Kirsty on Stuic a Chroin

We have been joined by Kirtsy Black in sales who has returned to Deeside after education and a career as an environmental scientist in Glasgow.

Kirtsy is passionate about the outdoors, especially hillwalking, and has been walking and camping since her early years.

Kirtsy is pictured on Stuc a Chroin. 

Kirsty and her husband James cycled in from Callander and hiked up from the that side – ‘It was an excellent day and as you can see from the photo, we had good weather!!’

Kirsty has had an upbringing in the outdoors and a good education in Páramo and Hilltrek Clothing from her father Alan Melrose of Walk Deeside.

Odlo Longsleeve half zip Windproof

15th May, on a cold and breezy Sunday, and a hardy group of mountain bikers meet for a strenous ride around the Ladder Hills to the North of Corgarff.

I had chosen to wear my new Odlo windproof baselayer due to the wind, but didn’t want the extra warmth of my cycling jacket. The baselayer is made of 2 fabrics. Windprotection 3L on the front of the body & sleeves, with a highly wicking,  fine pique material on the rear of the body and sleeves. Odlo recommend the 3L tops for any sport in which the wearer is moving forwards at speed i.e running/cycling/Nordic skiing. Thankfully I’d made the right choice, as the red and sweaty faces of my colleagues poked out from the collars of their waterproofs.

The weather as I mentioned earlier was cool and breezy, and as the ride progressed we were caught in intermittent showers. Luckily due to the windproof front of my top, I could carry on cycling without having to overheat in a jacket. The highly wicking fabric meant that at the end of a long pedal uphill, I wasn’t chilled by perspiration on my skin. The material also dries very quickly, so the showers did not pose a problem.

I have worn the Odlo windproof over the last few months, and it has exceeded my expectations of what a baselayer can do, as well as reducing the need to layer up on cool, windy days. All in all, a fantastic piece of innovation.

Push hard,

John Green

Earlier in the year we sponsored the Active Schools cross country series in Aboyne. Recently John presented the prizes to the winners of the Primary Schools races.

Comment from 

“The Active Schools cross country series in Aboyne was aimed at engaging children in the local community in a fun, competitive, outdoor, and affordable sport which can take place on their doorstep. The series also encourage individual development as pupils were given their individual times, in their appropriate age groups, which enabled them to have a goal for each race in the series. The series was well attended with 45 primary and 14 secondary pupils, highlighting some excellent runners in the area.

These races prepared the youngsters for some other local events such as Run Balmoral in which Braemar Primary won the small schools trophy this year.

The series was thoroughly enjoyed by both children who participated and parents who helped out, therefore we will definitely be hosting some more in the future to help develop this local activity”

To find out more about the Active Schools Program and you want to get involved see Sports Scotland

Heriott Watt fashion technology student Alison has recently completed a year’s work placement at Hilltrek.  Here’s what she has to say about her experience:

“To gain necessary hands-on experience within the technical clothing industry, I was placed by my university in Hilltrek’s Clachan Yell workshops.  Aboyne might not be the most obvious hub of technical clothing innovation, but it was there I cut my teeth gaining practical knowledge of new fabrics and cutting patterns, developed my sewing skills, and – as well as manufacturing garments - worked on a diverse spectrum of repairs which came into the workshop. I doubt any big brand companies would have been able to provide as varied an experience; one day I’d be repairing tents and flysheets, the next adjusting school bags and motor biking gear!  The team at Clachan Yell also involved me in the cutting stage of many of Hilltrek’s garments, which allowed me to become more experienced with an array of popularly stocked fabrics.  I picked up various new techniques involved at the preliminary stages of garment design, and, as well as familiarizing myself with Hilltrek’s patterns, I even helped to produce new ones:  see the Kintail Ventile shirt http://www.hillgear.com/acatalog/Kintail_Ventile.html for an example of my work!

I would like to say a big thank you to everyone at Hilltrek who helped me throughout the year; from my experience at the Clachan Yell workshops I gained indispensable knowledge and vastly improved my skills and confidence in garment manufacture.”