
So – what exactly is a skin, anyway?
Skins are more than a strip of carpet with glue on the back. They’re tools designed to help us in pursuit of pristine snow, perfect lines, and/or solitude. Something this magical demands a proper description of how it’s made.

Handling hypothermia
Do you know what to do when you’re faced with someone dangerously cold? Command of the basic facts can be lifesaving – and this is just as relevant for us those of us who hit the mountains for the joy of it as it is for guide and members of the rescue services.

Avalanche skills: how to quickpit
You’re ascending a mountain. You need to assess the stability of the snow. While being safe requires gathering information every step of the way, it’s also true that no one wants to spend an hour in a snowpit, especially in bad weather. So let’s talk about “quickpits” – an efficient snow-profiling method that serves as a very good middle ground for gathering information about snow cover. The technique’s used frequently by experienced guides to gather useful – if incomplete! – intelligence while keeping toes and fingers warm. Here’s how it’s done.

The Mountain Code
Being mountain-wise isn’t a question of knowing what you should and shouldn’t do. It’s about having a conscious relationship with nature; the choices you make; the actions you take. The Mountain Code guides everything from planning you trip to adapting your plans according to what greets you out in the wilds. Here’s a look at the rules, with material largely taken from the creators of the new Mountain Code (2016), the Red Cross and DNT.

Learn to use a map and compass
If you need a little refresher in the use of a map and compass (or if you’ve never learned!) step this way. You’ll have it down in no time.

13 tips for better orienteering.
Few of us set out into the winter mountains when the weather’s bad and visibility’s poor. And we’re careful for good reason. It’s risky. When nature shows its muscles, it forces us to reflect. Even so, Norway’s a country with plenty of mountains and even more weather. If we only headed out when the sun was shining, the season would be very short. We head out when the weather’s less than perfect – which means we need to be able to find our way with a map and compass. Here are 13 tips for using a map and compass, then, for those of us hitting the mountains in winter.