Some of my favourite photos of 2012

While I started this blog with the intention of uploading trip reports and photos from that point onwards I've decided I'd like to share some of my favourite images from 2012.  All of these were took on my Iphone 4 and I've continuously been suprised by how good the camera is on this thing!  All the photos are my own and have had the instagram treatment. Yeah, I know the effects are like Marmite to most, but I think for a camera on a phone they look alright.  Naturally, they won't come close to my dslr but for snapshots they do the trick!

And on with the show!

This first shot is from January on Bleaklow, took about half a mile East of the Pennine Way looking towards Lady Clough and Kinder Scout.

 

 

These next two were took in February.  Amazingly we were in the middle of a heat wave and the temperature must have been around 20C at least. I was in short and a T-shirt and got sun burnt!  Both are from the East, on the Pennine Way while heading towards Kinder Downfall on the hunt for Dean Read's geochocing cache (which I successfully found).



This was taken on Shelf Moor, Bleaklow, Looking roughly South towards the Snake Pass.  I replaced Dean's cache up here to continue the game a couple of weeks after finding it originally.  This is one of my favourite places in the Peak District and is only a couple of hundred metres from the Overexposed plane wreckage which I wrote about in my Halloween Ghost Hunting post.

These next two were took in the summer from the top and about a quarter down Doctor's Gate.  Doctor's Gate is a bridleway and a notorious Mountain Biking descent...it's awesome, if a little painful at times.  Originally the track was a Roman road, commonly travelled by a Doctor, hence the name.  Both the photos were took the same day on my new (at the time) bikes maiden voyage.  It's a Vitus Escarpe 2 and for the money it's a right little monster (super slack, 140mm).

 

This was taken in Lady Clough Forest, early Autumn.  For those who've never visited it's a really surreal place and somewhere I've often gone for a leisurely stroll with the dog and other half.

Finally, the most recent, taken around September, October time.  It's from the top of Shire Hill, on the outskirts of Glossop.  This is virtually my back garden since it's a 5 minute walk to the base of the hill from my house.  I love the effect the dew made on all the spiderwebs.

 

That's all for now, but expect plenty of new photos in the future!

Rab Boreas pull-on review (Womens version - Aurora)

The Rab Boreas (or Aurora if your female) is a curious beast indeed. Without sounding too pessimistic to start with it isn't waterproof, water resistant, insulated or even warm like a fleece or any other midlayer. It's not a fast wicking baselayer.  Heck, it's not even windproof, simply wind resistant!

Does this mean it's none of these or has even got a real purpose? Well think of it this way; it fills the gap between every single one of these.  A big claim for such an odd item of clothing but let me explain.  I've seen the Boreas labelled as a 'summer weight softshell' which it is, but it's so much more!

The actual product description on Rab's website is pretty vague for starters, saying how its simply a lightweight, stretch pull on offering protection in the mountains and how its won editors choice awards.

Let me help fill in the blanks and help make some sense of this thing.

First of all it isn't waterproof or resistant at all, nor does it claim or try to be. It doesn't even have a DWR coating, but really there's nothing stopping you proofing it yourself, which I must admit I'm kind of tempted to try myself with some Nikwax Softshell proofer.

It's not windproof, but wind resistant. The idea being that you get maximum breathability while removing the majority of wind chill.  It's an idea that is being seen more often these days, but mainly because it works! It's perfect for when your working hard and coupled with a decent base layer you have a formidable combo for hard graft.  Because of this I've found myself using it for running in, instead of using a pertex wind shirt. It's quieter and argueably more breathable and in my eyes comfier. The fit is typical Rab, with long arms, perfect for climbing and mountain biking when it's a little chilly for just your base layer but too warm to put a shell on.

The Boreas hasn't got a fleecy inner like most softshell jackets but is rated 50 for UV. Everyone has been caught out and got sunburnt when it's been breezy but too warm for a hardshell or a regular softshell.  This is where the Boreas comes in to save the day.  You have lightweight sun protection without feeling like a boil in the bag meal. Because of it's lack of insulation I've found myself using it on those days when you cant decide to use a lighter or heavier weight base layer.  Coupled with a light base layer it feels cooler than wearing a lightweight fleece, especially when used as a midlayer , under a shell.  Perfect for those inbetween days when you're cold in just a shell, but boil when you even stick a thin fleece on.

