The show itself was pretty good with a fair selection of brands and destinations all on display. I particuarly liked the bushcraft area, the presenters were excellent and the community vibe in the area was the best at the show. Having had a pootle around the show, I sat down at the back of the Cicerone walking stage to watch Simon King presenting the awards. Butterflies grew as we duly got to the best Online retailer, at which point my jaw dropped down to sea level when the Webtogs name was read out in first place!!

We never expected to do as well as we did for this our first year being nominated and we just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who voted for us. We’re super chuffed that we have won and we promise that we will carry on delivering the best online experience, the best products and the best customer service of any outdoors retailer. It means a great deal to us that we have made it on to so many peoples radar as the place to shop for outdoor gear.

So thanks again to the Ramblers and Walk magazine, all their readers and all our customers, we’re deeply humbled you all think we are the best online retailer in outdoor – Cheers!

Describing what a brand is like and what products are like over the internet can sometimes be a little tricky, and especially with a small brand like Kuhl, they can sometimes sneak under the radar. They are definitely worth a special mention though as everyone in the office has got excited about them and nearly everyone has bought a piece before they even went on the website. They remind me a little of Howies in terms of design although their focus is completely on stylish, practical mountain wear. That comparison is probably not completely accurate one though as Kuhl are REI’s largest selling trouser brand. We are on a mission then to let the UK know about just how damn good these guys are!

The whole range can be viewed here although we are still expecting some bits and bobs in for April. Stand out pieces for me have to be the Eiger long short and Moda Ped for women, excellent long shorts with ariculated knees that are going to be great for indoor climbing walls and light scrambling. The other pieces that really grab me are the Jeans and Pants as they are just so comfortable on. Great for walking, climbing or relaxing back at the campsite, they are light, breathable and incredibly durable.

Anyway, can’t stop to chat more, I need to go and raid the warehouse before any more dissapear in to the grubby hands of my colleagues!

Apparently though we are not the only ones to have heard how special they are, and alledgedly, those crazy Power Rangers dig them too. We finally received photographic evidence however this week…..

I’m sure that the lure of taking a totally rad route up Pixel Mountain, whilst having your eyes dried by a solid 4 hours in front of the telly will soon replace the wind in your hair, the physical challenge of climbing and the beauty inherent in the mountains we play with.

Now where’s me Wii pad.

It’s been incredible to watch just how quickly it has gone up, it has literally been two weeks for them to get to the stage above us in the photgraph. We can’t wait for the new warehouse to come online, especially our warehouse manager Sue, as things are a tad tight in the current one.

We’ll keep you posted as we progress……

You may have gathered that the special feature with these tents is that the poles are air poles or air beams, you blow them up. Now before I saw these, I was worried about the robustness of the air poles themselves. Having seen them in the flesh now I have no such worries. They resemble two half tires going around the tent and are just as thick and solid. Design wise it has some lovely touches with a collapsible inner and a really flexible front mesh that can be opened from the front or side. It’s also huge and at just over 2kg it looks like my new fav lightweight two man tent.

I’ve got a couple of photos for you to take a look at above along with the short video clip below, I’ll let you know how I get on this weekend – next week!

The flight was instantly forgettable and we soon made our way along the motorway to Chamonix with the mountains rearing up ahead of us. Mont Blanc was hidden behind some meaty wisps of cloud and so we found ourselves in town without a good glimpse of it. The night passed swiftly after a couple of sherbets and we gathered the following morning ready for the main event, the traverse of the Vallee Blanche. For those of us who had never been to the Alps before and only been walking / scrambling in Blighty, it was like having your Lego Duplo set taken away before being handed the latest Technics box instead. You know that there will be snow on the peaks, but the sight of it really hammers home that you are no longer in Kansas.

We all kitted ourselves out with the relevant boots, crampons and Ice axes. For a lot of the team, this was the first time they had used any of these and we spent a good 40 mins at the hotel fitting and trying everything on. We then headed to the cable car at the Aiguille du Midi and headed up the Mountain. Taking the cable car itself is not the most comfortable as it heads up very quickly and those with a delicate stomach were left looking inwards. There was a stop half way up where we changed cars and it was then up to the top where we got the first view of what we were about to undertake.

Simply put, it was awe inspiring with sheen of cloud underpinning the Aiguille, views across to Mont Blanc and to Switzerland. We also got our first view of the narrow ridge leading down to the Glacier below with a 1500 drop to one side and 300m on the other. Without further ado, Matt our guide got us locked and loaded with harnesses, ropes, crampons and axes and away we went down the ridge. Jenny and Richard our Tech director had already walked down so Tom and I came down with Matt. Matt cheerfully regaled us with the fact that he and Nick had seen a couple of climbers fall down the glacier side of the ridge the week before at which point Tom who had never been in crampons before was heard to mutter “Perhaps you could mention this at another point, maybe in a couple of years….”

Making it down safely to the glacier, we struck out for the Italian side of the Alps all roped up. Starting off in jackets, we were soon in shirt sleeves and feeling the sun burning through the thin sky. We passed underneath the cable car that would bring us home later that day that crosses from the Glacier de Geant to Point Helbronner on the Italian side. What struck me having never been on a glacier before were the crevasses that we came across and in some areas had to journey across. The glacier was not the smooth unbroken snowy landscape I had anticipated but more a living, moving animal. We passed a few Italian groups coming from the other side before stopping for lunch. I could describe the journey as a whole, but I think the pictures will tell a better story than I ever will!

Suffice to say we finished the day exhausted but with a smile on our faces. Now where’s that Mont Blanc ascent info…. You can view the rest of the photos on Facebook and the video is on you tube