The Book of the Bivvy

Book excerpt: This book provides an informed, instructive, and wry insight into the world of the bivouac, drawing upon the author's wealth of personal experience. It is a celebration of bivvying - back-to-basics camping with just a lightweight bag between you and the elements. Honest and entertaining, there is every chance it will inspire you to find a remote hilltop, roll out your bag, and watch the sunset. Practical tips about different types of membranes, sites, techniques and minimalist kit A half-and-half mix of how to do it and why to do it (or how not to do it and why not to do it) Accounts of bivvybag nights and expeditions, both nice and nasty The rich and colourful history of the bivvy, including references from Classical Greece and the role of the bivvy in the first successful ascent of the Eigerwand Six routes for the aspiring bivouacker, in the Lake District, Scotland and the Spanish Sierra Nevada