE RIGHT: Nims on K2 in January 2021 prior to his successful first winter ascent. SANDRO GROMEN-HAYES / TEAM NIMSAI

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In January 2021, you made history by making the first

You climbed K2 in winter without using oxygen – the only

winter ascent of K2 along with nine other Nepali climbers.

member of your team to do so. How much harder is it to climb

How did it feel to stand on the summit of K2 at the coldest

an 8000er without oxygen?

time of year?

With how the world is today, there will be people that will

It was an incredible feeling, to have all ten of our Nepal team

always criticise no matter what you do. Before I did Project

reach that summit at the same time was amazing. This was a

Possible no one believed that all 14 peaks could be climbed in

team effort, and we are proud to have been part of the history

just over 6 months, then I did it, and people started talking

of humankind and mountaineering – we wanted to show the

about oxygen. Only those people who climb and who ‘walk the

world that anything is possible with a positive mindset,

walk’ will understand.

determination and teamwork.

For you personally, what are the key aspects of safe practice Climbing K2 in winter is more challenging than climbing the

in the world’s highest mountains?

other 8000ers in winter due to the extreme weather and high

The key aspect of safe practice is being truly honest with

winds the mountain experiences. I recall that one of your camps

yourself. If you push yourself because of ego and you push too

was destroyed by a storm during your ascent, in fact. What was

hard to climb because other people have done it, and you’re not

the toughest part of K2 in winter?

staying true to your ability then you will be in big trouble.

The weather was very challenging. We had a situation where the

Be honest with yourself and your ability.

forecasts we were getting just didn’t match what was happening on the ground. As you mention, one of our camps was destroyed

There had been multiple attempts to climb K2 in winter since

by the weather, and in that I lost my paragliding kit. I had

1987, and all had failed. Was it a special moment to be able to

planned to speed-fly from the top of K2 with my paraglider, but

stand on the summit with an all-Nepali team?

that wasn’t to be on that trip sadly.

Of course! The Nepalese Sherpas who have have always

The other big challenge was for me as expedition leader –

climbed with Western mountaineers have always been the

because everyone knew that K2 in winter was the last, the

pioneers of 8,000ers, and for me to be able to lead this team and

hardest, the most extreme challenge left in 8,000ers – so, of

to have all ten Nepalese members reach the summit of K2 at

course, every climber on the mountain wanted to make a name

the same time was unique. I don’t believe in one man’s glory,

for themselves and their country. So for me, the biggest

I wanted everyone to feel a part of this great achievement,

challenge was to plan the whole expedition whilst dealing with

because everyone was working hard at the same time. Also,

that pressure and expectation, and to make sure I gave my team

when we were on K2 there was a very bad situation worldwide

the best chance of being the first team of ten Nepalese climbers

with the pandemic, and I wanted to show the world the power

to be able to stand on the same summit after an historic ascent

of unification – we need to unite to deal with the bigger issues.

in the Himalaya.

That was the clear message I wanted to send across.

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I don’t believe in one man’s glory. I wanted everyone to feel a part of the achievement of our winter ascent of K2, because we were all working hard together

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Do you think the current situation of Western companies

What are the biggest challenges at present for the people of Nepal?

operating guiding services in the Himalaya supported by Nepali

The biggest challenges we have right now is obviously with the

Sherpas will change in the future? Will there be more Sherpa-

pandemic – and of course, it’s affecting the rest of the world.

run companies offering their own mountaineering packages?

Hopefully tourism in Nepal will return soon, though, and we

Even now, we can see it’s slowly changing, and I think in future

can get back to normality.

there will be a good balance between Sherpa-run companies and our foreign friends. At the moment it’s not balanced,

What are the biggest environmental issues facing the Himalaya?

I must point that out. But eventually there will be a fair balance

Not only across the Himalaya but also across the world, global

between the Western European world and Nepal, so that it’s

warming and climate change is a big threat. Most of the world’s

fair – and it’s clear it’s moving in that direction already.

glaciers are melting and some are disappearing altogether.