Or you can even try it the other way around, layering over a light fleece for when you want maximum breath ability in cold conditions. Plus I reckon it just looks cool and I've found myself using this combo when out walking the dog.

Feature wise the Boreas is pretty basic, sporting a chest zip for venting and a single chest pocket.  I couldn't quite fit my large one into the chest pocket but that may have been me being useless as it was pretty close.  The usual neat finished touches as you'd expect from Rab are there, like neat little zipper garages and flat seams.  Everything just looks tidy.

The hood is made to fit under a helmet. I haven't used it in this capacity but I have worn it under a shell hood comfortably and it followed my heads movement with no problems.

The price for the Boreas is bonkers. It retails at a measly £45. That's base layer pricing, not softshell territory!  In my opinion it's a massive bargain and I'm struggling to not buy one of every colour!  At 300grammes too you'll hardly notice it in your pack.  I've found myself using it all the time.  It's one of those items that works with every bit of clothing you own and will make it just that little bit more useful.  Be it a little more warmth, wind resistance, sun protection, breathability, this top will fit the bill.  Think of all the times when you can't make your mind up what to wear and I guarantee the Boreas will be the answer! Just buy one, you can't afford not to have this future classic in your wardrobe!

Snugpak Softie 6 Kestrel sleeping bag review

I've been using the Snugpak Softie 6 Kestrel bag, or the Softie 6 as it's commonly known, for a couple of year now so it's fair to say I quite literally know it inside out.

It's made from a material called Paratex which to all extents and purposes is pretty similar in feel to most pertex bags.  It's certainly tough and I've been pretty rough with this bag for quite a while and it still looks like new.  Inside it has Snugpaks Softie Premier insulation.  The key selling points are its weight to warmth ratio which from experience I can say rates as some of the best synthetic insulation available.  The Softie 6 weighs 1200g including stuff sack and packs down deceiving small.  Compared to many synthetic bags, this crushes down to virtually nothing, almost encroaching on down compressibility territory!  It isn't a super narrow bag either; it's a generous cut so suitable for the bigger fellow or for sleepers who hate feeling restricted like myself. The tapered mummy shape is a fair size towards to bottom and I've never felt restricted in the bag, plus the reinforced foot liner means you can sleep with your boots on!  Granted for the general public this feature isn't needed but for military users it's invaluable, especially on exercises when you know your going to be jumping out of this thing in a hurry.  Speaking of which, the zip is a big, chunky, solid thing.  Easy to use with gloves on and I've never had it snag on me.

We've covered that it's a great shape and easy to carry but can it do the business?  Snugpak rate this as a 2 season bag, with a lower comfort rating of 0C and an extreme rating of -5C.  Pretty generous for a 2 season bag but I can certainly vouch for it.  In my experience it's warmer than your average 2 season bag and I'd personally use it as a 3 season.  It's been my automatic 'go to' bag for anything from sleeping indoors, right up to borderline freezing temperatures.  Undo the zip and it's comfortable indoors throughout the year, plus the fast wicking paratex inner leaves you feeling dry when it is warmer.  At the other end of the spectrum I've slept around freezing with this bag in nothing more than a bivvy bag and wearing midweight upper and lower baselayers, even feeling a little warm, but with a freezing face!  If your going to be using this bag at the colder end of the spectrum there's no reason a down jacket wont keep you snug well into negative numbers but I'd only recommend this option for experienced users.

The bag is a little short on fancy features but what it does, it does spot on.  For example, there is no neck baffle (but Snugpaks Elite range has) and the only adjustability other than the zip is the hood drawstring, but what more do you need for day to day use? There are hanging tags at the bottom to air the bag between uses and a really tough stuffsack that crushes the bag down to the point where you look at it thinking "is this thing going to be warm enough?".  To prevent cold spots the zip has a full length baffle to keep in precious warmth and prevent snagging.

For the money I think this bag offers superb value for money selling for just under the £80 mark and available in olive green, desert colour or black for less tactical use.  Usually they can be found a little cheaper too from many suppliers and I think I paid around £60 for mine.  Would I buy it again? Absolutely.  It offers a huge useable temperature range and I'd highly recommend it for just over freezing, up to just under heatwave levels of heat depending how you sleep.  If your a very cold sleeper you may want to move up a notch to the Softie 9 but for true UK damp 3 season use the 6 is a real workhorse.

Montane North Star down jacket review

I've had the Montane North Star jacket for almost a year now so I thought I'd finally review it.  I bought it in the sales in January for a bargain price but personally now I've used it a fair bit I'd be happy to pay the full £200 RRP. 

