All things hiking Gear advice Winter

It’s that time of year again. Stress galore because you can’t think what to get for the hiker in your family. They have socks overflowing from their drawers. Their hiking clothes are overflowing. They have every hiking related gadget and bag you can think of. What next? Here are some present ideas for hikers who seem to have everything they could possibly need; after all, in theory we don’t require much to go for a walk/hike.

Stunning views to compensate for the lack of snow cover in the Cairngorms

Possible options

1. ticket to mountain film festival – the number of mountain film festivals in the UK has multiplied exponentially in recent years

• Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival – 3rd & 4th February 2018
• Banff Mountain Film Festival tours the UK, so it needn’t cost a fortune to see the various films associated with it.
• Aviemore Mountain Film Festival – 17th – 22nd April 2018
• Fort William Mountain Festival – 21st – 25th February 2018
• Kendall Mountain Festival – 15th – 18th November 2018
• Dundee Mountain Film Festival

Winter ridges of the Cairngorms

2. entry to a walking festival

There are walking festivals across the country of course. You may well be spoiled for choice. Plan the whole weekend/week as part of your surprise and don’t forget to book accommodation. If you’re not into the walking, you might want to book somewhere which has options for you too. We’ve just mentioned a few festivals, which are closer at hand for us though during our research we have noticed that cycling sportives and running events seem to have taken over from walking festivals here in the Cairngorms.

• Angus Glens Walking Festival
• Moray Walking Festival
• Blairgowrie and East Perthshire Walking Festival

3. holiday voucher

You might not want to book a trip which is longer than 3 or 4 days if the gift is to be a surprise. Popular trips (for vouchers) with Scot Mountain Holidays include the following:

• Snow Hole Expedition

how to build a snowhole in Scotland

• Big Mountain weekend

Get away from the city pressures for a breath of fresh air

• Cairngorm 4000ers

Looking out over the vast expanse of the Cairngorms National Park (Highlands of Scotland)

• More than Ben Nevis

Classic ridge walking on the ascent to Ben Nevis

4. A coffee table book or a mountaineering biography or Mountain reflections/stories

Some possibilities include:

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5. digital maps for latest destination at the top of the bucket list for a hiking adventure

Ordnance Survey, Viewranger or Anquet Maps might hit the mark.

6. magazine subscription for TGO or Trail or Country Walking or Adventure Travel

• TGO,
• Trail or Country Walking – inevitable free gift included which at the moment is one year’s free access to OSmaps and a mountain pod, so effectively more than one gift
• Adventure Travel

7. membership of Ramblers or Open Spaces Society or even RSPB

Gadgets

which might not yet have made their way into the walking kit, or could be considered replaceable.

• handwarmer gel bags

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• smartphone drybag

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• touchscreen gloves

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• Powerbank for a phone

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