The bottom line here is that nature will always heal, but as a

What’s the best thing about climbing in the world’s

human race can we survive what we appear to be doing the world

highest mountains?

right now? Can we heal? So that’s one thing we all need to bear

The best thing for me about climbing the world’s highest

in mind. I don’t think we will survive if we are not very cautious

mountains is that I become truly alive up there. When I come

about it, if we don’t put our hearts into looking after our planet

down to sea level, it can be a crazy, very selfish world. But in the

– and right now. This is the biggest issue in the world today, and

mountains I find my peace. When I’m in the highest places on

I believe we have to act and do something about it.

Earth, I become most alive as I’m living only in that moment.

FACING PAGE: ‘Team Nimsdai’ after the first winter ascent of K2 on January 16, 2021. The group, who all summited the mountain together, consisted of Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, Nirmal Purja, Gelje Sherpa, Mingma David Sherpa, Mingma Tenzi Sherpa, Dawa Temba Sherpa, Pem Chhiri Sherpa, Kilu Pemba Sherpa, Dawa Tenjing Sherpa, and Sona Sherpa.

Nirmal Purja was the only climber in the team who reached the summit without the use of supplementary oxygen. At the summit, the temperature that day was -40° Celsius, plus windchill. SANDRO GROMEN-HAYES / TEAM NIMSAI THIS PAGE: Climbers approaching Shishapangma (8,013m), the only 8000m peak which is entirely inside Tibet. The ascent of this mountain was particularly challenging logistically for Nirmal Purja during his ‘Project Possible’ series of expeditions in 2019, when he climbed all 14 8000m peaks in just over 6 months. MARCIN KIN / RED BULL

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BA S E G E A R

Cycling innova t i o n s f o r a u t u m n - w i n t e r 2 0 2 1

Apidura Expedition Saddle Pack Apidura have long been the benchmark in quality backpacking bags. They’ve developed and diversified their range over the years, creating specific bags for different types of riding, from road racing to mountain biking and long distance touring. Having used the backcountry range of bags for sometime, we’ve become particularly fond of the 14 litre expedition saddle pack. Fully waterproof, its minimal profile means it tucks neatly out of the way behind the saddle. Teamed up with a bar bag and frame pack, there’s enough room for a full week of lightweight bikepacking. Yet with an adjustable size dependent on how full you stuff it, the pack is still the perfect companion on longer day rides, and allows space for a towel and swimmers for a quick after work ride and dip.

WWW.APIDURA.COM

Hunt Wheels 4 Season Gravel On long, multi-day trips in remote environments, with your bike loaded with your camping system, food and cooking equipment, confidence in your wheelset has to be one of the most important elements of the whole package. It’s also something you’ll take for granted – until the moment it all goes wrong. The HUNT 4 season gravel wheels are a perfect all rounder; they’re stiff and responsive when you need them to be, and perform as well on the road as they do on the trails. With a high spoke count, they’re extremely durable. What we love most about these wheels is their innate versatility. Fast on the road but with a wide rim profile, you can run large volume tyres on them with ease. They’re the perfect wheels for exploration, and a true do-it-all wheelset.

WWW.HUNTBIKEWHEELS.COM

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Komoot Mapping Every now and then, new tech is introduced which streamlines a process so effectively that we forget life before its existence. That’s exactly what komoot have managed with their straightforward and intuitive mapping tool: you can use it through your smartphone, or connect via a GPS device. Komoot allows you to choose from a range of different riding disciplines to help you tailor a route exactly for your style of riding. The thing we really like about komoot, though, are the user-generated highlights. Quick and easy to upload, they allow users across the globe to rapidly incorporate the best sections and discoveries into their own rides, from good coffee stops to shreddy descents. And as so much of the data is user-generated, as more people use it, the better it gets.

WWW.KOMOOT.COM

Outdoor Provisions Nut Butters With

fully

compostable

wrappers,

plant-based natural energy bar brand Outdoor Provisions have been our favourite energy bars for multi-day trips for some time. This year, the Manchester duo introduced their range of nutbutters. These are a great companion for any multi-day bike trip to squeeze in those extra calories and a little pick-me up, whilst knowing it’s the good stuff (we particularly like the date and cashew flavours spread over a banana). This autumn sees launch two new flavours: hazelnut and cacao, and peanut, almond and raspberry.

