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A Q&A guide to the Fitz Roy day hike, telling you exactly what you need to know to reach this iconic peak
We had unfinished business with Fitz Roy. We first visited in 2015 after a disappointing trip to Torres del Paine in Chile. It was winter in Patagonia and thanks to awful weather we saw absolutely nothing.
A selection of the most interesting facts about Bolivia we picked up during our visit
Before we went to Bolivia, my entire education on the country came from this scene from the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Although our arrival in the country wasn’t quite as displeasing as Robert Redford’s, Bolivia did prove one of the more challenging countries we’ve visited. Cold showers, uninspiring cuisine and high altitude were just some of the things we battled.
An updated guide on how to visit Perito Moreno Glacier following our second encounter with the giant Argentine wonder
When reporting on our first trip to Patagonia back in 2015, Kia lamented that once you’ve been travel writing for a while, it’s hard to come up with fresh superlatives.
“I mean, you can’t say gaze-catching instead of eye-catching and you can’t say stride-stopping instead of heart-stopping, can you?” she wrote. The source of her discord was Perito Moreno Glacier, a sight so overwhelming that it’s utterly, er, step freezing.
Seven years after our first visit, we return to Tierra del Fuego to rediscover the best things to do in Ushuaia, the capital of the end of the world
There are few places left in the world that still evoke the romance of old-world exploration. They inspire nostalgia for a time we never knew; places to which we’ve never been.
We know their names in the same way we know Neverland and Narnia: shrouded in legend and lore. Cartagena, Antarctica, the Northwest Passage and Vinson Massif. Even men sounded greater then: Drake, Amundsen, Livingstone and Shackleton.
We explore the best parks in Buenos Aires to help you find a spot of calm in Argentina’s whirlwind capital
Buenos Aires whizzes past. While its cafés, bars and restaurants spill out onto the sidewalks, honking throngs of traffic hurtle by just inches away. Porteños (residents of Buenos Aires) barely raise an eyebrow over their espressos, but for those of us uninitiated, Buenos Aires can be overwhelming.
From the biggest myth in travel writing to the dream destination he hasn’t yet seen, author Shafik Meghji tells us about the travel that changed him
In his early teens, Shafik Meghji came to the conclusion that he wasn’t going to make it as a professional footballer. As such, he settled for the next best thing: a job as a roving sports reporter. He won a coveted Scott Trust Bursary from the Guardian which funded his diploma in newspaper journalism and led to a role at the Evening Standard.
We share the most interesting facts about Antarctica collected on our recent trip to the seventh continent
For a long time, it seemed like our trip to Antarctica wasn’t going to happen. Covid postponed it from 2020 to 2021, and then again to 2022. Even after we got the green light, our nerves didn’t ease. If we tested positive for Covid, we wouldn’t be allowed to board the ship, and daily testing meant that we could be quarantined in our cabins even after setting sail. In short, it was more stressful than expected.
Interesting facts about Argentina, from the largest creature to have walked the earth to the first human to be born in Antarctica
I first visited Argentina in 2015 as part of our year-long trip around the world. Due to quirks in our itinerary, technically, we visited the country three times in the space of a mere few weeks (as we crossed in and out of neighbouring countries).
Completing some basic training for Kilimanjaro will make your climb easier, safer and ultimately more enjoyable
I climbed Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, back in 2010. At 5,895m (19,340ft), it was my first high-altitude trek and even though I had some hillwalking behind me, I had no experience of trekking at altitude, wasn’t fit enough and didn’t have the right gear. In hindsight, I was fortunate to make the summit considering I was so underprepared.
A click-and-pick Antarctica packing list with links to specific products that have been personally tested by Atlas & Boots
A friend of mine recently asked what three things make me happiest, as part of her research for her forthcoming book. I named family and nature which are fairly standard answers. Less common was my third choice of hygge, the Danish concept of cosiness.
Our carefully curated list of the best mountaineering movies ever made
Recently, I re-watched one of my favourite mountaineering movies: Everest. Historically, even the best mountaineering films have struggled to bridge the gap between climbing documentary and Hollywood blockbuster.
Our expedition to the great white continent inspired a host of questions, most commonly: is Antarctica worth it? We share our answers below
The cynic, it is said, knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. It doesn’t make you a cynic, however, to question the value of a trip to Antarctica given the hefty price tag. Ranging from seven to twenty thousand dollars per person, it’s a once in a lifetime expense, so it’s perfectly natural to ask: is Antarctica worth it?
Edurne Pasaban made mountaineering history when she became the first woman to have undisputedly climbed all 14 of the eight-thousanders – the only mountains on the planet above 8,000m.
She has a degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of the Basque Country, a Masters in Human Resources Management from ESADE Business School and is Associate Professor at the Instituto de Empresa.
From island-sized icebergs to close encounters with humpback whales, we share some of the myriad reasons to visit Antarctica
Antarctica was the final frontier for us. It was the only continent we hadn’t visited – our seventh – and a twice-postponed adventure that we had been planning for over two years.
Kia explains why a voyage to Antarctica finally gave her a sense of peace
I am one of six sisters, which has always earned me a certain cachet; a sort of second-hand, useless celebrity like that of air hostesses and identical twins. The last time I mentioned “all my sisters” in public, a stranger cut in to ask how many. People are often keen to know if we all get along, how often we see each other and what it was like growing up.
From eastern Greenland to northern Alaska, we explore some of the most remote places on Earth
Whether it’s astronomical distances, inhospitable climates or extreme terrains that define these remote and hostile lands, there’s one thing they all have in common: they are on my bucket list. That and the fact that people live there.
From the Throne of Zeus to the largest glacier in the Alps, we share our top Instagram shots of 2021
Unsurprisingly, travel in 2021 turned out to be more, uhm, domestic than we had planned. After the disappointments of 2020, we had high hopes for 2021. Alas, it turns out that pandemics are unpredictable. We did manage to squeeze in a couple of international trips, but they were definitely more short than long haul.
As we come to the end of another difficult year, we reflect on our highs and lows – on and off the blog
I thought that things would be different this year. We ended 2020 on a low but hopeful note and I really thought the world would be back to normal this year.
Instead, travel continues to limp on. Here in the UK, lockdown hangs like the sword of Damocles, yet again threatening our trip to Antarctica. There is a sense of time ticking by, especially for Peter who has lost two years of climbing in his prime, which has impacted his lifelong dream to climb the seven summits.
The eight-thousanders are so ferocious that only 44 people have summited them all. We explain why they bewitch climbers all across the globe
Most boys grow out of their fascination with mountains and the great outdoors. Those that do not usually end up on the side of a mountain, asking ‘what the hell am I doing here?’ But, as the saying goes, the best alpinists have the worst memories and so they venture once again into the ether.
The best countries for adventure travel have been ranked by a panel of experts. We review the results below
The Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) has named Iceland the best country for adventure travel for the third year in a row. The small Nordic island nation, famed for its geysers, volcanoes, geothermal lagoons and cinematic landscapes, remains an attractive destination for adventure seekers, particularly those concerned with sustainability.
