Sophie Nicholson has certainly been about a bit.

She's lived and worked all over the globe in a variety of locations including New York City, Madrid, Paris, London, Glasgow and the French Alps. Having spent 8 years living in the positively dreamy destination of St Gervais-les-Bains near Chamonix, she returned home to the Highlands of Scotland in 2016. When asked why, Sophie often pretends to be deaf and rambles on about the superior quality of whisky and the positive benefits that cold rain can have on your skin.

Despite the fact that her parents don’t really know what she does,  Sophie will claim to have successfully carved out a career in sports media, initially in TV sport production capacity and latterly as a gear editor and outdoor/adventure travel writer.

Having spent many hours putting outdoor kit to the test for a range of leading outdoor publications  she realised there was a real need for decent female-specific gear resource out there and hence Pretty Gritty was born.

Sophie is passionate about human powered adventures of all kinds and can normally be found half way up or down a hill with a massive grin on her face. She digs fast and light gear, hairy dogs and 40 degree couloirs.

She doesn’t do well indoors. 

Sophie is also the Gear Editor for Fall-Line Skiing Magazine, the European Bureau Chief for GearJunkie in the US, Female Gear Editor and Features Writer for SNOW Magazine, Active Traveller and Cycle Traveller, Gear Editor for OutdoorsMagic, Travel Writer for The Scotsman Newspaper and contributes regularly to Sidetracked Magazine.