WWW.OUTDOORPRIVISIONS.CO.UK

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BA S E T E C H

The Wearable Bubble: the e v o l u t i o n o f p e r s o n a l f l o t a t i o n d e v i c e s Story | Chris Hunt

Waterways and oceans are some of the most challenging and rewarding wilderness environments on Earth. Yet from deep ocean swells to flooding canyons, they’re also some of the most volatile – and potentially deadly. Water is not our natural habitat, and any adventure on it comes with the omnipresent threat of drowning. Some of the most devastating accidents have taken place in the most benign conditions. Developing the skills and equipment required to operate safely in such environments is just another example of the human capacity to evolve and adapt, as we hone the tools to keep us safe. From their first days as rudimentary and often cumbersome pieces of equipment, to their current incarnation as highly evolved, movement-specific wearables, this is the story of personal flotation devices.

History

were tested, including a canvas jacket filled with large pockets

One of the very earliest forms of transport, boats have been

of air, a vest formed of horsehair and rushes, as well as a jacket

used to explore new lands and reach new hunting territories for

made of buoyant woods like baobab and balsa. Ultimately, the

hundreds of thousands of years. From evidence located in

cork lifejacket – the best design at the time – was introduced to

excavation sites on the Indonesian island of Flores, it’s

the volunteer crews of the RNLI.

understood that early humans were navigating open waters as

Just six years later, in February 1861, a historic storm

far back as 900,000 years ago. The very first PFDs known about

wrecked more than 200 ships on the UK’s east cost. The

in the archaeological record were inflated animal skins,

Whitby lifeboat crew launched several times to save victims

evidence of which can be found in artwork in the British

from the damaged vessels. On the lifeboat’s sixth journey,

Museum: an ancient gypsum panel dated to nearly 3,000 years

it capsized and all but one of the crew were lost. The sole

ago depicts Assyrian soldiers holding on to inflated animal

survivor was a man called Henry Freeman, who was wearing

skins to cross rivers.

the new design of cork lifejacket.

Whilst buoyancy would have continued as a vital asset in

Although materials and aesthetics have evolved somewhat

various forms of water travel, purpose-built wearable flotation

since the creation of wearable flotation, the foundations of

devices weren’t introduced until much more recent times.

design have actually remained pretty consistent, providing

In 1854, Captain Ward of the Royal National Lifeboat

straightforward solutions to the simple dilemma of keeping a

Institution (RNLI) developed the very first proper lifejackets

person afloat in rough seas or whitewater.

for the volunteers that formed the institution’s crew members.

At the start of the 20th century, a new moisture-resistant,

Lifeboat crews rely on access to a full range of movement to be

quick-drying, resilient, and buoyant fibre harvested from the

able to perform rescues. But in the 19th century, crews were

fruit of the gigantic tropical kapok tree was now introduced to

also required to row their way through stormy seas; this put

replace the now-ageing and less effective cork lifejackets.

manoeuvrability at the forefront of the jacket’s list of

Kapok fibre is a combination of hair-like follicles containing

requirements. A whole host of different materials and designs

natural oils which make them non-absorbent to water.

FACING PAGE: Top Brazilian big wave surfer Raquel Heckert heading towards the bottom of a huge wave on the Outer Reef, Oahu, Hawaii, in February 2021. Here, Raquel wears one of the advanced modern CO2 flotation suits now common in the big wave surfing arena, giving her maximum buoyancy in the event of a wipeout. CHRISTA FUNK / RED BULL

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At the same time, their air-trapping properties make these

presented to the U.S Government which, with World War II

fibres extremely buoyant. Once kapok had been manufactured

fast approaching, became standard regulation for U.S. Navy

into lifejackets, the supporting buoyant force was three and half

airmen. Further research was then conducted in the UK during

times better than that of cork.

