Fab’s Friday Field Notes

Garmin just bought TrainingPeaks. A note on betrayal, old patterns, and why the right response is patience, not panic, from someone rehabbing a shoulder.

Before you climb, you trust the topo. On 15 June, NHS England admitted the topo for its most sensitive patient data was wrong: suppliers hold standing access the public was told did not exist. Read through the eight Caldicott Principles, this is not a clerical slip but a question of trust, capability, and who, in the end, the data answers to.

There’s a moment on every climb where the obvious hold leads nowhere. Anthropic built the most capable AI in history — and didn’t release it. Red lines aren’t weaknesses. They’re the route.

I didn’t always hold the line — sometimes I moved with the room, called it pragmatism. The ethical line isn’t abstract; it’s heavy. And it teaches you one thing the easy choices never do: how to see it before you’re standing on it.

I don’t map routes this time — I map ideas. With attention, not certainty.
After injury, after failure, the question is never whether you can climb again. It’s whether you still want to. I still want to.
The effort I put into organising outdoor adventures — the route research, the conditions checking, the preparation — I’m now applying to business. Not as metaphor. As method.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Fab’s Friday Field Notes (Saturday Edition) These notes are a day late. Yesterday was full, ride, work, climbing, family, friends. In that order. Mostly. Sometimes the best thing you can do is let the week breathe before you write about it. Friday morning. Winchester. December sun pretending it’s April. Craig and I on the trails … Read More

Fab’s Friday Field Notes We had one of our climbing friends over for dinner this week. Beautiful person, exceptional climber, but suffering right now for reasons that have nothing to do with climbing. We didn’t offer advice. We offered dinner, conversation, and laughter. A place at the table. Sometimes the most profound thing you can … Read More

Fab’s Friday Field Notes This week reminded me of something I learned decades ago on la grande cresta with Alessandro Gogna and Marco Milani – that the outdoors doesn’t require epic journeys to distant peaks. Sometimes the most meaningful adventures begin right outside your door. Family Trails Saturday brought one of those simple, perfect moments. … Read More

Fab’s Friday Field Notes Note: Publishing Sunday instead of Friday – the whole family caught some bug this week. Which is itself a reminder: presence sometimes means being sick together, not performing productivity. I’ve been thinking about the friends I’m losing. Not through conflict or distance or falling out. Through something quieter and more insidious. … Read More