Essential Planning for Hillwalkers
Welcome to The White Spider, this website has been created as a free resource to help hillwalkers and climbers plan trips to Britain’s national parks and other upland areas. The site brings together detailed mapping (OS and topographical), webcams, photo galleries, and other related info
Naming of The White Spider
The site name and logo design are a reference to the famous hanging ice-field on the ‘classic route’ of the North Wall of the Eiger, with its snow filled cracks radiating out in the shape of a spider. The name became synonymous with mountaineering when Heinrich Harrer took its name for his landmark book detailing the first successful ascent in 1938 (by Heckmair, Vörg, Harrer and Kasparek). The Eiger’s association with this website may not initially be obvious, but the unique challenge of its North Face, combined with the history and drama that grew alongside multiple ill-fated ascent attempts, inspired a ‘golden’ generation of British climbers in the 1950s and 60s (including Chris Bonington/Ian Clough – first British ascent) to make the journey to tackle the treacherous route, often after honing their skills in the very fells and mountains featured on this site, particularly in Snowdonia and the Lake District
Cairngorm Plateau, Jan 2012