With rising fashion trends bringing hiking gear to the main street, what about the hikers bringing main street fashion to the mountains, what happens when the weather goes south and they’re far from waterproof?
Gen Z, we are obsessed with escaping social media, not entirely, of course, just enough to remain cool and mysterious and to not seem like an oaf doomscrolling all day.
It is the perfect balance. Of course, there are a few who have regressed to digital and physical media almost entirely as a form of escape from our online existence.
Yet once again, social media slithers into another niche interest, and Vinyl, Cassettes, digital cameras, CDs, and all other physical media become a trend.
Whom once sat peacefully, listening to their Beatles charity shop-bought “rare” first-pressing vinyl, circling away on their second-hand record player (yes, I am targeting myself here; it’s a Sgt. Pepper’s if you were curious) used to reassure themselves of peace having escaped the constant trends the record scratching songs of a better time, a time before social media. But now the record amplifies only one word (and no, not because of the skips; it actually has only two, and they’re both on side B): it whispers “Pretentious”.
A generation obsessed with reinvention and regression leaves no stone unturned; we explore every corner of the world and turn to every hobby, trying to find ways to be individual in a world that demands you fit in with constantly updating trends. The newest stone to be picked up and flipped? We are packing up our bags to leave doomscrolling behind, literally as we yearn for the mountains and fashion that flows within them.
There are different levels of dedication to a trend. Now, usually, if the trend is a silly challenge like slapping your loved one in the face with a tortilla wrap (what an interesting species we are), it’s low risk, and the reward is… well, either high, like going viral, or just embarrassing.
“everyone thinks, oh, you have to rescue stupid people climbing things and soloing stuff and it’s all really cool and gnarly. It really isn’t. “
Hiking is incomparable to a tortilla slap. It’s obviously incomparable; I am not sure in what world it can be comparable, but specifically incomparable in engagement. When engaging with an audience through hiking, you need to be interesting and different, which often means pushing your videos and photos to be one-of-a-kind and unseen, like a David Attenborough documentary, but regurgitated for social media. Instead of a wolf in a cave, it’s probably a cocker spaniel in a camper van.
On the surface, this is amazing. Of course, more people should be exploring the outdoors, especially since we take so much of Scotland’s beauty for granted. But by taking my previously mentioned fajita example, minimum effort to a trend is a problem, and in hiking terms, this translates to unprepared, which can mean a risk to life.
It’s impossible to ignore the impact of COVID-19 on the hiking community; it introduced millions of people around the world to the outdoors, whether it was their “mental health” walk or not.
“If you look back at my parents’ generation, of what they were going out to the hills with, they didn’t have Gore-Tex, fancy rucksacks and stuff like that, but they climbed Everest”
Outdoor gear companies made millions, if not billions, on this influx of new hikers and leaned into the rush. Prices go up, and, unfortunately, quality is often sacrificed. Arc’Teryx are blowing up mountains in Tibet with fireworks, and you are more likely to find a pair of green-stained Salomons at your local coffee shop stained from matcha not grassy hikes.
The trend, coined Gorpcore, combines practical elements of outdoor clothing with everyday wear. It’s functional and accessible, and now it’s a fresh urban style, and the brands dominating this new hybrid style know this. Salomon, Arc’Teryx, Asics, and Oakley are popular among those making a shift to Gorpcore, prompting the brands to explore the fusion of style, creating clothing, footwear, and accessories that could be seen at any summit, in the clouds, or in a boardroom.
I am not anything more than a novice hiker, a bit of a Munro bagger from time to time, but, like most, I tragically and simply do not find the time. I am guilty of falling for trends. I own an Arc-Teryx jacket, I have a Stanley flask, Gore-Tex surrounds my life, yet I am aware that with all I may have, I will always feel unprepared, a trait more people should have. If you don’t want my advice, that’s fine. As I said, I am not a professional; my perspective is nothing more than a plea for mountain safety.
