Hill hacks

Relying on digital mapping can erode your traditional navigation skills. Could a refresher course be the answer? Alex Roddie joins an Austrian Alpine Club-organised course in Eryri to find out

Moments enjoyed, lessons learned, the strange thoughts that only happen on a walk: welcome to the bits and pieces that don’t make big stories, but do make a difference.

Places we've been, things we've seen, and mountain-related stuff we like

Outstanding views, relatively easy navigation, pub/café at the start/end – is this a perfect ‘short day’ route in the Peak District ?

Norman Hadley shares a tale of youthful misadventure, when a navigational mistake on the Cairngorm plateau seemed to defy all constraints of space and time

I am lying hip-deep in a peat bog looking up at the grey, ominous sky and pondering my life choices. My backpack is so heavy with all my food, water and camping gear that I can’t actually get up. I am