Crisp blue skies, snow, mountains, hotel breakfasts, fresh air and exercise – and you don’t even have to like skiing. Welcome to the world of winter hiking…

Moments enjoyed, lessons learned, handy advice, weird stuff that happened: welcome to the little bits and pieces that don’t make big stories, but do make all the difference.

Share your views, your experiences and your favourite photos tgo.ed@kelsey.co.uk

When I excitedly told friends I was off to Austria to ski for the very first time, nearly 30 years into my life, the seasoned skiers among them looked a little nervous. “It’s definitely easier to lear

Free-range history

Today, down jackets built for K2 are worn on the school run and premium waterproofs pop up in pubs. In their photo book, Max Leonard and Henry Iddon track down hard-as-nails but unheralded mountaineers and the fabric innovators who put them safely – and sometimes even stylishly – on summits to ask how we got here