So, take Mountaineering Scotland’s Senior Mountain Safety Advisor Ross Cadie’s Advice.
Q: Why do you think Hiking is gaining more popularity with young adults
A: That’s a great question. I think, particularly, the realisation of COVID, just how valuable time outside really is and how good it is both physically and psychologically, the benefits of going outside and doing something physical in green spaces are now much better understood. There’s a real sort of drive from all generations, but a big realisation that maybe kind of the usual world that we inhabit in front of computers and tablets and phones doesn’t quite tick the box for the physical and psychological kind of needs that we have.
But, the big thing, I think, is that Scotland also has some of the most… What’s the word? Progressive outdoor access laws in the world. So, we have this amazing, beautiful country with brilliant challenges or easy walks. A really good variety of things we can do that are free to access, as long as we do it responsibly. There is a Scottish outdoor access code that kind of guides us through that. The Scottish Outdoor Access Code, which allows us access, and is written into Scottish law, to go and recreate and enjoy the outside, but we need to do that responsibly and stick to certain rules. [Hiking] it’s free, as long as you can get yourself there, and depending on where you live in Scotland, you can literally walk outside your house or get a bus or a train, public transport, and be in some of the most wild and beautiful places in Scotland, without any extra cost. I think that is really kind of inspiring and brilliant.
Q: Do you think that social media plays a role in getting young adults outside?
A: Absolutely, it’d be disingenuous of me to say, no, it doesn’t, it absolutely does, and it’s a double-edged sword.
The more we can publicise the benefits of getting outside and inspiring people to do this. For all the things I’ve just already mentioned are brilliant.
But, if we can encourage young people to access, sort of good information and where they can find that information, it’s the key because it’s very easy to get inspired. But what’s not easy is to understand the risks because the mobile phone and the social media don’t necessarily show the 10 seconds of that amazing view, and so on, standing on top of a trig point in a beautiful sunset or sunrise doesn’t show the full journey. It doesn’t show the preparation that’s gone in beforehand. It doesn’t show some of the risks that have done and the kind of the months or the years of practice and the skills involved in getting to that place. It’s an amazing way of getting inspired and seeing what’s out there. But we need to make sure that people understand that there are real risks to doing this, and there needs to be some sort of planning in place and skills in place to get you there safely, and more importantly, getting yourself back again.
My job within Mountaineering Scotland is to kind of advertise where people can find how to get those skills and things like that. It might just be gaining your own experience by going out yourself, but doing it gradually, taking steady steps at a time. Learning from those little mistakes that we make rather than jumping too big and learning from the big near misses or accidents… So there are lots of different ways that hopefully suit different kinds of ways of living and different price points and stuff that you can go out and build up your experience slowly, rather than just seeing this amazing view on the internet and going, “Oh, I want to be there and do that. Ooh. Climbing Ben Nevis in the winter looks amazing. I’d never been here walking in the summer, but let’s do it with my pals.” It’s very easy to get carried away. So, I just encourage people to build up their experience slowly.
Q: Do you actually worry about that becoming a rising problem? Novice climbers are taking up a dangerous challenge because of social media’s influence. Is it a worry?
A: It’s not necessarily a worry. It’s something I’m very aware of. As I said, there are benefits, but if you look at just the problems with it, it’s not something anyone can solve on their own, other than making sure that good-quality advice is out there. So, when someone is ready to find it, and hopefully that they do, that it’s there, and they understand that this is high-quality advice. That might be finding it [advice] on various websites, it might be going on courses, clubs and speaking to more experienced people.
There is a sort of rise in the number of young people, um, in the Scottish Mountain rescue, uh, statistics. As per usual, slips, trips, sort of falling over, slipping over, twisting an ankle, they are the majority of callouts; it happens in fine weather, it happens on paths and tracks. So, when we talk about mountain rescue, everyone thinks, oh, you have to rescue stupid people climbing things and soloing stuff and it’s all really cool and gnarly. It really isn’t. The majority of mountain accidents that mountain rescue gets called for are people just slipping or tripping and hurting their lower leg or ankle. It happens on the path mostly, statistically, in good weather. So, people are just doing what they always do, which is getting into a position where they’ve hurt themselves and they just need rescuing. But there is a spike in young people, and I think it’s 26 to 35-year-olds… So, if people are going out more, they’re more likely to trip over and need rescue.
