Going to the mountains still entails a fair amount of balancing different forecasts & not always being convinced that the most positive one is also the most accurate. We use webcams alot, particularly on rock climbing days. And the Met Office rain radar is simply brilliant. We also find that if you're away from the mountains for a spell that the UKClimbing Forums can be a great place to work out what's been going on.

WEB CAMERAS
View from Ptarmigan restaurant & Base, Cairngorm.
Remember to click on the image to check the date on it; it fairly often doesn't work & is more useful in the winter.
Visit Fort William's webcam of Ben Nevis
The King's House (Glencoe) webcam of Buachaille Etive Mor

WEATHER FORECASTS
Geoff Monk's Mountain Weather Information Service, detailed forecasts for 3 days:
Cairngorm National Park
West & North West Highlands
South East Highlands

The Met Office. They also do an incredibly useful rain radar

BBC weather forecast

'Favorite hill food' is always a hot topic when you're out. Call me a woman of simple tastes, but an exciting packed lunch is enough to brighten the soggiest day.

I happen to love cooking. Next week I'll be posting a few of my recipes to tantalise your tastebuds! If you've got one that you'd like to share, email it to us and we'll put it up. It could be a camping recipe or a mountain snack recipe.

The British Mountaineering Council have launched an extensive medical advice area on their website, covering issues at altitude, malaria, how to find a doctor for your expedition, a thorough answering of FAQs, educational opportunities (such as the Climbing Injury Symposium and a Mountain Medecine Diploma) and a plethora of UIAA (the international body for mountaineering) medical advice sheets.

It's impressive & extremely useful given the speciaslist nature of mountain sports. Check it out at the link given above.

Valerie Cowie has been practising yoga for many years now, and you can tell. Her passion for it seems to only have increased while her experience rolls on, gathering strength. She lives near Glasgow and makes her living from teaching yoga.

This summer she's going to give a series of exercises for us mountain lovers to work on all those specific areas: not just body geographics, but the breath and the mind too.

Here's an article on her attitude to life & yoga.

Of course, this fits in well with our Vinyassa Retreat in September, if you want to get all warmed up & inspired in preparation!