What will 2008 hold in store?
I wonder what 2008 will bring? I’ll certainly be hoping for better weather. Last year was memorable for being a complete wash-out, although my wife Gina and I walked from Fort William to Cape Wrath in wonderful weather. I think we only had two hours of rain in two weeks. That walk reinforced a notion that I’ve held for some time – in good weather Scotland is the most beautiful country in the world.
I had a bit of a global warming conscience in the past year and didn’t travel abroad too much - only a week in Jordan’s Wadi Rum in the spring, but I’m afraid I’ve badly missed my annual Autumn trek. I think I’ll be heading to Nepal next autumn – some friends are planning to climb some trekking peaks. All going well I’ll join them.
We certainly have big plans for TGO Magazine for 2008 too – more podcasts and more videos on our website, and plenty of good ideas on the go for the magazine itself. Some good new writers on board too - Dan Bailey, a young mountaineer who writes extremely well and ultralightweight enthusiast Eddy Meechan whose base pack weight is normally less than 5 lbs - and that’s in UK conditions, not the dry, warm conditions of sunny California.
On top of that lot I’m hoping to make a few DVDs featuring Scottish walks, as well as making some more DVDs in the Lake District for Striding Edge as I’ve been doing over the past couple of years. And I’ll be continuing my Wild Walks slot on BBC Scotland’s Adventure Show.
On another level I must make an effort to complete my third round of the Munros; get on with the Corbetts book project I’ve been working on for ages and, hopefully, climb a 20,000+ foot peak in Nepal. Also hoping to work on a big television project. Can’t say too much about that at the moment as it’s still at the proposal stage but it’s a project that will certainly test me in more ways than one!
The only challenge left is to keep this website up and running and on that note many, many thanks to all of you who have contributed and commented over the last year. You’ve no idea how encouraging it is to know that someone is actually reading the stuff, listening to the podcasts and watching the videos. Have a great year yourself and may all your outdoor ambitions come to fruition.