10 Tips for Lockdown
1. CONNECT WITH NATURE
If you can’t get your daily dose of outdoor time, try and notice the little things. Look outside your window. Listen for the sound of birds or get up early to watch the sunrise. Grab some pencils and paper and draw what you can see from your house. Write about how you are feeling. Having a moment of quiet time or even practising mindfulness can be important and is good for your sense of well-being.
2. BUILD A BUCKET LIST
Every good trip starts with a plan. Now is the perfect time to play with the OS Maps, get the guidebooks out and make a list of all your dream routes. The mountains will always be there.
3. THE MAR-AT-HOME
While your mountain goals might be on hold for now, why not take on the ‘virtual stair-climb’ challenge, ticking off the height of the British mountains in your own home – Scafell Pike (412 flights), Snowdon (475) and the Ben (587)*. If you’re lucky enough to have a garden you could take part in the MAR-AT-HOME, an epic route which spans the length of your front lawn, all the way from the garden shed to the rockery. Check out the latest blog by Hannah Parry for more details.
* based on average staircase ascent of 15 steps.
4. LISTEN TO ADVENTURE PODCASTS
Some suggestions to start with:
Terra Incognita
Countryside
The Cycling Podcast
The Curious Climber Podcast
Tough Girl Podcast
5. TAKE CARE OF YOUR KIT
Yup, you heard me. Take care of your kit. Wash and reproof your coat. Re-order the rack. Oil your bike. Learn how to change a tyre. Get distracted by the sales on Rock & Run. Realise that you’ve made a mess. Apologise to significant other.
6. HOST AN ADVENTURE FILM NIGHT
Get you and your household psyched for post-isolation adventures with a ‘trip’ to the movies. BANFF Mountain Film Festival has made collections of their films available for free, online or you could rent some new releases like the much anticipated Pretty Strong or Sarah Outen’s Home. Go all out: make some tickets and check them in at the door (to your sofa) or create a programme for a screening of your favourite YouTube adventures.
The Women's Alpine Adventure Club is putting on a series of online Alpine Stories each Thursday from 7pm, starting this week the 30th. They’ve got a fantastic line up of female Alpinists sharing tales with q+a's afterwards. Their first speaker is the super strong Italian Guide Silvia Loreggian (first female ascent of the Fish Route on Marmolada) talking about Patagonia Climbs.
For more information on where to watch and how, click the link below:
https://facebook.com/events/s/waac-alpine-stories-with-silvi/236899300847276/?ti=icl
7. SOME EXPERIMENTAL COOKING
You may not be able to find your favourite ingredients in the supermarket, but why not have a flip through your cook books? Pick out some recipes you usually avoid, get some inspiration to spice up your go-tos or just drool over the pages with a boil-in-a-bag. If you want something sweet but don’t have any flour to bake that banana bread everyone seems to be making, pick up some popcorn kernels for some low-effort deliciousness.
8. CAMP OUT INSIDE
It’s all the range to camp out in your garden right now, but for those of us who don’t have one or don’t have all the kit, why not camp in the living room? Lay out your sleeping bag, surround yourself with houseplants and put on the sound of some chirping crickets to complete the immersion.
9. TAKE IT EASY
Maybe you’ve spent the whole day watching TV. Maybe you’re fed up of seeing everyone on Instagram filling their lives with so-called ‘wholesome content’. Sometimes it’s hard to be productive and that’s okay. If you haven’t learnt a language, filled a sketchbook with pictures of birds, developed a 6-pack or written a whole book by the time Friday comes along, don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s okay to take things a little slower.
10. CHECK IN WITH OTHERS
This is a tough time for everyone. Check in with your belay buddies, adventure companions or your walking pals. Maybe you could buy a gift card from an independent outdoor shop to keep them ticking over. Send messages of support to your friends or smile at the people you see on your daily exercise. We've got this!