World War II. Edgar Pask OBE, the first Professor of

To maintain a suitable level of buoyancy though, lifejackets

Anaesthesia at Newcastle University, set out his own

remained bulky and restrictive to wear, meaning much of the

experiment in which he self-administered anaesthetics to

time they were cast aside rather than worn. Work soon turned

instigate unconsciousness – sometimes to the point of apnea –

to slimming down the lifejacket profile. In 1900, Gustave

and placed himself into a pool wearing the lifejacket he would

Trouve went one better, patenting a battery-powered lifejacket

be testing. Pask's extraordinary work earned him the OBE and

which could inflate when needed, meaning its wearer was

the description of ‘the bravest man in the RAF never to have

unobstructed while wearing it deflated: it was the very first

flown an aeroplane’.

compact PFD.

The development of synthetic, oil-based foams during the

But despite the advances and how many lives they proved

‘60s though soon lead to the introduction of the Beaufort

capable of saving, international regulations to enforce their use

lifejacket. With a stronger buoyancy once again, the Beaufort

on ships weren’t introduced until the first international

jacket could support the weight of both the wearer and the

convention for the Safety of Life at Sea was held in 1913 – the

casualty and – due to the shape of the design – ensured that its

year after the sinking of the Titanic in the North Atlantic.

wearer would float face-upwards even when knocked

In the 1920s, Peter Markus further developed the design

unconscious. In addition to the added buoyancy, the Beaufort

with rubberised air pockets that would inflate with liquid

jacket was painted bright orange for far greater visibility at sea

carbon dioxide when the jacket cords were pulled. The idea was

and fitted with a light, a casualty recovery loop, and a safety line.

THIS PAGE: Palm and Crewsaver PFDs at BASE magazine HQ. Palm and Crewsaver are two of the leading brands in personal buoyancy technology today. DAVID PICKFORD FACING PAGE: Big wave surfer Wrenna Delgado waits on a wave on Oahu’s Outer Reef, Hawaii, in February, 2021. CHRISTA FUNK / RED BULL

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During WW2, Professor Edgar Pask self-administered anaesthetics to instigate unconsciousness, then placed himself in a pool wearing the lifejacket he was testing

Personal floatation today

Similarly, inflation vests have in some ways revolutionised

Today, of course, the personal flotation device has evolved well

big wave surfing. While almost all water based activities can be

beyond those primitive early days. And while the fundamentals

made safer through the introduction of a buoyancy device,

remain the same, the way buoyancy technology has since adapted

surfing – and in particular big wave surfing – presents itself as

and pushed into new avenues has without doubt saved lives.

somewhat of an outlier. Despite the fact that during a

Kayakers are able to run highly technical and extreme whitewater

particularly serious wipeout (think ‘knocked unconscious in

in narrow canyons using PFDs with a far smaller profile, yet

50ft + waves’) buoyancy will save lives, the requirements of

which remain extremely buoyant. This means that whilst still

surfing itself – particularly navigating out through the line–up

totally capable of lifesaving, the wearer remains unrestricted and

– makes continuous buoyancy largely incompatible with

is able still to negotiate rapids and technical elements of the river.

surfing: you can’t do a duck-dive wearing a lifejacket.

For emergency situations, extremely low profile inflatable

In the past five or six years, vests with inflation-on-demand

buoyancy aids have been designed to fit concealed into a hip pack

technology through the use of CO2 cartridges have made their

or low profile vest [see image on facing page].

way into the big wave arena. Right from day one, it was clear

In the world of backcountry mountain sports, inflatable

that lives were being saved and major injuries being avoided,

avalanche packs (ABS) have undoubtedly saved countless lives.

and surfers could go about their session relatively unimpeded

They are able to keep the wearer above the chaos of moving

by the deflated vest.

snow and debris in the event of becoming engulfed by an

The impact these CO2 vests has had on the performance

avalanche.The first ABS airbag was introduced back in 1985 by

of surfing, particularly in terms of the renaissance of paddling

ABS founder Peter Aschauer, but it remained for some time a

into big waves rather than towing in behind a jet ski, has been

niche product. Today, however, inflatable ABS backpacks are a

substantial. Surfers have been able to take greater risks in

staple for backcountry skiers and snowboarders.

paddling for waves they might have previously been happy to

ABS avalanche packs, it has been suggested, have opened

let roll by them. At the same time, surfers have become more

off-piste mountain environments to a new group of skiers and

comfortable putting themselves in harm’s way in the impact

snowboarders who might lack the required experience and

zone during big sessions with the knowledge of that, if called

knowledge to operate safely in those environments, therefore

upon, their vests will bring them up to the surface.

putting them and others in positions of undue risk.

