Hammock Camping 101 with Rick Morales
Secret Compass Expedition Leader Rick Morales talks all things sleeping in a hammock Rick Morales is an expedition leader in Panama, who leads Secret Compass Darien Gap expeditions. If there’s… read more
How memorising an Atlas led to a career as an Expedition Leader
Interview with an Paramedic and Expedition Leader with almost two decades of experience Luca Alfatti is qualified as an Advanced Paramedic, he is also an expedition leader here with us… read more
HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2021
As we step into a new year, we like to showcase and celebrate the commercial projects we’ve been able to safely work on in 2021, which has made a remarkable year… read more
HOW TO THINK LIKE AN EXTREME TV SAFETY ADVISOR
Insights from Will Smith’s Welcome to Earth Series 2 with SC safety advisor Dave Lucas The new Welcome to Earth series launched last week and it’s a pretty big deal.… read more
IT FEELS GOOD TO BE BACK
As for everyone else, adventure has been largely off the cards for us in the last year with most of our planned expeditions forced to be cancelled. But this month… read more
WHAT HAS SC BEEN UP TO?
Around this time every year we like to do a round-up of some of our most memorable highlights of the previous year, looking at the pioneering adventures we’ve been a… read more
INTRODUCING THE PAMIR TRAIL
A whopping 93% of Tajikistan’s landmass is considered mountainous but despite being a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts, the country doesn’t have the fame of other mountain nations like Nepal or… read more
WIN AN EXPEDITION HAMMOCK AND ADVENTURE WEEKEND
Win an expedition hammock from Hennessy Hammocks and a spot on one of our UK Adventure Weekends
WHAT IT MEANS TO TREAD LIGHTLY
Reindeer are like children. You guide them, graze them, protect them, they become your pride. They give you purpose, direction and identity, it is a primal, wild matrimony.
HOW TO PREPARE FOR YOUR NEXT EXPEDITION
While for most of us, international travel is still on ice, plans for an adventurous 2021 are taking form. But when you do find yourself back in the mountains, the… read more
9 LIFE LESSONS FROM THE NENETS
We’re often told that making time for reflection is important. And it’s not rocket science. How many times can you say a pause on the day to day has provided… read more
MENTOR IN THE MOUNTAINS
My name is Carlo Cosi, I’m 32-years-old. For eight years, I’ve been making my greatest passion the most beautiful job in the world: the mountain guide.
HOW ARE SC LEADERS SPENDING THE LOCKDOWN?
We check in with the Secret Compass expedition leaders to hear how they’re spending the lockdown
WATCH: THE BEST ADVENTURE FILMS FROM BANFF
Classic adventures from the best of the film festival in recent years
READ BASE ISSUE #03 IN FULL
Secret Compass don’t just run epic expeditions, we also support TV and Film productions in wild places and even run an adventure magazine. Issue #03 of BASE was launched in… read more
MANOEUVRING THE MUNROS
Of all the places I’ve worked however, Scotland holds a unique appeal for me. A good adventure photo should make you, as the viewer, either want to be there, or… read more
ODE TO THE STRUGGLE
Call it masochistic, but we’re all for adding a pinch of torment back into adventure. This isn’t a case for heading out ill-equipped and under prepared, far from it. Instead this… read more
AN EXPEDITION IS NOT A HOLIDAY
An expedition is not a holiday. It’ll start at the edge of your comfort zone and take you well beyond it. In unfamiliar and extreme surroundings, at times it’ll be… read more
EVEREST AND THE MISSION TO COMPLETE THE ADAPTIVE GRAND SLAM
Earlier this year, Martin took another massive leap towards reaching his grand slam, by reaching the roof of the world, on what was likely to be the busiest day in… read more
5 REASONS WHY TEAM EXPEDITIONS MAKE THE BEST ADVENTURES
For those juggling an adventurous life with the demands of a full time job, a busy family life or with just a small time window on offer, settling on a… read more
EXPLORING THIS REMOTE ISLAND CHAIN SHOULD BE YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE
Looking to step out of your comfort zone to top off 2019 with an adventure capable of changing the way you look at the world? Well, exploring the remote Louisiade… read more
WIN AN ADVENTURE AND GEAR PACKAGE WORTH £1,000
What’s a better match for an adventure than a fresh new technical get-up? With that in mind, we’re giving away the perfect adventure package worth a combined total of £1000.… read more
REACHING MY PEAK
Behind the most impressive feats of endurance there lies levels of resilience, determination and mental strength which go beyond what most of us have ever experienced. Through his ultra-running, coaching… read more
THERE ARE NO QUEUES IN THESE UNTRODDEN WILDS
For obvious reason, the iconic trails and climbs will forever remain exactly that, unlikely to stop attracting vast numbers of visitors. But sharing the trail with hundreds of others has… read more
EMBRACE THE SPIRIT OF SLOW TRAVEL
Sure, the latest innovations offer comfort and efficiency in today’s transportation, but chasing technology has never been our style. Instead, we’re stripping back to basics for more immersive experiences. We’ve… read more
ARE YOU CRAZY? IT’S DANGEROUS!
