Inside Out

• Have you ever been lost? Share your stories http://bit.ly/HWBCK #
• True Challenge: Unicycling up to 70 miles a day on the Continental Divide Trail http://bit.ly/ftsYH #
• Training providers/buyers/participants, Nicki from Saltbox is doing some research and would appreciate your input http://bit.ly/14AITA #
• Going to be offline for a few days, off to get married. #

Howies Brainfood

Howies not only make really good quality clothing but their blog “Brainfood” is filled with little snippets of information that are both interesting and informative. No long essays, just a drip drip drip of environmentalism, outdoor life, sports and clothing.

The Cleanest Line

Written by the employees, friends and customers of the outdoor clothing company Patagonia. Since it’s employees include Lynn Hill and Yvon Chourinard as well as some leading environmentalists and outdoor writers it is nearly always a great read.

Paul Deegan

Paul Deegan is a mountaineer, presenter and journalist who posts thoughtful views on living and working in the outdoors. He’s also a dreadful skier.

Life in the Vertical

Mark Reeves is a climbing instructor and coach based in North Wales. His blog is frequently badly spelled and some might find his choice of language offensive but it does provide a good insight into making a living in the outdoors.

Kit Up

Inspiration and information can come from the most unlikely source. This blog, subtitled “Warfighters, show us your gear” contains posts about equipment useful to soldiers. Frequently though, soldiers want the same as outdoor people, tough, light, effective gear that does the job. It’s worth keeping an eye on simply to see what our camouflaged brethren are using to do similar things.

Two videos for the alpine climbers, or anyone who spends a significant amount of time in the outdoors.

Steve House goes through the gear he and partner Vince Anderson used on their alpine-style first ascent of the Rupal Face of Nanga Parbat in September, 2005.

Steve House: Clothing System for Nanga Parbat

Steve House: Gear Used on Nanga Parbat

“You can’t get to wonderful without passing through alright”

Bill Withers

Have you ever been lost? In the hills? In the city? Underwater? In your own mind?

Jamie Neal has. Christopher Columbus has. Macaulay Culkin has.

We’d love to hear your story, comment below or mail me.

• Returned to the office after 1200miles on the road and ascent of 2 of the Three Peaks #
• "There is no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes" Which is why I seem to be wearing shorts and flip-flops in the rain today. #
• Telegraph critic not impressed by the Snowdon Summit cafe. http://bit.ly/ExeO9 I have agree, nice building, shame about the contents #
• How do we make decisions? Spectacular footage and interesting discussion from @pauldeegan http://bit.ly/EjmFm #
• Turned away from a campsite because although they take caravans and 4x4s they don't take 'vans'. #

We have a pretty strong set of core values here at Totem, centered around how we feel a company should be run and how we should treat our clients and staff. The paraphrased version is “Do unto others what you would have others do unto you”.

The longer version is now on our Core Values page if you are interested.

On the Three Peaks event I ran for Evolution Services this weekend I spent some time talking to one of the participants about the feeling of achievement that comes from climbing a mountain. This feeling is very satisfying, often represents real learning and, importantly from a trainers point of view, impossible to fake.

There is no way in the world that moving some barrels and planks around on a patch of grass to cross a ‘river’ marked out with ropes can ever compare to building a pontoon to cross a real river. Read More »

From the formation of the British East India Company in 1600 until 1947, the British were control of the Indian subcontinent. They achieved this fueled by and in search of one beverage, tea. Over four hundred million people lubricated the hard work of powering an empire with an infusion of Camellia sinensis.

Tea still plays an enormous part in everyday British life, and nowhere more so than at work. Nowadays, other beverages are catching up fast. Coffee is the frequently offered alternative but the range of hot drinks available stretches from the sublime to the ridiculous. It doesn’t matter what you, the boss, or that odd lady who does the payroll drinks, as long as you drink something.

Leaving aside the health benefits of drinking tea (green, herbal, camomile or otherwise), or even of just drinking fluids, a cup of tea is an important psychological tool. Read More »

“”It is too constricting to say that you must always think outside the box; whether you are thinking inside or outside the box, you are still letting the box dictate your thoughts, are you not? What you are not acknowledging is the honest fact that ‘the box’ itself is figmentary, illusory. And as long as one continues to act in reaction to this perceived set of dictates, one cannot be truly original in thought.”

Erica Amelia Smith,
An Address as to the Nature of the “Proper” Uses of Technology