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The job of any adventure safety gear is to be as unobtrusive and therefore appealing to use as possible

This kind of insurance policy isn’t without its own

But despite concerns within elite circles, there is little

controversy. Many experienced big wave surfers felt that this

doubt that buoyancy and inflation devices not only allow the

‘democratisation’ of big wave line-ups would ultimately prove

boundaries to be pushed within adventure sports, but they also

dangerous, with less skilled or competent surfers tempted to take

save lives on a regular basis.

on waves of a size and power far beyond their real skill level.

Ultimately, the job of any adventure safety gear is to be as

Where surfers previously would only make it out to those biggest

unobtrusive and therefore appealing to use as possible; that

and most dangerous of line-ups with decades of experience and

way, it will at least be used. If safety devices are not worn in the

specifically trained fitness behind them (and perhaps a safety

first place, there’s no way that they can do the job they were

crew on jet-skis), the ease of buying an inflatable flotation vest

designed to do. There’s an interesting parallel here with life-

meant those line-ups would be more accessible to a new group of

rafts for yachts; a modern inflatable life-raft that can carry four

arguably less experienced and less prepared individuals.

to six people now packs down into a 140 litre bag, so virtually

Concerns like this have led to the necessity of waivers

every yacht owner carries one on board – but it’s not always

being signed prior to such products being available for

been this way. And this is exactly what we’ve seen with

purchase, and in some instances certification must be

wearable buoyancy devices, and the evolution towards today’s

presented. Patagonia’s personal surf inflation vest, for example,

highly effective and movement-specific designs maximising

is available exclusively to experienced big wave surfers who

the chances of the personal flotation device being used should

have been certified by the Big Wave Risk Assessment Group.

the scenario call for it.

THIS PAGE: Leading surfer Keala Kennely uses a C02 buoyancy vest on a big day at Jaws in Maui, Hawaii, in January, 2021. FRED POMPERMAYER / RED BULL FACING PAGE: Rafael Ortiz running the rapid known as ‘Chaos’ just below Spirit Falls on the Little White Salmon river near White Salmon, Washington State, USA. Advances in personal buoyancy technology have made whitewater kayaking a great deal safer than it once was. MICHAEL CLARK / RED BULL

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B A S E C U LT U R E Mirrors in the Map Tessa Lyons | BASE artist-in-residence

Ben Nevis, Scotland Ink and acrylic on OS map

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Crescent Arête, Peak District, England Ink on OS map

Half Dome, Yosemite, USA Ink, acrylic and chalk on vintage map

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Cloggy (Clogwyn Du'r Arddu), Snowdon, North Wales Ink and acrylic on OS map

A map says to you, ‘I am the earth in the palm of your hand’ - Beryl Markham

Grasmere, Lake District, England Ink and acrylic on OS map

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These map-based drawings attempt to capture the multi-layered nature of our experience in the outdoors. The detailed overlaid ink drawings recall lines in the rock or earth, and the shape of an experience lived. The maps beneath represent the moments before – the planning stage of anticipation. Can we ever capture the actual nature of lived experience, so fleeting and transient? It is never quite as we imagined; and we never remember it exactly as it was.

The writer or artist is faced with an impossible task – to distill a palimpsest of experiences into something ultimately motionless and singular.

My map drawings are an effort to try and breach these limitations by merging two forms of representation into one.

- Tessa Lyons

Brighton West Pier, East Sussex, England Ink on OS map

Shenavall Bothy, Scotland

West Highland Way, Scotland

Ink and transfer

Ink

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