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Andrew Kirkpatrick

@psychovertical

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Link in bio by @psychovertical

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4 days ago

The next 'big thing'? by @psychovertical

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5 days ago

🔥Think this looks wild? This is just a taste of what Andy Kirkpatrick has in store.
Big walls. Wild adventures. And some incredible stories to tell.

This November, 2026 Lynam Award recipient Andy Kirkpatrick takes to the stage in Dublin — bringing the stories behind some of his extraordinary climbing adventures to the Lynam Lecture. 🧗‍♂️

🎬 Watch the trailer. Then come hear the stories behind it.
📅 19 November 2026
📍 Chartered Accountants House, Dublin
🎟️ Don’t miss it — book your tickets now via the link in bio!

#LynamLecture
#LynamAward
#ClimbingCommunity
#HikingCommunity
#MountaineeringIreland by @psychovertical

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7 days ago

Funny story…

I got an @petzl_official ARIA 2 a while back. I didn't read the instructions (who does?). I use it mainly for kayaking at night on the "inland sea", the Corrib (the largest lake in the Republic).

Last night I did a solo trip across the lake (who wants to go kayaking at night, in the wind and rain?), a 17km loop, some of it out in the barrens, where there are no islands, and things get wild. It was windy (29km/h), and because the lake is shallow (6m), with lots of shallower shallows, you get big waves, close together.

I'd just about crossed to the other side (wind behind me), with the waves getting bigger as they reached the shallows. It was pitch dark (9pm), and there were no lights anywhere. It was like landing on the dark side of the moon. I don't wear the head torch unless I really have to; you see further without it.

Suddenly, I hit a rock, or rather I landed on a rock, and the kayak was just stuck there, the waves crashing over me. I tried to brace, I tried to paddle, I tried to nudge myself off, but I fell in. I went from pitch black to pitch black upside down.

Luckily, I realised the shore was only about 30m away, so I just swam it with the kayak.

Once there, I was cold and decided to put my head torch on, so I could see the rocks to get off the shore and spot any others, plus I needed it to get my shit together, have a cup of tea, etc.

But when I tried to switch it on, I just got a red light. Fuck, it must be dead, I thought. Vanessa is always stealing it for trail running and mountain rescue, so I was cursing her. I didn't have a backup (I should have).

All I could do was carry on, which was tricky, as there's a big section of rocks to navigate, as well as a tunnel to find under a causeway.

I knew it had been a long night when, getting close to the end after fighting into the wind and waves for 8km, my phone rang. It was Vanessa, checking whether I'd drowned. It was midnight.

I was still cursing her for running down the battery on my head torch.

Then this morning, I held the button down for a few seconds, and the light came on. What an ace feature!

The moral of the story: read the fucking instructions! by @psychovertical

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7 days ago

In the history of Facebook, has anyone ever accepted a friend request from an Indian, Nepali or Pakistani guiding or trekking company, and actually gone on a trip with them?

Does this approach actually work?

I must have about 500 friend requests sitting on FB from these people, but I know as soon as I press accept, I'll get a waving hand emoji along with "Hello Mr Andrew".

Is it just me? by @psychovertical

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9 days ago

Watched Girl Climber this week (better late than never!). It's an OK film, but watching it made me wonder about how we often commodify other people's deaths, filmmakers most of all (most of my Substack seems to be about dead climbers, so I'm equally guilty).

If your film is to truly live, is it easiest if someone dies?

Link to Substack in bio or use: https://shl.so/to3hzn by @psychovertical

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9 days ago

“The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”

— Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus

{Climbing can sometimes be scary, and you're not sure if you'll come back. So can lifting heavy weights.} by @psychovertical

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9 days ago

Another blast from the past, this time it's the keyza soze of alpinism, Paul Ramsden (five-time winner of the Piolet d'Or and still buys his own boots), on the way to try the Bonnati route on the Matterhorn in early spring or late fall.

The pack was a Golite Gust (60 litres, going on 90), which was a remarkable rucksack for the time, and I think me and Paul got ours down to about 500g, and yet the thing was indestructible (mine had no padding in the back and no pockets).

The real part of mountaineering is not in the climbing; it's in learning how to carry shit around, mostly from one failure to another (Paul and I went on lots of trips, and almost all were a washout).

Alpinism is like war; it's not so much strategy that wins the day, it's logistics, most often being able to get enough food and fuel, and a good book, to the point where people with less would have to turn around. by @psychovertical

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9 days ago

Writing the long chapter on mountain clothing in The Beyond (my next book), it's interesting to reflect on how little clothing you need when you're moving, be it in Antarctica, Greenland, or here, in the Ruth Gorge, Alaska, in winter (I tried climbing a new route on Mt. Dickey with Paul Ramsden, before he was less famous). Paul is probably wearing the same amount of clothing as he would when walking the dog in Nottingham, apart from fleece bottoms, even though it was about -30 deg C. I think that line about starting cold is always spot on; the trick is not to remain that way!

@patagonia
@patagoniadublin by @psychovertical

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10 days ago

During COVID, I got a bit twitchy about where we might be headed, especially with the sudden switch from COVID to the war between Russia and Ukraine. So I started stockpiling food, just for peace of mind. It didn't cost much, and I probably had about 50kg of rice and lentils stowed away in barrels in the shed, plus flour and other stuff that would last several years (we already had a lot of off-grid cooking stuff due to regular power cuts). It sat for a couple of years until, after I'd been away for a few days, I came home, and it was all gone. My wife had tidied up the shed and given all the food away to a farmer friend to feed his animals. “You never used it,” was her explanation for why she got rid of it, and even when I said it was like getting rid of a fire extinguisher or a reserve parachute because of their lack of utility, she still failed to see my point. Then today, this dropped through the letterbox, advising all Irish citizens to stockpile food (why? It doesn't specify). Maybe I’m being, I’ll say, showing my toxic masculinity here, but worrying about protecting your family, lying awake at 3am thinking about shit like this, is not a fault; it’s an evolutionary feature. Be prepared. by @psychovertical

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10 days ago

Wasn’t everyone in the past a “crypto fascist”? by @psychovertical

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13 days ago

✨🎓 Students, this one’s for you — Lynam Lecture tickets are just €20! 🎟️✨

We’ve got a limited number of discounted student tickets up for grabs, giving you the chance to enjoy an evening of incredible climbing stories and adventure for just €20. 🧗‍♂️🔥

Join 2026 Lynam Award recipient Andy Kirkpatrick for an evening of big walls and unforgettable stories.🏔️

📅 19 November 2026
📍 Chartered Accountants House, Dublin
💰 Student Tickets: €20 (limited availability)

🔗 Tap the link in our bio to get yours!

#LynamAward
#AndyKirkpatrick
#StudentTickets
#ClimbingCommunity
#MountaineeringIreland by @psychovertical

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15 days ago