2015 bought another year of wild walks in some interesting locations. Challenge at times, friendships and kinships forged, plenty of inspiration from landscapes travelled through and some good kit used. The main event was a return to the high arctic landscape of Svalbard but 2015 saw some significant Munros bagged and a long anticipated walk in the Hardangervidda of Norway. Looking back and I'm very satisfied with the year.

Backpacking didn't kick off in 2015 until April. I'd originally planned and paid for the sleeper to Inverness in order to facilitate a late winter walk through the Monadliath and then the Cairngorms. Instead a unique project was offered to me at work and I ended up spending quite a bit of time away from the UK in two 'British Overseas Territories. March and April had me swap Highland cold for the humidity and heat of Ascension and St Helena.

Both islands have hills that tower above the endless South Atlantic. St Helena is particularly rugged and the island is framed by it's impressive mountain scape.

Backpacking kit was packed as I'd hoped to get out for at least a couple of nights. Instead our work schedule was heavy but I got some hours in the hills. The work project was compelling though and ended successfully a few weeks ago (a little on its outcome here).

Back home in April and I was soon up in the Lakes, I enjoyed the company of Heather of Pacerpoles. We had a great walk with camps in lonely Ennerdale and Langstrathdale. Once again I was impressed by how easy it is to find solitude in the Lakes.

During this trip I also met Marc of Trekkertent who delivered a new Stealth to Heather. I used too a Drift purchased from him in November 2014. With an Edge on order Marc gave me his demo Edge to play with.

I was certainly pleased with the Drift on that trip, it's a great light tent and its performance impressed me enough to use it in more demanding circumstances during 2015.

And then my favourite time of the year, May. Up into the Highlands for a ten dayer, quite the trip through Torridon, Fisherfield and Fannich. You can read more about it's hardships and rewards here.

Tough at times and with cold and wet weather. The big stuff came though and Liathach and An Teallach bagged. I was delighted as conditions were difficult in rain and snow.

The star of that trip was the Edge. This is a tough little tent that's designed for the Highlands. I felt very snug and secure in some rough weather.

Marc and I met that trip in the shadow of An Teallach and I swapped the demo for my own tent which he finished the night before. Marc kindly resupplied me with whisky and fresh reading material!

As summer rolled on earlier July had ne up in the Lakes again and I enjoyed a bimble with my daughter. Very satisfying being out with my offspring!

The relative ease of the Lakes gave way to the toil of Svalbard. After a great trip in 2014 I wanted more.

Not least I had unfinished business, the Russian township of Pyramiden is a must and I was back in the high north at the end of July.

And what a trip I had. Polar bears, soviet townscapes, ghost houses and trappers' huts (even a quick meet with a Jaako, a top man!). This trip had it all!

Ten days through Dicksonland and I fell deep in love with the place!

You can read about it my 'Ghost coast' walk (Intro/part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, and part 8).

Some kit of mention. My Exped Expedition 80L is a beast and is a good Svalbard load carrier which can take up to 30kgs (and with a rifle and fence you will near that for 10days).

I also really appreciated more quality As Tucas kit. The excellent Sestrals poncho/quilt is a great bit of gear and meant I could sleep well but have access for quick movement if a bear entered camp. I also bought a Cabietos hoody of Marco which is great. Equally a Sestrals Balaclava and of course my pants. Marco makes great kit!

I also bought an HMG tarp from Roger Brown. This arrived just in time and I really enjoyed using it. I prefer a tarp up there as you get a really good field of vision and I could react quicker (and get a shot off) to a bear. I also used the Drift on some nights and appreciated its simplicity too. Great shelters.

I was surprisingly impressed by my hire Mauser Kas 98, very little recoil for such a big calibre. Fun to shoot!

I was back in Norway, albeit the more sedate Hardangervidda, in September. A lovely walk of the Hardangervidda. Very chilled out, I recommend it! See here.

Lots of quiet camps ...

and big skies!

And some fine weather!

Sun and blue skies were swapped for snow storms and winter chill in November. Marc and I hit the Cairngorms as winter arrived. We had a great time (see here)! I tried out some tester Paramo. I was very impressed with an updated and revamped Torres jacket. Perfect in the cold and damp conditions that trip bought.

As ever more trips are in the planning stages. Im seriously thinking about Canada again, or Greenland, or Iceland! Scotland naturally and I'm edging nearer compleation.

Wherever I go and whatever I do I know how important being outdoors and backpacking is to me. I'm looking forward to a great walking 2016 and I wish you one too!

Every trip has something that distinguishes it, this turned out to be certainly one of the most remarkable. A walk that began in on a mild autumn day ended in the depths of winter. Grassy hills on Thursday gave way to fresh power snow on the Monday amidst sparkling Caledonian forest. Each night bought greater depth to the banks of snow even at low level. Movement even in the glens difficult.

