MY BEST CAMP

Camping season is upon us, and to celebrate we asked several of our staff & friends where is the best place they've ever camped...

• Name | Chris Tiso | CEO
• Location | Camp Three, Everest
• Tell Us About It | This photo was taken in 2000 from inside our tent at camp three on Mount Everest at an altitude of 24,500ft. To reach this camp you must climb the Lhotse face, a wall of ice stretching several thousand feet. Fixed ropes aid the ascent but it is nevertheless brutal. High winds often result in tents being damaged or destroyed entirely but the views are breath-taking.

• Name | Mollie Hughes | Tiso Ambassador & Adventurer
• Location | Hardangervidda National Park, Norway
• Tell Us About It | One of the best places I have camped is in the Hardangervidda National Park in Norway. During March 2019 I went on a week-long solo ski touring trip to this area, training for an expedition to Antarctica I am taking on later this year. The Hardangervidda is an incredible place; covering 3,422km² it is northern Europe’s largest mountain plateau. The night I took this photo I witnessed the most amazing sunset, as soon as the sun dipped so did the temperature, and within minutes it pushed close to -20c and I quickly retreated to my tent for warmth! Being a solo adventure made this trip even more special, camping out in this environment completely on my own after not seeing a soul all day was a strange but very cool feeling.

• Name | Jenny Tough | Ultra-Runner, Cyclist & Adventurer
• Location | Illimani, Bolivian Andes
• Tell Us About It | On Halloween night I slept on this amazing patch below Illimani (highest peak in the Bolivian Andes), next to a clear stream and some ancient Incan ruins. I made the best bonfire ever and sat up stargazing... until it started to snow. I'd had a really hard few days running across the Bolivian Andes, and that night was a turning point for me. It was so lovely and enjoyable and I couldn't believe my luck to find a campsite that perfect, and it made everything better.

• Name | Tristan Cameron Harper | Tiso Supported Athlete, Mountaineer & Photographer
• Location | Corrie Fee, Glen Clova, Angus
• Tell Us About It | Epic scenery, fresh water, wildlife, easy camp spot, epic walk thats not too long or hard with the option of bagging two great Munros, Mayar & Driesh. This place is magical when you get a clear calm night; great star viewing, possibility of spotting Golden Eagles and other birds of prey and of course great surrounding mountains to enjoy . I would be wary going at certain points of the year as midges can be really bad but if you're still set on going, best to pick a day when it's slightly windy or really sunny; midges don’t like bright sunlight and cant handle the wind.

• Name | Uisdean Hawthorn | Tiso ambassador & Climber
• Location | Mount Alberta, Canada
• Tell Us About It | Tom Livingstone and I climbed the north face of Mount Alberta in Canada in September 2016. This mountain is a full days walk away from any roads and requires some very hard technical climbing in a committing place. However, one of the best things about the route is that there is a cave 2/3rds of the way up the face that we slept in. The entrance is about 1m wide and half a meter tall but it opens out to be about 10m high; we walked back for 20 minutes and never reached the back of it. The cave has to be the most amazing place I've ever slept; it was very cold inside and the cave walls glittered in ice crystals but it felt amazing to be in a horizontal world again after 20 hours of climbing vertical limestone. Climbing back out onto the face to continue to the summit felt very intimidating and we were both reluctant to leave.

• Name | Scott Becker | Master Ski Technician, Climber & Speed Flyer
• Location | Nr Piedra Negra, Patagonia
• Tell Us About It | Over the years I have camped in some wild and wonderful places. This December I was in Patagonia with my friend Carlos Suarez, trying to make the most of the poor climbing weather. With a short window, our plan was to climb Fitzroy from the northwest side so we hiked along the Rio Electrico valley and up towards Paso Cuadrado. After passing the well-established camping areas at Piedra Negra, we continued up towards the pass and found a small spot perfectly situated between large boulders. After a little digging, we were able to make a flat platform just large enough for our small tent. All things considered we had a great night’s sleep before our Alpine start at 2:30 the following morning. After an 18 hour push and no summit the following day, we returned pleasantly surprised to find our tent hadn’t blown away in the fierce Patagonian winds despite forgetting to put rocks in it. What an awesome spot!

• Name | Polly Murray | Tiso Ambassador & Explorer
• Location | Mingulay, Outer Hebrides
• Tell Us About It | In my life I’ve been spoilt with cool camping spots. I find it hard to pin-point one in particular so I’ve gone for the abandoned Outer Hebridean island of Mingulay, 12 miles South of Barra. To reach our remote bay on the Eastern side of the island, we spent about 5 hours paddling our sea kayaks from the ferry port at Castlebay, Barra. Mingulay is completely uninhabited and has been for over a century. Setting up camp just above the beach on a blanket of lush grass with a convenient stream just metres away, we were in paradise! A pair of Golden Eagles soared above us each morning, and we spent hours on the beach and in the water playing all sorts of fun games. We explored the caves on the Western side of the island and paddled in and out of coves hugging the impressive cliffs. There were puffins flying awkwardly around us with Kittiwakes and Razorbills all around. We even had a very close encounter with a basking shark, a little unnerving for Rich as it popped up right beside his kayak while he was fishing for mackerel! We even climbed one of the sea stacks that looked like a good rock climb! Blessed with wall to wall Scottish sunshine for the 3 days and the company of close friends, it doesn’t get much better than that…

• Name | Cath Alldred | Tiso Ambassador & Explorer
• Location | Tasiilaq Valley, Greenland
• Tell Us About It | To date the best place I have ever camped would have to be in the Tasiilaq Valley, East Greenland. This is where basecamp was set up for a new routing climbing expedition I did with a team of British climbers. It was remote and the surrounding vistas were breathtaking with a view of the moon most evenings moving across the sky with the valley framing it perfectly. The sound of rushing water from the glaciers up high on the plateau never let up and become more of a comfort than distraction each night I spent in my tent. So many times over the four weeks we were camped there I would poke my head outside my tent and just take it all in knowing this would be the only time I would camp here. Memories I still think about often five years on.

Been to an amazing camp spot? Tell us all about it on social media, and don't forget to enter our competition to win £500 of camping gear!