Vagabond Vicky

A figure in dark clothing is ascending a snowy rise towards the sunrise with a arc overhead

Wrapped up in several layers of clothing to ski with a pulk loaded with camping gear

A figure in dark clothing stands by tent pitched on snow lit by the green light of the aurora

Two ski poles stand crossed in the snow

Ten days ago I set off on an expedition to cross the Finnmarksvidda plateau in northern Norway on ski. After five days of hauling a pulk and camping in temperatures below -30°c, we travelled just under 100km.

Yes that's one of them. My shooting way out performs my skiing at the moment, and I'd never be able to control my breathing enough to get the shots on target

I genuinely believe there's a couple of Winter Olympic events that I could have had a solid chance at competing in if I started training four years ago when I last had this thought.

Heat seekers: amazing thermal images from the Winter Olympics Photographers using compact thermal-imaging cameras have crafted eerie and ‘poetic’ results at the Milano Cortina Games

Heat seekers: amazing thermal images from the Winter Olympics

A screenshot of the audio book cover of Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall from the Libby app

2. Something that's been on the old TBR list for a while, but with the Libby app and a few flights, I finished Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps that Explain Everything About the World by Tim Marshall. #AmReading #BookSky #Geopolitics #Geography

Up, but more up than here right now on a wee holiday. Not down there again until the end of the month.

gradient.horse Draw a horse, watch it run!

omg everybody go draw a horse this is what the internet was made for

gradient.horse

The paperback book of The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, looking a bit scruffy and dogeared, lying on a blanket

1. A chunky start to the year with The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Over 1000 pages, but a very readable tale of medieval life around the building of a cathedral in England. #AmReading #BookSky #HistoricalFiction

a woman in a blue dress is reaching for a book on a ladder Alt: A clip from the Disney animation of Beauty and the Beast, with Belle in the library. A woman in a blue dress is reaching for a book on a ladder

This is going to a thread collating all the books I've read through 2026. I fell off the reading wagon a wee bit last year, but have been making the effort to get back on track again #AmReading #BookSky #Books

Oh, I didn't photograph the big bag of porridge oats that will help spread out the snacks, it should last a little longer with that

Forecast is looking cold ❄️❄️❄️

Takk! Tomorrow just a flight to Tromsø, then to Alta for a few days of exploration across Finnmarksvidda

I'm not saying that everything made it into the bag...

A close up of an orange duffel bag and a grey and orange ski bag

Piles of snack bags and energy bars laid out on a blanket

Snacks prepared and bags packed. Ready for the airport in the morning.

I'm quite luck to have had a long break between work contracts. Finished end of December, time for a wee adventure this month, then back to work again in March.

Starting next week... ⛷️❄️🥶

A slightly dog-eared paperback copy of the book The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett lying on a blanket.

A view of the village under grey skies in a rare break in the rain, with rolling white water hitting the outside of the harbour

A completed jigsaw with a collage of tiger faces as the design. Quite a tricky one.

Another jigsaw with a design featuring the leaves of houseplants. I enjoyed this one more.

It was a pretty quiet January at home for a change, mainly sheltering from the wild and windy winter weather. Doing cosy stuff like reading books, baking bread and doing jigsaws by the fire. #winter

This time next year when I'm a millionaire I'm going back for the massive platter of crab that they do. In the meantime they're safe* in their tanks.
*from me, but still available for sale

An array of shellfish on display in the fishmarket

Gravlaks and knekkebrød with a glass of white wine

A bowl of crab claws and salad

Took myself out for a fancy dinner in the Bergen Fishmarket. A bowl of crab claws, some gravlaks with sweet mustard sauce, and fresh bread smeared in seaweed garlic butter. Yum

The sign opposite the airport which says "Bergen?" in large yellow letters, surrounded by trees in autumn colours. Like the iconic Hollywood sign but designed for drizzlier weather.

The view from my window of the edge of the fishmarket and the fjord ferry terminal in the driech.

And the view of the picturesque city port, though the upper parts of the mountains and the funicular are obscured by rain clouds.

The old wooden buildings of Bryggen world heritage site in the rain.

A driech day in one of my favourite cities, Bergen. Just passing through on a wee autumn adventure in Norway.

Just another outstanding day at work #PolarGuide #Greenland #NorthWestPassage
📷 Rachelle Mackintosh
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I don't believe you know Greenland 🤔

Collapse of critical Atlantic current is no longer low-likelihood, study finds Scientists say ‘shocking’ discovery shows rapid cuts in carbon emissions are needed to avoid catastrophic fallout

‘We found that the tipping point where the shutdown becomes inevitable is probably in the next 10 to 20 years or so.’
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

A stunning approach to the landing at Nuuk airport in Greenland. I'm on the way to join the @aurora_expeditions Sylvia Earle for an epic adventure through the Northwest Passage. #NorthWestPassage #PolarGuide
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A small cardboard box containing a dessert that is part of an airline meal. The box reads "carrot cake. Made with upcycled bananas and carrots"

Does that actually mean bin bananas? Didn't matter, the cake was lovely and squishy

Screenshot of a news article headline about the suspension of international passenger screening at Nuuk, Greenland

Well, today's plans have been dynamic. Now on the way to somewhere else instead #Greenland

That's a wee bit of a cheat. My best group was from prone, then kneeling. It was less tight standing up as the rifle was a bit too heavy for me

A rifle pointing down a shooting range in the hills

A target plate on the range

A layout showing me holding the rifle for an aimed shot, a paper target with a close grouping in the centre, and a metal target shaped like a roe deer

A button with Line of Sight 500 yards on it.

A great day of skills development training on the Line of Sight full-bore shooting range in Strathdon, Aberdeenshire. Not a bad result either #PolarGuide

In the Shadow of the Mountain The soundscape of falling ice.

Yesterday marked 30 years since British mountaineer Alison Hargreaves died in a storm on K2. My story on the Hargreaves-Ballard climbing dynasty in @thefence.bsky.social from last year about risk, control, blame, why people climb and how we tell their stories: www.the-fence.com/in-the-shado...

I had buckfast pulled pork at a place called Smokey Trotters in Glasgow. And scampi fries loaded fries, which is one of the only things that I've had out, said I'd recreate the recipe at home, and actually followed through with it