Even though I bought this down jacket in January it had been sat in my wardrobe virtually unused until a couple of months ago.  Mainly due to the weird weather we've had this year. When I bought it I was wearing a t-shirt comfortably walking about Manchester in what must have genuinely been 15C roughly!  Hell, I even got sun burnt in February walking on Kinder Scout! It was that warm I didn't even bother bringing it as a "just in case" layer, bringing my ultralight primaloft Outdoor Research hoody instead!

Now the weather has become a little more "British" and it's remembered which hemisphere we're in so as to align the seasons accordingly it's started to become chilly. Which means for me it's time for all the lovely winter gear to come out.

Over the last couple of months this has been my go to jacket for when it's even been remotely nippy.  I admit, it's been a little bit of a guilty pleasure of mine and has been pretty close to hand most the time.  The first thing you notice as soon as you pick it up is how soft and luxurious the down feels.  Montane don't cut any corners with the filling and you notice this immediately with the 200g (M) of 93/7 goose down at 800+ fill.  One feature I like is that the hood has the same amount of filling as the body so your getting a full protective bubble from the elements.

So, when would you use this?  I've used it in about -7C with a t-shirt and felt comfortable but also at about 8C with a hoody underneath around town and felt just as comfy.  It isn't thick enough to cook you when it gets a little warm, yet you still feel comfortable when its properly cold...then stick a couple of layers underneath and I doubt you'd ever need anything warmer, not in this country at least.  This is one of my favourite characteristics of down, it always feels just right within quite a large temperature range.  This gives it the edge over a lot of my other jackets like pile/pertex and heavy weight fleeces which become furnaces pretty quick.  While they have there uses (and I love mine) they don't offer the versatility that down does and the North Star does not disappoint in the aspect.  The longer than average, athletic cut works great.  While many will cry "but it isn't harness compatible" I will happily point out that the vast majority of us don't wear harnesses very often, if at all.  Even if you do wear a harness the North Star will happily shimmy up and still fit great thanks to the elasticated drawstring.  One little detail I love is that the hem is stuffed full of down too so nowhere escapes insulation!  To customise the fit further there is another drawstring accessible from the pockets to tighten up around the lower chest region. 

Ok, so we've sussed out the fit is super adjustable and it's great to wear all the time but it needs to do the business too!  I've used it myself as an insulating layer in most conditions.  To be honest I run really warm but as soon as I summit I chuck this on to hang onto all that hard earned warmth and it works a treat as expected!  When the weather isn't so favourable the FREEFLOW Ultralite does a fantastic job of keeping out the wind and to some extent the rain.  The jacket has a hydrostatic head of 800mm which while it isn't by any means waterproof it'll certainly hold its own in anything other than full on rain.



You can really tell this is a proper premium product. There is no part of this jacket which doesn't have any nifty features.  I've already covered the ultralite fabric and the luxurious down it holds.  The zippers are all tough ykk zips which are on the cavernous pockets too.  At the top and bottom there are poppers to keep the zip in place at the top and in the zipper garage and off your beard/chin.  At the bottom it means your can unzip to add or remove layers without having to fully take off the jacket and put on the ground. 

In this image you can also see the stitch through construction.  I've not noticed any cold spots and for its 600 gram weight I doubt you'll find anything warmer, as mentioned before in the UK I doubt you'd ever need warmer, especially when combined with a fleece.  A point I feel worth mentioning regarding the weight us that you have to remember that this jacket is longer than average. Only by around 2 to 3 inches I'd guess but an extra 10% length would mean a similar increase in weight (just under 10% I'd estimate, taking sleeves and the hood into consideration).  Something to bear in mind if your balancing grammes against warmth.



The hood is a real deal maker on the North Star.  Montane are reknown for the awesome hood they make and this is no exception.  It has a wired peak to get the front just right and is fully adjustable.  On top of the front adjustment you can see in the image there is also a velcro strip on the back to adjust the volume to get it just right. Great if you have to wear a helmet and super easy to shrink down when you need to keep the weather out. The collar is fleece lined too and feels comfy against skin.

So what else could there possibly be to mention? Well, Montane supply the North Star with a 5litre waterproof stuff sack to keep the jacket dry and safe when not in use, plus it makes it super convenient to stuff into the bottom of your rucksack with no worries.

