The recent blast of wintery weather has people looking for ski holidays in Scotland. If this winter is anything like last winter, staying at home for your ski holiday could be the preferable option. Cairngorm had people out skiing even on midsummer’s day this year.

Places to ski in Scotland:
Cairngorm
Glenshee
Lecht
Aonach Mor
Glencoe
Huntly Nordic Ski Centre

Find out ski conditions at:
Visit Scotland

HandI Adventures – Hans Rey, Steve Peat, Danny MacAskill from ResetFilms.co.uk on Vimeo.

Have a look at this video of 3 legends of biking out on trails around the Highlands of Scotland and Skye. Stunning biking scenery and a really amazing video. Found via @handiadventures on twitter.

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland is sporting a new-look website to help it appeal to a wider audience including skiers and kids groups. According to Grough, the new site has been designed with input from high profile climbers such as Dave Macleod. The site has always been a good resource for any interested in Scotland’s mountains, but the new fresh look and much easier navigation should make it better for most visitors. We’d like to see it get more interactive with comments and forums but at least they’ve got an RSS feed and outdoors people can stick that on their Google homepage or news reader to keep up to date with MCofS news.

Read the full article on Grough

It may turn out that by the end of this summer with hindsight we will all laugh at this article but the BBC took it seriously enough to put it on their evening news. Apparently the cold winter we’ve had will have killed off midges in their billions in Scotland. Why? The long periods of cold have frozen the ground in midge infested areas deeper than usual and for longer than usual so the eggs may be killed off. There are probably still trillions of them that will live on but it’s a nice thought, isn’t it?

Read the full article on TGO

Trail magazine have reviewed the Leki Corklite walking poles and given them a 5 star rating. I understand the benefits of a warm cork handle material and the fact that they are made by the leading walking pole manufacturer so quality should be good.

Price-wise, at £74.50 for a pair of poles without even having anti-shock, this is pretty steep for what is just a walking accessory. I guess it depends on how you are using walking poles but I use them rarely and I would probably mark them down a point based on that price.

Read the full review

Cocona fabrics have launched what they claim is the most breathable 100% waterproof fabric yet. Better than that they’re looking for 1000 active outdoors types to test them out a jacket for them, free.

Read the full article here

Outdoors Magic has a good article full of tips on how to maximise the performance of your sleeping bag and keep warm inside it on cold winter nights. One tip I would add is that many sleeping mats are too short for me so I put my rucksack under my feet at the end of the mat to keep my feet off the cold ground.

Read the full article here

Like the idea of rock climbing but would like a more gentle introduction? Via Ferrata could be for you. This article on Live For The Outdoors documents a first time trip to the Dolomites to try out the famous iron way.

Read the full article

Outdoors Magic has put together a collection of mountain flypast videos from youtube and other sites. Some great footage of Glencoe in there.

Click here to view videos

Don’t risk your life by trusting walking poles to keep you safe in the winter hills. This article discusses how walking poles are pointless compared to crampons in winter conditions in the hills.

Read the full article here