t e r r y b n d

Chris retreats from a storm in the Lairig Ghru.

It's over. Thank goodness and just in the nick of time. Monday saw me finally complete 'The Cairngorms in Winter with Chris Townsend'. In truth I'm glad to see the back of the film. It had taken over my life!

Be it spending so much time up in the Cairngorms filming - almost to the point I felt like a tourist in my own hometown and the Cairngorms was my real residence - to working 18+ hour days at home editing, I'm relieved it's all done with.

The past week has been particularly tough. For example, I had finished editing the visuals for the film but had yet to complete all the sound mixing. The latter proved problematic in that some audio was poor and beyond repair while much of the narration I had only recorded the previous week with Chris wasn't satisfactory. Much of that comes down to the fact we've not done anything like this before, so it was a tremendously steep learning curve and one we had to get right as soon as possible.

Braeriach, Cairngorms National Park as seen from Aviemore train station.

I'm back home now after spending a couple of days with Chris Townsend at his home in the Cairngorms National Park, where we finished off much of the narration required for 'The Cairngorms in Winter' film we've been working on.

It's all I really need to do now to finish and sign the film off. Even so, it's not easy and will take me a couple of days at least. And I don't want to rush completing the final feature.

As a bit of info for TGO Challengers heading to Scotland shortly, take a look at the above photo. I captured this scene from the bridge adjacent to Aviemore railway station last Saturday morning - as you can see there's still quite a bit of snow up on the high ground. What condition the snow's in, I have no idea as I never set a foot up there over the two day visit.

Being shown on the largest cinema screen in the North West of England.

I'm now editing the final 25 minutes for 'The Cairngorms in Winter with Chris Townsend' and I'm pleased to say it's coming along nicely. Test audience feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, which has taken Chris and myself by surprise. I must say, I'm thrilled - the hard work appears to have paid off.

It's worth noting, that this project would never have got off the ground if it weren't for readers who visit this blog and moreover all those who kindly backed the film via Kickstarter!

Before I sign off and continue finishing off the film, I thought you might like to see the above picture.

It's all a bit scary for me, but the Cairngorms project will be shown on the big screen in the Rheged Centre in Cumbria. If this interests you, I believe tickets will be available from Monday afternoon. Incidentally, tickets for the public premier at George Fishers in Keswick on the 18th May have sold out. For those who backed the feature on Kickstarter, they of course will receive their copy before any of the above (and have been duly notified via updates).

I will get round to blogging about the recent trips soon, but my time is currently being spent completing the film. The clock is ticking after all!

Anyway, I'll blog about my exploits up in the Cairngorms in the coming days ahead. In the meantime, you might like this short video I captured on my mobile phone, featuring me stuck in a whiteout on Moine Mhor.

It wasn't the worst I encountered, I'll have to admit (that came the following day and visibility was less than 6 feet!) but it does give a flavour of some of the conditions I encountered while filming on this project.

As it transpired, the whiteout in this short video didn't clear for another 2 days which was rather annoying. Having to contend with varying types of snow to walk on, drifts deeper than I am tall and always being concious of avalanche risks near to where I was exploring, made for a tiring and morale sapping few days.

Yours truly and the Force Ten Nitro Lite 200 tent in Scotland only the other week.

"It's been absolutely hammered over the past winter. Believe me. It's seen it all. And held it's head high....you genuinely get the space normally needed for two people, but the Nitro Lite 200 performs outstandingly well in stormy conditions. Sure, it can move and shake as any tunnel tent might in high winds - but it's no "dad dancer" either. The gothic arch poles, sewn in pole sleeves and TBS system all contribute towards it's superb stability."


Force Ten (F10), the 'technical' outdoor gear brand from Vango has been going through a bit of a revamp over the past year and it's only in the coming months ahead folks will get to see the fruits of that labour. And the all new 2013 Nitro Lite 200 tunnel tent is a product born out of these efforts from the company.

I was lucky enough to get a glimpse of this new shelter last summer in the Alps while being commissioned to produce some photos and video for the company*, but only got kindly offered one to test and review last November. Now winter is all but over, here's some of my thoughts on what I think is an exciting new shelter from F10.

A fairytale camp in an ancient forest? The Vango Banshee 300 with blogger Jake Lunniss as a model.

Some of you may recall I was somewhat busy last summer. This was down to working on a number of projects I wasn't able to divulge in detail at the time. One of which was working on a catalogue of photography for Force Ten and Vango - along with some product/brand videos.

The deadlines were tight and the schedule hectic to say the least. Our wet summer didn't help matters either with planned shoots!

My remit was simple from both companies. Conjure up a series of photos/videos that will inspire people to get outdoors and explore. Show what the kit is designed for and what it can do within a given template.

Chris Townsend takes a breather on the flanks of Moine Mhor, Cairngorms.

I'm all set to head out on for what is likely to be the penultimate location shoot for 'The Cairngorms in Winter with Chris Townsend'. And bang on cue, the winds and snows are back in Eastern Scotland, which shall make things interesting to say the least.

Tomorrow I'll be making my way to Aviemore ready for filming on the Thursday with Chris. Once a week has passed, I'll be nipping back home to spend time with my family over Easter and then on the 2nd April I shall "love em and leave em" and return to Scotland - what genuinely feels like my second home of late!

A wonderful nights camp on Mullach Clach a Bhlair, Cairngorms National Park, Scotland.

Bar the odd post, I've not been on here much of late. It's not that I'm neglecting the blog, it's just I've been away a great deal and all my spare time has been focused on 'The Cairngorms in Winter with Chris Townsend'.

Even so, I thought it was about time I share some pictures with you taken from the last outing during the month of February. I best do this now as I'm heading back again next week!

Once all the filming is completed I'll talk more about what I've been up to. Better still, do check out Chris' blog HERE as he's been regularly sharing the journey. At least he lives there and has regular access to a computer.

In a nutshell, last February whizzed by in a blur. I had my ups and my downs. Mostly ups. It was always going to be an important month for filming the project and it didn't always go to plan (never does!) but we adapted, I tinkered with my plans and routes. Even my gear.