To conclude I don't think you can go wrong with this jacket.  It's most likely all the down you'll ever need.  It's super packable and looks awesome no matter what colour you go for.  It's length works great for the average user wanting a winter camping or walking jacket.  This for me will be its primary role (plus for those gnarly trips out walking the dog 10 minutes down the road...hey, guilty pleasure jacket remember).  It's well priced against it's competitors and has some of the best quality down available, anywhere.  Overall...just get one, you know you want to!

Halloween Ghosthunting...

Quite how I ended up on the moors on Halloween in thick fog I'll never know. It all started after no doubt watching too much tv and thinking "hmm, that looks interesting" but never knowing what to do and where.

A favourite place of mine to visit is the wreckage of the plane "Overexposed", a B-29 Superfortress which crashed on Shelf Moor virtually on the summit in 1948 while delivering mail between 2 bases. During the day it's a great place with amazing views down the valley from the nearby trig point and a fascinating place to explore amongst the wreckage itself, although a little somber.

For those interesting in visiting, the OS grid ref is: SK 090 949. Care should be taken though as this is a remote and wild, desolate location even though it is only a couple of miles from the Snake Pass.

After reading Terry Abrahams blog about Ghostbusting on Kinder Scout I thought why not have a crack on the largest crash in the area!

Here's Terry's by the way: http://terrybnd.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/ghostbusting-on-kinder-scout.html?m=1

So, feeling a little inspired to try something different at a pretty familiar spot I spoke to my fellow lover of all things a little weird Greg. After what must have been 5 attempted trips (due to work commitments on both sides) we finally set off. I think the fact it was Halloween totally slipped our minds until we were about half way upto the top of Shelf Moor after parking at the Snake Pass summit. After this revelation I was half expecting to find a strange person with a large beard hugging the trig point or something but alas, not a soul was to be seen. Loving or not for the record...

Once we neared the summit from the South-East approach thick cloud descended. Already pretty grim and drizzly, visibility reduced to virtually zero and the temperature start to drop. With head torches on all you could see was a white mist 6 feet ahead, without, all there was to be seen were vague shapes on the horizon. Regardless, we pressed on as I knew precisely where we were and where we needed to be (plus the 6ft wide heavily walked path from the trig point is a dead giveaway).

We had a quick mooch around the wreckage(it was Gregs first visit) and paid our respects to the crew that perished in the crash then decided to investigate. I don't think the scene could have been any more of a Hollywood stereotype...pitch black, Halloween, cold and rainy weather, thick fog... Very eery but since we're such big, brave boys it didn't bother us in the slightest...honest.

Anyway! Out came the EMF meter. After walking around the larger parts of the wreckage nothing was registered on the meter unfortunately. We tried for about half an hour but to no avail. Feeling a little disappointed/relieved (delete as appropriate) we headed back to the car. While nothing out of the ordinary happened it was still a memorable trip out, even though it was a short excursion. Would I do it again though...absolutely and hopefully soon!

The beginning...

So, where on earth do you start with a blog...ideally at the start so I'd thought that'd be a start!

I figured it'd most likely make a little sense to explain who I am and what I do. Well, I'm Tom Barnes and here is a little insight into what I get upto!

I live in the sunny town of Glossop in the Peak District which is my main playground and what a place it is! I get asked quite a lot about interesting places in the area so this will hopefully become my outlet for this.

All my life I've loved the outdoors, every year getting to do bigger, bolder adventures or as you'd have guessed misadventures (always a little more memorable/interesting when things go a little wrong)! I love to get out hiking to explore anything and everywhere of interest or for when adrenaline is on the menu I'll go out on my MTB (vitus escarpe - beast of a machine). There's a plethora of amazing trials and bridleways all from my back door so I'm never short of anywhere awesome to ride and I'll showcase some of the best rides here. Also along this train of thought I dabble in the occasional climb and will try most activities given the chance!

While out I love taking photos, which is something I've gotta admit has taken a back shelf recently. I supply stock photos through istockphoto under the contributor name Thomasaurus for those interested in my work. I have a less than exciting day job, but on the other hand I've spent the last 4 years serving with the TA currently with 4 LANCS. I think this rekindled my love of getting out and being knackered, muddy and generally miles away from anywhere. Something I learnt to do as a kid in Scouts which is where I learnt most of my basic skills initially.

I'm sure I've missed out loads but hopefully this will give a little view into what makes me tick!

Enjoy!