Geographical

Official magazine of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)

Tristan Kennedy

Equipment matters: autumn photography

6 minutes

Tristan Kennedy considers how photography can help us recognise the effects of a changing climate Autumn has come early to the woods where I live in northern Italy. I’m writing this at the start of September, and looking out of my window I can already see speckles of orange and yellow leaves among the sea of green. In the vineyard next door, the grape picking started … [Read more...] about Equipment matters: autumn photography

Equipment matters: alpine cycling

6 minutes

Tristan Kennedy tackles the legendary Monte Bondone, where one of cycling's most brutal battles unfolded during a June blizzard Rising precipitously from the Adige Valley west of the Italian city of Trento, Monte Bondone isn't particularly high — just 2,180 metres above sea level. But try riding a bike up any one of the three approach roads that converge near the summit … [Read more...] about Equipment matters: alpine cycling

Anja Petek and Patricija Verdev on their first ascent of Lalung I

6 minutes

Bears in base camp, an unexpected storm and a freezing bivvy all threatened Anja Petek and Patricija Verdev's first Himalayan expedition. Tristan Kennedy hears how they kept going If you’re planning an expedition to summit a previously unclimbed Himalayan peak, you’ve obviously got to anticipate a certain amount of danger. Route-finding. Weather. Logistics. Climbers of … [Read more...] about Anja Petek and Patricija Verdev on their first ascent of Lalung I

Bikerafting: the new way to travel through landscapes

6 minutes

Part bikepacking, part packrafting, bikerafting is opening up new ways to travel through landscapes where roads and rivers meet In the Douglas Adams novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, there’s a running joke that the one piece of equipment essential for anyone wanting to travel safely across time and space is a towel. Ford Prefect, one of Adams’ central … [Read more...] about Bikerafting: the new way to travel through landscapes

Into the unknown

6 minutes

In a valley in Pakistan's Karakoram range, three alpinists climbed a virgin north face with no fixed ropes – here is their story The Chapursan valley, in the remote northwestern Pakistani region of Gilgit-Baltistan, is not a place that sees many foreign visitors. Surrounded by the jagged, 6,000-metre-plus peaks of the Karakoram, it’s at least a three-day drive from … [Read more...] about Into the unknown