I certainly had some expectation of hard weather. Originally the plan was to head to Glen Affric and concentrate on mopping up a number of Munros which are still outstanding there . Marc of Trekkertent would meet me off the sleeper at Dalwhinnie and we would head west, walking in from Shiel Bridge and taking our pick. But, perhaps not unexpectedly for late November, the west was forecasted for a total battering and I opted at the last minute for a change to the east.

Off the sleeper at Dalwhinnie consequently. A clear dawn as I did my final preparations on the dark station platform. A chance at last to bag my two remaining Munros around Drumocheter, up Ben Alder Road I start and guided by Christmas lights as I head toward the roar of the A9.

The Munros came easy enough that day. Even in the glare of An Teallach and Liathach bagged in June, Carn na Chaim and Am Bhuidenach Bheag were always going to be somewhat anti-climatic. In fact the greatest interest of the day lay in their eastern flanks. Heading toward Loch Gaig I found some drama in deep clefts and gorges.

Camp was a delight. By an old shieling a flat pitch. At this time of year darkness at four and I'm in the tent brewing up slightly after. A snooze for an hour or so and then supper at 7 before whisky. I'm very content on a surprisingly mild night.

An easy cross country Grampian walk next day past Loch Gaich and then east towards the Feshie. Moving east the landscape takes on a more wintery hue. Browns give way to whites. Autumn to winter.

Light snow and a sense that the mild air has passed through and something colder is on the way.

By the time I drop down to Feshie though the glen is more autumnal, I find a favoured pitch on the west bank and ready myself for bed again. Its always good to be here, Feshie is magical.

Stars bright as darkness falls and a rising moon. I sit out and drink whisky until the increasing cold forces me into the warmth of my bag.

I've opted for the luxury of my Helsport this trip. Plenty of living room it's perfect for winter. A roomy porch gives plenty of living space.

I'm surprised somewhat when I awake next day. A total change, the calm gone and drifting wet snow. The landscapes transformed and as I pack up the tent a little after 9 even Feshie feels a little bleak. Wind and snow bite my exposed fingers and face.

To the bothy though, I'm to meet Marc a little after 11. I'm surprised by what I find when I step inside. A door locked on my last visit here now opens into a room with a well stocked fireplace. Wood, matches, coal, firelighters and newspaper. I get the fire going and sit and enjoy the newsletters of the 'Scottish Wild Land Group'.

Marc appears a little before one, its been a difficult drive from Perth. We sit by the fire before the bothy crowds out with a group of mountain bikers. We leave them to the warmth of the stove and talk of biking up the plateau. Our destination is more modest, another favoured pitch at the far east of the glen.

Here camp's made. We brew up and cook food as evening falls. Brandy is taken in the lee of a tree but at 7 we both tire of the worsening weather and head for bed. 'We'll try and head for the munro tomorrow' we promise before its bed.

Morning reveals a deeper winter coat. Wet snow piles the door way as I dig my way out. Fortified by tea and coffee we head across the winter before trying the southern flanks of Mullach Clach a Blair. The Feshie is forded twice, twice I'm pained by the deep cold of the water.

Even the altitude of a few hundred metres brings challenge. The snow is fresh and powdery. We fight hard for 700 metres of elevation. Up above we tumble into drifts, its exhausting.

Conscious of the ebbing day we give up a few miles short of the summit and descend. A sensible choice, it would be easy to be benighted in this extreme landscape.

Descent and talk of a roaring fire in the bothy, we tumble down into the glen.

Down below the weather moves through fast. Patches of bright sky come and go and we marvel at the scene before us.

But even the fleeting beauty of the landscape cant compete with the warmth of the fire. The bikers have left more wood and we take our opportunity to dry off.

Heat, light and the cheer of the fire in the heart of the Highlands.

A little before dusk we head back. Even in Feshie's woodlands the snow is deep. The bright weather is gone and the wind and snow pick up as dark falls.

Both of us quickly head to our respective tents. The snow is wet and moisture is abundant. This is a dangerous sort of winter weather.  Effectively, bed time falls at dusk. in the warmth of a down bag I eat, read and then sleep. The only disturbance that night is the force of the wind outside and a crash as a nearby tree falls hard to the ground.

But we survive the night. Again another morning and more snow. But the landscape is calmer as I rise.

And as we pack up the sun begins to shine bright, the landscape is transformed,

The sun blazes on the fresh snow and we both feel very lucky to be here.

What a day, we climb high again on the plateau and  are rewarded with mile after mile of a perfect Scottish winters day.

Up onto the plateau before we call time and back we head to Marc's car.

An astonishing trip we reflect in the warmth of the Cairngorm Hotel several hours later. Walking difficult but the transformation, so totally, of a landscape wholly remarkable.