All Western media ever talks about, are the wars and ethnic conflicts, variously mismanaged or escalated by local governments and often abetted by foreign interference or, more succinctly, by the… read more
CRACKING THE ICE
Nothing else quite excites and terrifies me like ice climbing. But that exhilaration is addictive. I constantly surprise myself with what I’m able to accomplish when I let go of… read more
BENEATH THE GREENLAND ICE CAP
Will Gadd has been climbing ice for 35 years, and with the first ascent of Niagara Falls among his achievements he has long led that charge. Striving to give back… read more
POSTCARD HIGHLIGHTS FROM A YEAR OF EXPEDITIONS
It seems like just last week that we were putting together the highlights from 2017, but here we are. Another year has flown by. Twelve months of expeditions and adventures… read more
WINTER NAVIGATION: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
Finding your way in the hills comes with its own inherent set of challenges and in winter the challenges are tenfold. Blanket snow cover can deem the features you’re used… read more
INTERVIEW: THE QUEST FOR THE FIRST WINTER ASCENT OF K2
With the second-highest fatality rate among the 8,000m+ peaks, located along Pakistan’s border with China, K2 is aptly known as the Savage Mountain.
SCALING THE GRANITE TOWERS OF NORTH EASTERN SIBERIA
An area of 13.1 million km², Siberia is home to some of the most isolated environments on Earth. Inconceivably large, there’s a shed load of nothing in the land accounting for 77%… read more
EXPLORING THE ETHICS OF CULTURAL IMMERSION
Inside the Arctic Circle in northern Siberia, the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous region is home to the indigenous nomads known as the Nenets. With a clan-based social structure, Nenets culture follows ancient… read more
THE FUNDAMENTALS OF TRAINING FOR EXPEDITION
Expeditions are a big undertaking. They demand a lot from our bodies as well as our minds, so – unless you’re one of a select few for whom expeditions are… read more
WHAT THE HELL IS BUZKASHI?
Before the game, the carcass is decapitated, gutted and soaked in water for the 24 hours ensuring it stays in one piece and sand is sometimes added for additional weight.… read more
ONE MORE RUN TURNED THIS SKI GUIDE’S LIFE UPSIDE DOWN
Pushing the envelope in the outdoors is a privilege held dear by those who do so. The labyrinth posed by perpetually evolving conditions is what makes adventure sports so inherently… read more
FOUR STEPS TO ADVENTURE
Rather than a complete off-the-shelf package, these are the foundations of your adventure. You won’t see dates, an itinerary or any sort of plan here.
HOW TO PLAN YOUR FIRST WILD CAMPING TRIP
If you’re new to wild camping and hiking self-supported, knowing where to start can feel a bit like a minefield. If that’s you, we put together the following guide to… read more
IS THIS THE FUTURE FOR FUNDING ADVENTURE?
Storytelling is an integral part of any expedition worth its weight. But with magazine and sponsorship budgets tighter than ever, the figureheads of modern day adventure are getting creative with… read more
IN KIT WE TRUST
These aren’t lightweight campfire gimmicks, this is the tried and tested, dependable kit we put to the test time and again on expeditions and the reasons why we continue to… read more
FIVE OUTDOOR GEAR HACKS
Dialling in your kit is an ever evolving venture, the specifics of which lie largely in the hands of personal preference. That said, for us these items are an essential… read more
THE TRIBE, THE RAINFOREST AND ME
From above, the Congolese jungle appears an inhospitable tangle of vegetation. Yet, over years of isolation, communities of hunter-gatherers have maintained a harmonious existence within the forest. Collectively known as… read more
HOW TO EAT LIKE AN EXPEDITION LEADER
No one better understands the importance of staying stocked up in the field than our expedition leaders, so we checked in with a few of them to learn their approaches… read more
INTERVIEW: BECKY COLES ON WOMEN IN ADVENTURE
Today is International Women’s Day and yesterday, Becky Coles, one of our female expedition leaders passed her Mountaineering Instructor Certificate. If there’s a better excuse to check in and chat,… read more
5 REASONS YOU NEED TO EXPLORE AFRICA
Africa has it all but while a select few of its countries have been blessed with tourism, minimal infrastructure and political instability have generally kept tourist levels low. Travel has… read more
TIME TO UNPLUG
Look around you, we’re plugged in with no escape plan. 34% of you checked Facebook in the last ten minutes. We call it connection but the longer we stay online,… read more
HOW TO SURVIVE IN THE JUNGLE
There’s no two ways about it, the jungle is amongst the most extreme environments on the planet. Hot and humid, there’s a myriad of life under its dense canopy, but… read more
THE HIGHLIGHT GALLERY
So with the prospect of a transition into the new year upon us, and a blank adventure canvas staring right back, we thought we’d take a look back at some… read more
THE GEOGRAPHY PEOPLE AND MYTHOLOGY OF AFRICA’S HIGHEST PEAK
Broadly considered the most accessible of the seven summits, Mt. Kilimanjaro is common place on adventure bucket lists around the world. But how much do you really know about Africa’s… read more