Peaking things up! How people are taking hillwalking to brand new heights

When the country shut down in 2020 due to the coronavirus, many were at a loss as to how to pass the time.

With the vast majority of fitness facilities closed, exploring the outdoors and tackling hillsides became a haven for many, becoming one with nature while also maintaining a level of fitness.

For Ali Farhan, it has become a passion and a way of life. 

The now 28-year-old only first began hillwalking during the pandemic, progressing his skills into scrambling and digital filmmaking from the edge of the cliffs he climbs. With plans to see the world and take his craft further afield, Farhan is still enjoying taking his own fitness to new levels on these shores.

‘In terms of my sport, whenever I’m out walking, I’ll wear my 20kg vest, even around the house. It’s just like wearing a backpack,’ says Farhan. ‘I started off with a 10kg one and adding weights to it but this is feeling light so I’m waiting for the 30kg one. Wearing the vests gives the extra challenge.

‘It’s physically exerting, it’s beautiful being out in nature, it’s something which anyone can do. There’s no correct pace, you can just do it all in your own time.

‘The community is also amazing, all the amazing people I’ve met just exploring out and about. You just meet people out on the trails and most of the time it’s just a “hello” but at others you get a connection, with similar interests and then you starting hanging out together. You know it’s a good friendship when you meet up in the middle of nowhere in Scotland at 4am and then go walking for 10 hours. Those kinds of friendships are special.’ 

Initially based in Leicester before re-locating to Dundee, Farhan got his first taste of hillwalking in the Lake District and admits that even that was a learning curve.

Now vastly experienced and having reached peaks on countless ranges across the UK, Farhan reveals how the journey he has been on from his first hill walk to his latest scramble has taken effort, which has been more than worth it.

‘I started scrambling during Covid, with everything being shut down. I started off with Helvellyn in the Lake District and since then, I got the bug for it,’ he says. ‘My first walk up there, up Swirral Edge, it was not easy at all. I wasn’t prepared at all; no hiking poles and I basically crawled back down. It was that bad, but it was good fun.

‘You have to plan everything meticulously, you have no one to bounce a decision off, so you have to make the right decision for you.

‘You can look in some books, they show you some routes. Take a photo of the route and then you have a rough idea of the route you can follow for reference.

‘I’ve got friends who basically play the Floor is Lava with some routes. They go up one route, come down the next and then go back up. They’re basically spending more time scrambling than they are walking. It’s good fun though. They’re confident in their skills, so they don’t bother taking safety equipment - it’s heavier so it slows you down. So if you know you aren’t going to fall, all you can take is a bottle of water and some food.

‘But that’s their personal boundary and they know where their limit lies. For some people, they might prefer to do everything with a rope and that’s fine. It just depends where your own limit is.

‘It’s about knowing your limits. Rock climbing is a lot more serious, a lot more exposed. Some people are great at it, but you need to be a lot more focused. I know my finger strength, ankle and joint strength, so I wouldn’t enjoy it. I’ll try and get into it slowly, but I’m happy scrambling just now that you can do it big winter boots.’ 

As with all things outdoors, knowing your limit is key, as Farhan stresses. While he points out that the community he has become part of over the last few years has played a major role in his love for hiking and scrambling, Farhan admits that solo adventures can be just as enjoyable.

However, being several hundred metres above sea level, often without much safety equipment, does add an element of danger but Farhan says that the experience is still enjoyable, as long as you remain comfortable and alert to your surroundings, particularly with the Scottish summer.

‘At first it was me going out on my own, which was fun initially as it’s hard to find time with friends and it’s not easy to have a friend who’s willing to be dragged up a mountain,’ he adds. ‘But solo adventures are fun as well, because it’s not easy doing it yourself.

‘It starts off with just walking uphill, then the scrambling actually starts when you have to use your hands. It starts off easy with a gentler angle, big, jaggy easy holes. Then you work up. Grade One, you shouldn’t get into any trouble if you’re sensible but that doesn’t mean you can’t get into difficulty. People have got hurt on a few Grade Ones but it’s super unlikely.

‘Grades Two and Three are generally more difficult. They’re doable but, especially Grade Threes, as there is always a few sections where falling isn’t an option because it’s pretty exposed. So, again, it’s about studying the route, watching videos online and knowing your limits.

‘For me, it’s about as pushing it as far as you can, finding that line but not touching that limit or going over it because that’s when you’re asking for trouble.

‘But that line is different for everyone. That limit might be a really hard rock climb for someone, for another it might be climbing a ladder. It’s all personal.

‘I’ve gone past my limit once. Fortunately, I didn’t get into any grief. But I reflected on it, and realised that there was better, safer, ways to do certain things. So you reflect on it, learn the lesson and then you don’t think about it too much. There’s no point in letting that one memory get you down. It’s happened, you can’t change it.

‘I enjoy the learning process because you can carry the skills into other aspects of your life. Time management is a big thing in hill walking. In winter, you have about six hours of daylight, you’re walking up in the dark, walking off in the dark.

‘Sometimes the weather is so bad that you know there is only a two-hour window of good weather. But you do it anyway.

‘The good thing about winter is that it’s snowing and not raining, so you don’t get wet. The snow just hits your jacket and you can just brush it off. But with the rain, you can wear your best waterproofs but it’ll still find a way to seep through if it’s really bad.’

To find out more about Ali’s adventures, you can follow him on Instagram @brownscrambler