hilltrek

Want a challenging and satisfying sales job admidst the Scottish hills where you can hillwalk, mountaineer, ski, fish, stalk, mountain-bike or bushcraft?

If yes we may be able to help.

We are looking to add a sales person to our team based in Aboyne  in Royal Deeside. You would be involved in retail, trade, internet and mail order sales, assist in buying retail stock and have an influence in our product design.

Working in Hilltrek is not like working in another outdoor retailer because we manufacture our own clothing in our workshop on site. You would work closely with our design and production staff to convert customer requirements to customer satisfaction -and we already have satisfied customers in over 20 countries from Greenland to Australia.

Working with us is not like working in boring web sales because you will meet real customers in our shop who will give you direct feedback which you can use to help to improve our products using your excellent communication skills.

You will need to be strong on product knowledge which is our edge.

Outside our own Ventile and Nikwax clothing ranges we carry a only few product lines from other manufacturers but in far more depth than other retailers. We have had a long association with Páramo being one of the first retailers in 1994 to be convinced of Páramo’s Directional Waterproof concept.  Since then we have become the only Páramo Premier Retailer in Scotland north of Perth and the only one authorised to carry out repairs to Páramo clothing. We also have a licence from Nikwax Fabrics, Páramo’s sister company, to use their Nikwax Analogy fabric to manufacture our own Made To Measure Clothing, Childrens Nikwax Clothing and incorporate within our Cotton Analogy range.

Ideally you will already have retail experience, a strong interest in outdoor clothing and equipment and love of the outdoors.

If you want more information we can send you a job description and if you are interested please send your CV to sales@hilltrek.co.uk

Walk Magazine issued its reader awards for 2010 earlier in the year and the best overall walking brand winner was Paramo.  The Hilltrek store in Aboyne and the online store stock a wide range of products including the Gold Winning walking trousers.  This walking trouser gives a hill walker a lot of adaptability to changing weather conditions, warmth on cold days, vents to open on hotter days, lots of zips that work reliably even in poor weather conditions.   The Walk Magazine have published this video from the event.

Walk Reader Awards from Athar Abidi on Vimeo.

This Saturday I set off on my bike to explore the compact network of forestry trails that wind their way through the Blackhall Forest near Banchory. These trails struck me as a quieter, albeit less spectacular alternative to those in Glentanar – often highly populated with local walkers, hill runners, and mountain bikers – and a convenient practice ground for bikers in the Banchory area who don’t fancy the trek up to ‘Tanar. In Blackhall Forest, recreational bikers have the option of keeping it short and sweet by sticking to the forest tracks, or extend their ride by including Scolty hill into their circuit. I also happened upon some smaller woodland trails designated for walkers only, whose root and rock riddled paths provided some fun technical relief from the sometimes monotonous forestry roads. Readers be warned, however: these paths are designed for walkers, so prepare to put their safety before your daredevilry!

As luck would have it – as we know it too often doesn’t in these parts – the day started off bright and mild. As a safety measure, I stuffed a light waterproof jacket in my Deuter Speed Lite backpack, a favourite of mine. A basic, no-frills design, it does exactly what it says on the tin, its 10 litre variation coming in as one of the lightest sports backpacks on the market. With a few necessary embellishments to accommodate a sports bladder and a pocket for essentials, it’s perfect for long runs and short to mid length rides. As for an upper layer I risked attiring myself in a decidedly skimpy selection, since I wasn’t going far: the Paramo Cambia reversible t-shirt and my Helly Hansen Stripe hoodie. Both indispensible staples of my outdoor sports ‘wardrobe’, the Paramo t-shirt and HH technical midlayer (made from Lifa Stay Dry fabric) are, on a mild Spring day, all it takes to stay cool, dry and wind-chill free. I often wear them for longer runs and rides, slinging the midlayer around my waist or into my backpack once I’ve warmed up. I particularly relish the knowledge that, with my hood up, I look like a cross between Mary Quant and Billy Murray in The Life Aquatic – if a little redder in the face.

 To get there: from the old military road between the Potarch Hotel and the Feuchside Inn, meet the well-marked trails at the Shooting Greens car park. From here follows a mild, untechnical climb up to the shoulder of the Hill of Tillylair, from whose vantage can be glimpsed to one side the Mains of Potarch and the woodland flanking the Dee as it snakes its way through the valley, and to the other a more dramatic assembly of low hills surrounding Clachnaben. The road continues until it reaches a fork – to the left the road loops back onto the sign-posted Forest Trail, to the right it is possible to follow the track over to Banchory, and up on to Scolty Hill.

(All the gear mentioned above is sold by our very fine selves at Hilltrek in Aboyne. For more information and technical specs, why don’t you come in for a natter with our approachable and experienced staff?)

Congratulations to Sylvia Tasker of Arbroath, who won a Paramo Camino Shirt donated by Hilltrek, for her photograph (above) taken during the Ballater Walking Week in May.

Ballater’s annual walking festival has been running since 1998, and we’re told that this year has been their most successful Walking Week yet.  Its programme is devised by a team of professional mountain guides, rangers, and local residents, and accommodates walkers of all ilks, from the occasional ambler to the seasoned munro-bagger.  For details of past and forthcoming events, visit the Royal Deeside website: http://www.royal-deeside.org.uk/RDnews/walkweek.htm

Pictured above are some of the walkers about to set off on the Sponsored walk

Huntly held a walking festival this weekend and as part of the festival there was a sponsored walk on the Sunday which also included a photography competition. http://www.huntly.net/events/page.php?event_id=92

Hilltrek provided the prizes of gift vouchers £30 for first, £20 for second and £10 for third.

