Travel up through Scotland, past Edinburgh and Glasgow (well past)  wave Dundee and Aberdeen goodbye and keep going north and then a bit westish.

All the way up until you reach the banks of Upper Loch Torridon where your hard work will be rewarded with the sight of a beautifully positioned, award winning highland retreat – The Torridon Hotel

While the hotel is of note as one of the top 10 hotels in Scotland, what drew our attention was the selection of guided outdoor activities on offer, everything from sea and river kayaking to navigation courses and overnight expeditions staying in remote bothies.

Intrepid, dedicated and most importantly highly qualified instructors, Chris and Richard will have you paddling the lochs and rapids or rambling the bethistled highlands in bravehearted spirit in no time. And word on the street is that they will not only lead you on some excellent adventures but are also charming company on the way… so good times all round.

Put your name down for a Highland fling this year to get in touch with your sense of adventure, and get a bit muddy. Up-coming trips you can book include:

Introduction to Sea Kayaking - July 17th – 18th

A weekend bothy expedition - October 29th – 31st

(take a look at this clip to be inspired….if only for the soundtrack)

A three and a half day highland hike up Sulivan –  October 14th – 17th

A great excuse to book in for a couple of R & R days at the hotel to enjoy the food and Torridon hospitality and round off your trip to Northest of North.

Check out Ooh.com to ask questions about the trips and for more information

Growing up in a small rural town, Tim, for lack of an alternative, spent most of his childhood in woods passionately reading and learning about the way that the Native Americans lived.  “I don’t think I heard the term bushcraft until I was in my early teens, although that’s what we had been doing.”

Having moved back to university for a masters degree in education with the intent of moving back to teaching, Tim finished his degree with the intention of running courses on bushcraft and offering guided trips figuring he’d get his teaching job the following year.  It’s now been ten years of bushcraft and guiding.

Tim’s passion for passing on his experience is clear – “I like teaching.  Not so much the lecturing or talking about it, but rather watching people learn.  Watching someone’s skill and confidence grow is an amazing thing to witness.  At its best, teaching should be invisible; a person who learns from a mediocre instructor will realize how talented their instructor is. The person who learns from an excellent teacher will realize how talented they are.”

Whilst there can be no doubt that Smith is a survival and bushcraft expert, he displays perhaps a surprising ambivalence about big-time adventure.  “Vilhjalmur Steffanson said that “Adventure is a sign of incompetence”.  Adventure implies you weren’t prepared.  If you’ve spent a lot of nights in improvised shelters in bitter cold weather, what would be a perilous situation to someone inexperienced becomes just another night in a shelter in front of a fire.  I’ve been on extended remote trips, I’ve been cold, I’ve been wet, I’ve been hungry, but I wouldn’t label any of these perilous.”

“A skill we’re lacking in the modern world is the ability to distinguish between a want and a need.  Learning the basics of survival teaches you what your needs are.”

Whilst quite obviously the outdoor type, Tim is under no illusions as to the importance the internet holds for Jack Mountain.  “It allows people all around the world to stay current on what we’re up to by letting us be a publishing house, film making studio and more.  It allows us to communicate ideas instantly – something that wasn’t possible in the days of print brochures and magazine ads.”

Find out more about Tim and Jack Mountain at www.jackmtn.com or contact him here.

We asked Art for his TOP SURVIVAL TIPS, and this is what he said:
 
1. Mother Nature is in supreme control.

2. NEVER roll up in a frozen moose hide for warmth.  It will freeze solid; and there will be no way to get out.  It will be your tomb. 

3. The only constant is change; i.e. always adapt with circumstances and conditions, which are never the same.
 
4. Always keep the glass half full; i.e. always look on the positive side of any situation, no matter how dire.
 
5. Advice from an Eskimo elder many years ago – in bear country – “keep your rifle with you all the time”.  Over the years I’ve had several bears charge me; and the elders advice was very true, and has saved my life.

6. The predictable thing about bears is their unpredictability.  There are “nice bears” and “bad bears” – just like people; and one must always be ready for the bad bears.  If a person is suddenly attacked – with no chance to defend himself by shooting the bear or using pepper spray – one must, as best as is possible, roll up in a ball and protect the abdomen and neck area.  A grizzly grabbed a friend of mine by the head, and shook him around; but he survived.  Of course his facial bones were crushed – and he had some dramatic scars – but he’s back to normal, only wearing a beard now to cover the scars.

7. Hypothermia is indeed the “silent killer”.  Always have spare dry clothes and/or a place or method to dry off and warm up.

8. Birch bark is the ultimate fire starter – even in the rain.
 
9. Make every survival situation into a “camping trip” – realizing a bit of discomfort at the moment, but also realizing that with the positive attitude things will get better and that survival is then imminent.
 