Q: Do you think that young people go out like much else on social media? Do you think it’s a trend that’s going to die?
A: I hope it is a trend and I hope it’s a trend that they keep throughout their life because I got into hill walking, mountaineering and climbing in my late teens and I’m still in it and I’m in my mid 40s. I hope to do it for the rest of my life.
Most of the people I go hill walking and climbing with got into it in their teens. It’s just that it was much harder to find how to get into it and that it even existed when I was in my teens, because we didn’t have social media.
So now we’ve got this free advert for getting out into the mountains and hills, and the benefits of it. We understand, like, when I was younger, we didn’t really understand why we liked it other than it was an adventure, and it felt good. Whereas now there’s much more science behind it, good for your mental health and your physical health and everything.
So, if it is a trend, I hope it’s one that lasts. And as those people stay in the mountains longer, they will absolutely learn all the right lessons because you can’t go into the mountains. regularly for a long time and not learn how to dress appropriately, what footwears better, how to come across other people, join communities, be part of something bigger, without learning along the way how to be better at it. So, yeah, I hope it is a trend, and I hope it stays.
I would just like to guide people to think: if it is a long-term thing, and not just a one-hit wonder for themselves, then how are they able to educate themselves, be safer, and be more self-reliant?
That’s what we’re really after: for people to go into the hills, knowing that when they go in, they can get themselves out, so they don’t have to call mountain rescue. “Yes, I’m cold and wet, I’m uncomfortable, but I know I’ve got the resilience and the self-reliance to get myself back out again rather than, ooh, I’m a little bit scared, or I’m a little bit cold and wet, because I didn’t bring my waterproof jacket, 999, call mountain rescue.”
Q: Has there been a change in the hiking community since its peak on social media? Especially in fashion trends.
A: I might be the wrong person to answer that. I’m not very good at following fashions. There are people, I’ve noticed people in the hills, they’re videoing much more. They’re recording their days out, I would say, is much more prevalent. But people before that probably kept diaries and notebooks. It’s just another way of recording what they did. People have always written books about their adventures, people have always bought those books, um, and we have enjoyed the part of being out in the hills and being part of the mountaineering community, sharing our experiences, sharing our kind of scary moments, wow moments, the awe and the wonder of being out there. That’s always been the case. If you look at all the literature and mountaineering, it’s just a different way of doing it, whereas the next generation are just recording it, live streaming it. That is making the hills busier, but there’s still plenty of space out there for people.
But we just have to be aware of our own personal responsibilities for our own safety, but also the impact we have. So, making sure that we’re not dropping litter, we’re not chopping down trees and doing all those things that are kind of against the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.
So, something called Leave No Trace. So, making sure when we go out, we don’t damage anything, we don’t take anything and stuff like that. That kind of philosophy of Leave No Trace. If we manage to do that, then there is more than enough space in Scotland to go out and have our adventures. But if we concentrate our footfall in certain areas, people are wild camping, chopping down live trees, and leaving a mess. Then the landowners, who’ve been very understanding, will push back against that, and things will start to change, and that will be a tragedy. And that will be our own doing.
Q: The Metro reported just last year that two hikers were rescued from Ben MacDui, and they were found in joggers and trainers in -15°. The BBC reported at the end of last year that Welsh mountain rescuers said young men are overestimating their experience on the mountains, and that this is becoming a problem. Do you have any opinions on these two articles, or do you agree with Welsh Mountain Rescue?
A: I agree a little bit with Welsh Mountain Rescue, but only a very small bit, and that is, young men overestimating their ability. That is a known thing.
