Tag Archives: snow

Spring in Wales and Greece

Posted on March 26, 2014 by BarryH

Sunday afternoon, 23 March and the sun was shining.  The sun has only put in the occasional appearance recently.  Heavy showers in the morning had cleared and blue sky beckoned.  One of the great benefits of living at the edge … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Hiking, Landscape, Monmouthshire, Mountains, Nature, Pontypool, Spring, Wales, Winter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Canadian Rockies: to the top of Sulphur Mountain

Posted on February 18, 2014 by BarryH

During the last 10 days or so of my stay in the Canadian Rockies I decided to concentrate my efforts on trying to improve my skiing.  With fresh falls of snow the conditions changed from the ‘hard-pack’ with which I … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Winter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Canadian Rockies: the icy expanse of Vermilion Lakes

Posted on February 4, 2014 by BarryH

Come Saturday and after 5 days of skiing, thigh muscles starting to rebel,  I was ready for a break.  So after an annual ritual of a large celebratory Melissa’s Breakfast with my daughter and her husband and waving them goodbye … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Hiking, Landscape, Wildlife, Winter | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Canadian Rockies: warm weather and reflections

Posted on January 30, 2014 by BarryH

The weather has been warmer than usual with day after day of blue skies and sunshine.  Rather than taking photos I’ve been concentrating on trying to improve my incompetent skiing, smooth wide turns on mild slopes but still aggressively sharp … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Landscape, Reflections, Winter | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Canadian Rockies: to the top of Tunnel Mountain

Posted on January 20, 2014 by BarryH

Tunnel Mountain used to be called ‘Sleeping Buffalo’ by the indigenous Nakoda people because from certain directions it looks like ………. a sleeping buffalo.  Knew a thing or two about naming places did the original inhabitants of North America.  Now … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Landscape, Mountains, Winter | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Time plays with the mind: the Canadian Rockies

Posted on January 16, 2014 by BarryH

It’s 23.30 Rocky Mountain Time, 06.30 GMT and 08.30 in Greece.  After 30 hours without sleep I’m now in Banff and ready to go to bed, the first time before midnight for years.  But then it’s another midnight not the … Continue reading →

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A grey start to the year

Posted on January 6, 2014 by BarryH

I don’t believe in omens.  The fact that the new year continues grey, wet and windy may be a sign, but if it is, it’s a sign of global climate change and of shifting ocean currents and the jet stream … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Grey Britain, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Pontypool, Wales, Winter | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

An alternative Boxing Day

Posted on December 28, 2013 by BarryH

From the top of Garn Wen on Christmas Day I could see not only a cap of snow on the top of the Sugar Loaf Mountain near Abergavenny but also to the north west a snow covered ridge in the … Continue reading →

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Independence, risk and narrow escapes.

Posted on November 7, 2013 by BarryH

I was brought up in an area of Salford near Manchester described in a book by Robert Roberts called ‘The Classic Slum’, an appellation coined for it in the mid 19th Century by Friedrich Engels who had interests in cotton … Continue reading →

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Welsh Winter Walking: reflections on pioneering

Posted on April 5, 2013 by BarryH

Some years ago I was making tired but still rapid progress between High Spy and Catbells, the final leg of a non-stop 7-hour walk in the Lake District from Langdale to Keswick on the side of Derwent Water (for aficionados, … Continue reading →

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