The walk will raise funds for two local charities The Huntly Area Cancer Support Group and an animal rescue centre www.thenewarc.org

I decided to head up there for the start of the walk, leaving Donside it was not looking promising a dusting of snow had covered the tops overnight and it was sleeting. However by the time I got to Huntly the wind had dropped and the sun was out.  I was greeted by Nathalie who had put a lot of work into organising the event, she was concerned that the weather forcast of snow would put people off. We didn’t have to wait long though before people started to turn up to enjoy the lovely spring sunshine and I was pleased to see some where wearing their paramo cascada trousers!

The Route

The map above shows the choice of two routes  a short or long version.

The winners of the  photography competition will be announced once all the entries have been received.

We will be holding a sale at our shop in Aboyne this weekend when we will be offering great discounts on some of our end of season winter retail stock including Rab Down Jackets, Helly Hansen, Patagonia, Páramo, Craghoppers, Cross Ski Wear etc. Included will be gloves, socks, jackets, ski salopettes, winter trousers, childrens ski clothing etc etc

We will have  deals on Helly Hansen baselayers, Paramo Torres Insulators etc

In the spirit of ‘Ne’er cast a clout till May be oot’  we have an offer of a combination Helly Hansen HH®Warm™ Prowool Long Johns and Freeze Prowool half zip top with £20 off, normally £90. We are basking in early Spring sunshine but…….who knows what is round the corner? This offer is naturally open until the end of May.

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

A cold spring day in the West Highlands and another Munro -An Caisteal- a perfect test of my fitness after recent 57th birthday celebrations.

I set off late from Glasgow after a breakfast in the Tapa coffeehouse‎, where my daughter works, hoping to reach the hills at the north end of Loch Lomond by 10.30. The weather was as predicted in the mountain forecast, low cloud and rain at low levels.

My preparation was not the best after a very late but excellent curry at the Pakastani Cafe‎ and a long drive down from Aboyne the evening before.

I had planned to take the route via the north ridge to Sron Garbh over the Twistin Hill to the summit of An Caisteal and then south east to Beinn Chabhair returning back down the track along side the River Falloch.

Deep snow on the approach was testing to my fitness, so much so, that I had to take off my Lochnagar Karisma fleece and pack it in my rucksac.  I was wearing Paramo’s new lightweight Velez Trousers to test their effectiveness in the conditions -I would normally have worn Paramo Cascada or perhaps Aspira Trousers which are warmer but heavier.

Above 600 meters the rain turned to snow but, as the day wore on, the showers lessened and the cloud lifted opening up superb views all around, as forecast.

My late start, the poor forecast for the late afternoon, the icy conditions on top and the long drive home to Aboyne dictated that I return on the same route.

The Velez Trousers were perfect for the conditions light wind and temperatures around zero degrees. If the wind had been stronger I would have been warmer in Cascada or Aspira Trousers but probably perspired much more lower down.

You can  find out more about Velez Adventure Trousers on the Hilltrek website. 

If you are planning to walk or climb in the Scottish Mountains try the Mountain Weather Information Service - the forecast was very accurate.

An excellent overview of the route can be found on  Munro Magic website, which also has 3D views.

We will be holding a club discount evening for rambling, walking, mountaineeering and nature clubs on Thursday 25th March. 

During the club evening Alan Melrose from Walk Deeside, a Deeside based outdoor activity company, will be present to discuss their forthcoming Scottish activities and international expeditions. For more information see www.walkdeeside.com.

 Our neighbours ‘At the Sign of The Black Faced Sheep’ will be serving evening meals during the evening. To book a table contact 01339887311. For more information see  www.blackfacedsheep.co.uk

If you are a club in the North East of Scotland please contact us by email sales@hilltrek.co.uk or telephone 01339886062 to register.

The Scottish Game and Angling Show is a new event run by The Scottish Gamekeepers Association at the Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh from March 6th to 7th.

We will have a stand at the event showing our Ventile and Cotton Analogy Clothing Ranges  and also the Naturally Paramo range from Paramo Directional Clothing

For many years we have been supplying off the shelf and made to measure garments for gamekeepers, stalkers, ghillies, wildlife managers and rangers from Hilltrek and Paramo clothing ranges.  

We also work closely with local gamekeepers and rangers to trial our designs to ensure that they stand up to the toughest conditions across a wide range of activity and exertion.

Susan, who does our clothing designs, has been working hard over the winter months on our first venture into specific field sports clothing which we will exhibit at the show. – the Dee Wading Jacket.

The Dee Wading Jacket is a chest wading jacket named after the River Dee, one of the most famous salmon rivers in Scotland, which flows through our village.

It uses Cotton Analogy which consists of a Ventile outer and Paramo Pump Liner inner – a combination which is tough, waterproof and highly breathable.

We look forward to your feedback and see you at the show. 

Striking a catalogue pose whilst road testing the Patagonia R1 Fleece on Bennachie

There is a saying that goes along the lines that a girl can never have too many hats, bags and shoes… I work on the principal that you can never have too much outdoor gear!
With the day light hours getting longer and as we are move closer to spring, now is a good time to head to your local outdoor shop and snap up some bargains.

At Hilltrek we have several excellent promotions currently running.

Paramo are offering a free Torres Gilet in Moss (worth £77) with every Men’s green Alta II jacket or Ladies Alta II jacket in lentil/moss purchased.

You can buy a Velez or Velez adventure smock and we give you two cambia base layer tops free.
Alternatively buy an Explorer pull on and get an Active Travel shirt for £5, a saving of £46!

We also have a range of Patagonia shell jackets which we are offering as buy one get a Patagonia technical fleece free, whilst stocks last.

You may have been thinking of getting a soft shell, then come and look at our Helly Hansen range.

Bill, Bryan and I would love to see you, please call in we really enjoy hearing about your outdoor adventures and if you are really lucky we might even have the kettle on!