The world’s top 10 rock climbing locations

Lucy Grewcock    rockclimbingholidays     climbing, climbing in New Zealand, climbing in switzerland, Climbing in the US, Climbing in Yosemite, Rock Climbing, rock climbing holidays, rockclimbing

From near-vertical granite walls and icy ascents, to contorted sandstone spires, bolted volcanic domes and hanging limestone crags, every climber will have a personal preference of what represents the world’s ‘best’ rock climbing.

Yosemite - home to 'El Cap' Image: Flickr/ jitze

Plucking out some of the best-known and most revered routes from around the globe, our ‘top ten’ embraces this diverse discipline, and gives an insight into some of the most challenging routes in the sport.

If you’re unhealthily obsessed by scaling massive chunks of rock and making your way back down again, be sure to attempt at least one of these world-class challenges at some point in your lifetime.

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Mountain bike gear: are tubeless rims the best for your ride?

Gabriel    mountainbikingholidays, Pro Tips     bike gear, Mountain bike gear, mountain biking, Mountainbike, Mountainbike holidays, MTB, MTB tyres, tubeless rims, tubular tyres

Reading around the blogosphere, I see there is a lot of research on mountain bike gear and discussions on tubeless rims and which tyres to ride when mountain biking. That’s an important question – if you are a seasoned downhiller you’ll be riding on different rubber than if you were an apprenticing single-track newbie. But before we grace the question of tyres, I believe a more important question is what do you put them on? Are tubeless rims the best for your ride?

Are you rocking tubeless rims? Image: Flickr/thazit

Tyres and tubes are made of rubber and filled with air. When you think about it, there is a lot of rubber rolling on the ground at any given moment. What if you were to remove the inner tube? Interesting, lets look at the tubeless options available.

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10 Reasons to Ski in Japan this Winter

Neil Skilton    bestskiholidays     japan, ski in Japan, ski resorts, Skiing Holidays, skiing in Japan, sking, Snowboarding, snowboarding holidays

Japan: Steeped in legend and myth, yet actually very easy to get to know. More and more people are beginning to discover this, along with the poorly kept secret that the country offers some of the best skiing holidays and snowboarding trips in the world. As if that wasn’t enough, here are ten more reasons why you should ski in Japan this winter.

'Mountains of fun' Image: © JNTO

Yuki (pronounced you-key)

Snow – or ‘Yuki’ in Japanese – is perhaps the first attraction for many powder hungry skiers and snowboarders.  With an annual snowfall that rivals world class destinations such as North America, there is plenty to play with.

Throughout the winter months storms generated over Siberia bring reliable snowfall to all the mountains in Japan.  For guaranteed, epic powder conditions no other country comes close.  For the lightest, driest powder head to Hokkaido, but be warned, up there it can get extremely cold!

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We Love Travel Luggage – but why bother with a bag at all?

Jonathan Tait    trekkingholidays     adventure holidays, Adventure Sports Equipment, Overland holidays, RTW, RTW holidays, rucksacks, travel gear, Travel luggage, trekking, walking gear

Everyone needs travel luggage, right? But it’s not the most important gear you’ll need travelling around the world. Most travellers would consider the shoe an invaluable piece of equipment. They come in many forms, they make up an important piece of everyday life; they are our protection from everything that is discarded and our transport to new experiences.

Rucksacks and hats, but do you really need both? Image: Flickr/ ToddMorris

To me, the hat and the shoe are both essentials. Both are practical, both can be easy to transport depending on type. I once travelled with a fedora, which I crushed after a day in my care, yet it still stood the test of time and provided invaluable sun protection  - and a certain element of class.

This got me thinking: could you ever do away with travel luggage ? Seriously, could you go sans bag?

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How Howard Marks trekked Pakistan and didn’t get a deal…

Mark Pawlak    trekkingholidays     Adventure Travel, Howard Marks, pakistan, Travel, trekking

There was a time when trekking holidays for Howard Marks were  more about sorting out supply lines and delivery dates than developing a deeper cultural understanding of the countries and peoples he ‘dealt’ with.

Howard Marks

Well, several years on, he travelled to Pakistan with an independent tour operator known for its pioneering adventures and got a new perspective.

If you’ve never read Mr Nice or spotted Howard on the stand-up circuit, you’ve missed out: his face and anecdotes are evidence of several lives lived! And while for many years he was on the wrong side of the tracks, he’s a captivating speaker, with a genuine love for the undiscovered.

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Best Ski Operators in the UK

Mark Pawlak    bestskiholidays     British Travel Awards, Inghams, ski, ski and winter sports, ski holidays, Skiing, Skiing Holidays, Thomson, winter sports

Now’s the time to get booking your skiing holiday, and looking at the British Travel Awards is a great way to spot the best ski tour operators in the UK.

According to the most recent research, this year more than 900,000 people will go abroad to get their skiing or winter sports fix. And more people are using operators to secure their holidays, so it’s worth keeping an eye on who’s leading the pack and taking you to the slopes.

The awards are based on more than 700,000 votes for the nominated companies, so they are a good indication of which company is providing what skiers really want.

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Travel Laptops and Data Storage: How to keep those files safe.

Mark Pawlak    ash, Travel Gear     Apple, cloud computing, data storage, iCloud, Overlanding, portable hard drive, RTW, Travel, travel laptops, travel technology, trekking, USB stick

Having a problem at home with your computer is frustrating, but having one on the road is truly troubling. Where did those files go? Which version am I looking at? And worse of all, where the hell is my backup? Having one of the best travel laptops of 2011 won’t help you, and taking a tablet on your travels is no protection against a virus.

Here’s three ways to keep your files save when travelling.

Backup on-line

iCloud, the cloud solution from Apple

Travelling with a cloud over your head need not be a bad thing… If you’ve still to get to grips with the concept of cloud computing, then here’s where the penny might drop. The cloud is online space. It’s a place where software can be hosted which ‘is in the cloud’, but more importantly it’s where your data can live. Google Docs works well, we love Dropbox (looks like any other folder on your computer) and there’s iCloud from the ever clever Apple people, to name just a few.

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