Join us on Saturday 5th March for an international trekking day held in conjunction with local outdoor activities company WalkDeeside. Alan Melrose of WalkDeeeside will discuss their treks to Africa, South America and Himalayas.  

Alan will also relate his experience in equipment and clothing for the range of environments encountered in their treks. In a recent WalkDeeside trek to Himachal Pradesh in the Indian Himalayas Paramo Waterproof Clothing supplied by Hilltrek performed outstandingly in high altitude monsoon conditions.

WalkDeeside treks are different to those run by the big trekking companies so it is well worth meeting Alan.

See the WalkDeeside website for more information.

Have you seen the winter wonderland and thought you may want to explore the Scottish hills a bit further than your current skills and confidence allow you to? Why not spend a day in the Cairngorms with WalkDeeside and find out a bit more about the basic requirements of winter hill walking including, the use of specialist equipment such as ice axe and crampons, the availability of further training and navigation techniques.  Meet at Hilltrek on Saturday 26^th Feb at 8.30 to 17.00

Cost is £40/person (minimum 4 persons/maximum 6 persons)

For further information and booking contact alan@walkdeeside.com

If you catch the bug you don’t have to buy new kit immediately, we can hire you crampons and ice axes. Call us on 013398 86062 or email us on sales@hilltrek.co.uk for pricing.

We will be holding a sale at our shop in Aboyne starting Friday 23rd and continuing through to Saturday 29th.

 The sale will offer great discounts on our retail stock including down jackets, ski clothing, waterproof jackets, fleeces, base layers etc etc. Brands include Rab, Helly Hansen, Patagonia, Páramo and Hilltrek.

We want to clear our stock of Hilltrek one-off Lomond Jackets, one-off Ventile jackets, trousers and smocks, fleeces etc. So there will be some great buys to be had.

 I’m afraid that it is a retail sale only and not offered over our website -you have to visit us in beautiful Aboyne!

Don’t miss our Páramo Premier Retailer Event starting next weekend……..

See new Páramo winter stock including lightweight Velez Adventure ladies waterproof trousers, Pájaro Waterproof Trousers and Torres Insulator Jacket.

We will also have some great deals during the week on Páramo and other brands of clothing, footwear and equipment.

Di Gilbert, Mountaineer, straight from completing her 7th Summit, presents

“A List Of Mountains That Even Sir Hugh Munro Would Be Proud Of”

on Sunday 11th September at Deeside Community Theatre, at 7.45, cost £10 or family ticket price £25.  To Book, tel: 013398 86222

Only some 300 people have completed this mountaineering feat, so Di – who started mountaineering while living at home in Aberdeenshire – has achieved a lot.  As she says “Scotland is the best training ground you can ever imagine.  The hardest, most extreme, coldest and wettest environments you will ever experience.”

 Karen Darke, inspirational speaker and paraplegic adventurer, presents

“Dizzy Fingers”

on Tuesday 14th September at the Deeside Community Theatre, starting 7.45 pm, price £12.  To book, tel: 013398 86222

We expect Karen to tell the story about crossing Greenland, kayaking in Patagonia, and some of her bike trips (Himalayas etc) and for something completely different – a wee bit about trying to get to the Paralympics.

 Adrenaline Junkie Film Night:

“The Best of Kendal Tour”

A collection of the best action and adventure films from the 2010 Kendal Film Festival covering mountain biking, cycling, climbing and skiing - soemthing for everyone!

Deeside Community Theatre on Saturday 18th September from 7.30.  To book,  tel 013398-86222.

Armchair mountaineers would be interested in hearing Andrew Greig (he has been described as the uncrowned poet laureate of the mountaineering community) at the “Meet the Author Event” at Finzean Hall on Sunday 19th Sept at 5pm.

Full details on  www.activeaboyne.co.uk and phone enquiries for activity events go to Mid Deeside on 013398-85222 (mornings only)  but theatre bookings to go direct to the Community Centre on 013398-86222.

Active Aboyne is less than a month away now and a long list of events are now available on their website.  The events include long distance walks that they call ‘Big Hill Days‘ to Family Fun activities.  The full list of events are list on their events page.

Lawrence Clark from BushCraft Ventures will set up camp outside our doors this Saturday in Aboyne.  Lawrence is a bushcraft expert who plied his trade with Ray Mears and was only one of three people in the UK  to receive the prestigious ‘Ray Mears Instructors knife’ -an acknowledgement of his highly developed skills. As part of his work he spent time in the Arctic living with the Psami (Lapps) peoples of Northern Sweden.

On display will be clothing and equipment used in bushcraft and wilderness survival, including; clothing made from cotton, wool and furs, and cutting tools.

Demonstrations will take place on traditional fishing hooks manufacture, fire lighting , wood carving and simple steam bending.

Many bushcrafters are aware of Hilltrek Ventile products such as the Braemar Smock  and the Ventile poncho. Our staff will be on hand  to discuss the properties of Ventile and some of our new innovations including Cotton Analogy.

Looking ahead to the summer months, this years Active Aboyne will be held from Saturday 11th September to Sunday 26th September.  The full programme is yet to be published but watch the site for the mix of walks, bushcraft, other outdoor pursuits and not forgetting the social activities put on.  The special guest this year is Karen Drake.  A true adventurer and sought after speaker.

The first Bike Balmoral event takes place on June 13 2010. The event is charity based and is for Mountain bikes, more details on their website.