10. When you’re chilled – e.g. tingly toes and fingers – don’t wait to warm them.  Do so immediately.  Waiting too long puts you over the edge; and there’s no going back.
 
11. Don’t go anywhere in winter without snowshoes, axe, knife, and matches.
 
12. Moose nose, grizzly bear foot, and boiled porcupine are quite tasty delicacies; and a human being can be quite happy eating nearly anything when truly hungry.
  
13. In a survival situation, depend on no one but yourself.  Do not depend on rescue; because conditions, such as bad weather, may not allow it.

14. Drink lots – especially warm decaffeinated drinks; and do not become dehydrated.
 
15. In a survival situation, let your imagination soar – “imagine what you can’t imagine” – i.e. there may be tools right in front of you, or ways to make them, that you otherwise would not have noticed.  “Necessity is the Mother of invention”.

 
16. Plan ahead.  Always be thinking of what you WOULD DO, IF YOU HAD TO.
 
17. Panic kills. 
 
So now we know.

For more on survival courses with Art Mortvedt, or to stay at the lodge he runs with his wife Damaris, visit www.alaskawilderness.net.

Rumour has it that grizzly bears are frightened of Art Mortvedt. But if there’s the odd one that isn’t, Art will have it covered. A survival expert and trainer based in Alaska, Art has worked as a National Park Ranger and while teaching Eskimo students in the village of Shungnak, north of the Arctic Circle, he learned subsistence, survival and dog mushing techniques from local native elders.

With six expeditions to the central Arctic Ocean – based out of northern Greenland – a solo Cessna flight through the Canadian High Arctic, expeditions to Spitzbergen and Siberia, and more than twenty expeditions to Antarctica, Art now consults on a variety of polar logistical issues. He is an Alaska Registered Guide and a highly experienced bush pilot – and after landing a single engine Cessna 185 at the South Pole, is now planning a solo Cessna flight to the North Pole.

Art lives at 67N155W, in the western Brooks Range, with his wife Damaris, and owns the Peace of Selby Wilderness Lodge – a name that perfectly reflects the ethos of the place and leaves guests pledging to return time and time again.

Access to Selby Wilderness Lodge in the Alaskan Bush is by float-plane only, which naturally Art flies. Guests can spend a couple of weeks at the lodge, flying to fishing spots, learning bush skills, camping, building river floats, fishing, snow-shoeing, ice fishing, hunting, tracking the caribou migration, learning about subsistence living….or just enjoying the peace. Art and his wife Damaris will tailor-make your stay according to your needs.

Art’s survival skills really caught our imagination at Ooh and so I caught up with him during preparations for that North Pole solo flight in his Cessna 185. My interview with Art will follow shortly on the blog, and I’ll share Art’s advice on what do with a grizzly bear foot, and what NOT to do with a moose hide…..More soon. 

In the meantime, visit www.alaskawilderness.net to find out more about one of the most peaceful places on earth.

Tristan has led expeditions in five continents, climbed mountains in Europe, Africa and Asia, sailed small boats across oceans and piloted small aircraft to Africa and the Arctic. He has recently been awarded the Royal Institute of Navigation’s Certificate of Achievement by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh for becoming the first European and only living person to have both flown solo and sailed singlehanded across the Atlantic. And when, briefly, he puts his passport down, he’s also non-executive Vice Chairman of Trailfinders.

What really interests us is that Tristan is the only person in the world working full time in natural navigation. He has set up The Natural Navigator School and runs courses all over the world.

Tristan explains, ‘Natural navigation is about finding your way without using map, compass, gps or any other navigational tool at all. It’s not just about getting from A to B, it also makes you feel better connected to the world. It can be very powerful on an emotional as well as physical and practical level.’

Tristan runs one day, classroom-based courses and then likes to follow these with outdoor courses. ‘Even at the end of a one-day course people will be able to orientate themselves at a basic level on land, sea or in the air, both by day and by night,’ he says.

So apart from stars, wind and sun, how else can we navigate our way around? ‘All the senses are incredibly important. For example, smell – so the smell of the sea from land, or land from sea. I remember coming in to the Caribbean after a month at sea and it smelt to me like cut grass mixed with a teaspoon of honey and one ground clove! We can also use sight, sound and taste. With taste, you can, for example, taste the difference between estuary and river by the salt levels in the water. With sound, two sides of a path will often sound different as you walk over them. This is due to moisture levels in the earth and the wetter side will usually be on the southern side.’

We’re fully on board for getting back to basics and having a go at one of these courses. And there’s one thing you can be sure of, you’ll never feel lost again.