Okay, so academics know full well, psychologists know full well that teenagers, all teenagers, male and female, overestimate their abilities; they are naturally risk-takers in certain ways, up until about the age of 30.
We already know that young people view risk differently. And they also are very good at overestimating their own abilities when they get into something new. The Dunning-Kruger effect, if I said that right, have you come across that? Basically, when we try something new, and we have a little bit of experience, a tiny little bit of experience, we go, “wow, I’m really good at this. Yeah. So, we suddenly go, ooh, I’ve walked up a small hill. I can do Everest.” So, they then push themselves. And yeah, that isn’t a new thing. So, this is a bit I disagree with. It’s something that has never been a new thing.
I think now we’re just getting better at reporting them [rescues], and they’re getting traction in the media. Young people, particularly males, going out, pushing themselves, and having misadventures, is not a new phenomenon… So, yes, young people take more risks.
Q: What is the best advice you can give to this new generation of keen hikers to increase their safety whilst in the mountains?
A: Oh, great question. I would say build up your experience gradually.
As I mentioned before, learning from your little mistakes rather than making a big mistake and needing rescued. So, building it up slowly. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Little steps and all the rest of it. Learn from others. And as I said, that might be from an experienced friend, family member, it might be joining a club, where there’s more experienced people are, it might be going on a course, a mountaineering Scotland, have courses, there are other providers out there that run courses, and there might be open courses, or you can hire the skills of a guide or an instructor.
And actually invest in your safety… Being able to navigate the hills is such a big part of being safe. Invest in your skills, take things slowly and go to trusted sites. It’s not just Instagram reels, shorts, and stuff like that; go to trusted websites for skills and advice. And from my point of view, uh, www.mountaineering.scott, mountaineering Scotland’s website. It’s a free website; there’s no paywall for all our information.
We have articles about everything from how to get involved, and there’s a free online course called Sofa to Summit. We’re in the process of relaunching that; there’s a bit of a waiting list as we’re literally revamping it. That’s completely free. That’s used by people all around the world, which is fascinating when you see where it’scoming from… So, the information is out there. People are really keen to encourage new hikers to do the right thing. They’ve just got to take that step of finding the right information.
Q: What do you think about the phrase, all the gear and no idea?
A: It’s a lovely phrase, isn’t it? I’ve probably used it once or twice in my past as well. Mainly because I would be jealous when I was younger that someone had all the gear and I didn’t. It’s a balance. There’s no point having all the knowledge, but no gear. And likewise, there’s no point having all the gear, but no knowledge. So, it’s the balance. You’ve got to know what you’re going into.
You’ve got to have the skills to navigate, you’ve got to have the ability to physically undertake the thing you’re doing, but you’ve also got to have the right equipment. You’ve definitely got to have the right equipment. That report you mentioned about going into the hills in winter, minus 15 with trainers and no waterproofs. I mean, A pair of winter boots and waterproofs would have made absolutely all the difference. They might still be lost and need rescuing. Who knows? But they would have absolutely guaranteed it would have been more comfortable and had a better chance if Mountain Rescue hadn’t got to them.
There are still plenty of people who spend 100s of 100s, if not 1000s of pounds on the right equipment. That does not make you safer in itself, because you might still get lost. You still might fall off something. So, it’s that balance. You can’t have one without the other. But you don’t have to have the “Gucciest”, most expensive kit.
If you look back at my parents’ generation, of what they were going out to the hills with, they didn’t have Gore-Tex, fancy rucksacks and stuff like that, but they climbed Everest, well, not my parents, but, you know, their generation, they climbed Everest. We have much better kit now and much easier access to better kit.
But the thing that most people are missing most of the time is the experience and the knowledge to make good decisions. And that decision might be “turn around, come back another day”. It might be “today I’m going to stick to the path because my navigation skills aren’t 100% and the mist is down”, or it could be “beautiful blue sky, no wind. Wow, I want to go up there and then walk up there and come back and have a great day”, and that’s their adventure.
