Big, beautiful winter arrivals 🦢
Whooper swans arrive in large numbers in the UK in autumn and early winter. Many of ours arrive from Iceland - 'only' about 700-odd miles. But that's all flying over sea, exposed to storms and with no drinking water or feeding until they arrive in Scotland.
I filmed these birds last year and they are a regular sight at this time of year in northeast Scotland.
You'll notice the slightly darker ones in the flock. These are the youngsters from that year, migrating for the first time with the adults.
Learn about the wonderful birds we can find in the Scottish Highlands - see https://arcguiding.com/blog/nature/scottish-birds/ or click link in bio.
To see my guided wildife trips, tap the link in the vid.
#wildlife #birdwatching #birding #cairngormsnationalpark #scotland #scottishbirding
@kowasportingoptics
@vikingoptical
This is potentially a good time of year to look for eagles 👀 Adults are looking to build up their reserves for the winter and the fledgelings are learning to fly and hunt.
Still, it can be tricky to correctly ID eagles - especially at long range. So here's some tips! Also, check out my blog post at https://arcguiding.com/blog/nature/scotland-golden-eagles/ for more on these awesome birds 🦅
Book private guided wildlife days in the Scottish Highlands at arcguiding.com.
#cairngormsnationalpark #goldeneagle #birdinguk #birdwatching Viking Optical Kowa Sporting Optics
Vertical body movement is essential in bermed corners ↕️
That's because bermed corners tend to generate more power.
The berm provides lots of support, allowing you to go faster (assuming your line and angle are good). But with that, comes more centrifugal force.
All that force has to go somewhere. If we don't deal with it, we get spat out, lose front wheel grip, get over-compressed, or have to resort to heavy braking.
But if we sink down (compress) in the first half of the turn, we absorb that force and help the tyres find grip. That allows us to press downwards (extend) in the second half of the turn and accelerate out.
But stand tall on approach to set yourself up! If you come in hot and too low you'll not be able to sink down low enough to absorb the energy generated in the turn. THEN you'll be able to stand TALL again to generate speed out of the turn.
#mtblife #mountainbiking #mtb #enduromtb #mtbscotland #mtbdownhill #mtbuk #coaching #sportscoach
British Cycling
Canyon
Endura
Bell Bike Helmets
28 students from the University of Georgia, here to learn about life in the CNPA 🧐
We enjoyed a great couple of days hiking to beautiful places, discussing tricky topics and meeting wonderful people. Thanks to the team for turning up with truckloads of enthusiasm, kindness and great questions.
Also shoutout to @glenmorelodge for being a great base, @dellofabernethy for a welcome diversion at the end of our Ryvoan walk and @cairngormsnationalpark for supplying some handy resources.
And of course to @universityofga for inviting me to deliver as part of your Discover Abroad programme.
Best wishes to the students for the remainder of the trip and your degree course.
#cairngormsnationalpark #cairngorms #birdinguk #mtb #mountainbiking #skitouring ##munrobagging #roamresponsibly #rewilding
@cairngormsconnect
@cairngorms_capercaillie
@rspb
@rothiemurchus
Awesome day recently guiding Emily out on the plateau 😎
Started a bit dreich, but turned into a way more sunny day than either of us dared to hope for. Wildflowers, temperature inversion, great scenery, rare snow buntings at our feet and two of Britain's highest summits 🏔️🏔️
#cairngormsnationalpark #cairngorms #birdinguk #hikinguk #birdwatching #munrobagging #mountaineering #hikingadventures #botany #scotlandexplore
Explore some of Scotland's last remaining ancient pine forest 🌲
Martin, Patrick and Barbara joined me in Abernethy forest a while back, to learn about the conservation of the wonderful species there. This was a return visit for Patrick, who has undertaken some pretty full-on journeys of his own.
Great to spend time with people who appreciate wild places 😊
#cairngormsnationalpark #pineforest #cairngorms #birding #birdinguk #birdwatching #hikinguk #boatofgarten
@visitcairngorms @visitaviemore @visitscotland
@kowasportingoptics
@vikingoptical
@cairngormsconnect
Enduro, downhill and e MTBs have big, powerful 4-pot hydraulic brakes 💪
To keep them working smoothly, the 4 pistons inside need cleaning from time.
Problem is, they rarely extend symetrically, which makes cleaning them harder.
So I've packed out 3 of the 4 pistons here with sections of old plastic membership cards.
This means you can isolate one piston at a time for cleaning!
Job done ✅
Does it look sexy and slick? Nope, but it is cheap, effective and recycles stuff ♻️
#mtblife #mtbenduro #mtbscotland #mtbdownhill #mtbuk #mtb #mtbrider #mtbdownhill #recycle #sustainability #mountainbiking #mechanicproblems
For safe, efficient backcountry skiing, you need reliable, well-attached climbing skins 🧐
Some of the best climbing skins (@contour_skins) use a mid-tacky glue. This is awesome, but needs care in damp conditions. You can use a hat, glove or small pack towel to dry the ski bases before attaching skins. Or you could try a mini squeegee instead (sometimes sold for grouting or clearing windows). This is small, cheap and could also work for de-icing frozen skins. Plus, it doesn't leave you with wet kit!
#backcountryskiing
#skitouring #skimountaineering #thinkwinter #polartravel
Nice lines in the Aonach Bowl today ⛷️
OK, it's not blue skies and miles of powder, but it is Scottish spring skiing! That means wild hills and mountains, challenging weather and get-it-while-you-can ski touring! We finished off this day with a session on ski ropework and snow anchors ⚓
#skitouring #skimountaineering #cairngormsnationalpark #thinkwinter #springskiing #backcountryskiing
What's a steaming tree got to do with avalanches? 💧❄️
Great illustration of water vapour movement under a steep temperature gradient, that's what 🤓
I recorded this a few weeks ago, on a cold, sunny afternoon. There had been a heavy frost the night before, followed by bright sun during the day. I THINK what's happening is the frost on the tree is melting and evaporating quickly in the strong sunshine. But it is almost immediately condensing again into water vapour (which is why we can see it).
The early season snowpack can become very unstable because a similar mechanism is happening within the snow. Cold night + sunny day = steep temperature gradient through the snow. Also, the ground may be humid/unfrozen and the air dry, meaning a strong humidity gradient. These are perfect conditions for water vapour/gas to travel strongly up through the snowpack. BUT it cools quickly and recrystallizes (desublimates?), forming weak 'goblet' or 'facet' crystals BELOW the snow surface. Hence, a 'persistant weak layer' (PWL).
In the same week I recorded this, 2 big avalanches were triggered in the northern Cairngorms (no casualties, thankfully).
#winter #winterskills #snow #avalanche #mountains #mountaineering #skitouring #skimountaineering #scotland #cairngormsnationalpark
Paddling was never just a summer-only thing ❄️
Although it may be harder to get out, there's less time on the water and it's cold, it's still a wonderful way to travel. And with a very ancient history, too.
I'll be adding guided canoe and kayak days to the website over the next few weeks. See the link in bio to find out more.
#paddlesports #canoeing #seakayaking #seakayakinguk #seakayak #ocean #lakes #cairngormsnationalpark #scotlandexplore #adventure #healthyliving
@peakpaddlesports
@phseakayaks
