The Director's Cut!

Three Peaks 24 hour Challenge

The 30th May saw our first Three Peaks Challenge of the year in The Anthony Nolan Trust series.

Scorching temperatures on Ben Nevis did little to deter our intrepid Three Peakers who made good time before heading down to the Lakes where Scafell Pike was waiting in darkness.

Snowdon was ascended in similar conditions to the Ben, but a cold beer - I mean orange juice - was waiting in the Vaynol Arms for our teams and this seemed to spur them on to the end!

Well done to everyone; £10000 was raised for the lifesaving work of the Trust!

Training for the Three Peaks Challenge

A fantastic weekend was had by all on Scafell Pike last weekend as we prepared teams for their 2009 Three Peaks Challenges.

Teams set off in bright sunshine on Saturday morning. However, an electric storm in the afternoon demonstrated perfectly the rapid changeability of mountain weather.

The weather on Sunday was warm and sunny and allowed teams to brush up on their rusty navigation skills with MLs Leo and Pete

Our next training event takes place in Snowdonia on May 9/10. If you are attempting the Three Peaks this year why not come along and gain some valuable skills and info to help make it a successful Challenge? Call us on 0800 5870988 to book your place.

Three Peaks Challenge 2009

Bookings for places on our Three Peaks Challenges are coming in thick and fast this year!

Our Credit-Crunch busting offer is proving irresistable and many dates are now completely full! Book a team of four or more on any of our listed events and one person goes free! That's a saving of nearly £400! In addition, book 5 or more places and we'll also waive the cost of your Mountain Leader.

We still have availability on May 16/17, June 6/7 and 20/21, Aug 29/30.

Call us on 0800 5870988 or email us via www.mountainandglen.com to secure your place before they all go!

Andy Kirkpatrick - Psychovertical

I went to listen to a presentation by Andy Kirkpatrick last week. What an amazing evening! His casual style and self-effacing humour were in contrast to the pictures he showed - vertigo-inducing stills and videos from some of the world's big walls.

The audience were completely spellbound by Andy's description of climbing El Capitan with his girlfriend, Karen Darke. Climbing El Cap is a huge achievement in itself (Andy has climbed it many times before - including a solo ascent of the Reticent Wall). What made this climb so amazing is that Karen lost the use of both her legs in a climbing accident and Andy had to devise a pully system that would allow her to belay him as he led, before jumaring up the rope herself! Andy likened the achievement to doing 4000 pull-ups!

Karen has led a life of adventure, before and after the accident that left her paralysed. Hearing Andy describe their achievement was both inspirational and humbling.

Andy will also be joining Phil Packer's team to lead another ascent of El Cap in June. Former Army Major Phil Packer was injured in an incident following a rocket attack in Basra, Iraq on 19 Feb 08. Sadly, as a result of the accident he lost the use of his legs and is now a paraplegic with what are classed as catastrophic injuries. He was originally told he would never walk again but Phil is on a mission to raise one million pounds to assist Help for Heroes in their crucial work. See www.philpacker.com to make a donation.

Check out www.andy-kirkpatrick.com and http://karendarke.com for more information.

Three Peaks Challenge Training Weekend 2009

Our 25/26 April Three Peaks training weekend is now almost fully subscribed, although a few team places are still available.

Remember, you don't have to be booked on one of our Challenges to come along!

We are the only operator offering the chance to ascend Scafell Pike in darkness, simulating actual Challenge conditions.

We have years of experience running successful Three Peaks Challenges (and as participants!) so if you feel your preparations need a helping hand why not call us on 0800 5870988 or click the title to be linked directly to the training page of our website.

Hope to see you there!

Winter Ben Nevis

We have stacks of snow here in Scotland - (It is that time of year after all!) and Ben Nevis in winter is a"must-do" mountain! We are offering an ascent of this iconic mountain via the Carn Mor Dearg Arete plus a full day's winter skills training high in the Nevis Range (which gives fantastic views of the Ben itself). Two night's accommodation is included, all you have to do is pack your winter kit and get to Glasgow!

see http://www.mountainandglen.com/ for further details and to book.

We also offer various other winter experiences.

The Red Dragon Raid 2009

A new event for our 2009 adventure portfolio, The Red Dragon Raid involves summiting 14 of the Welsh peaks over 3000ft over a two day period. Teams will be guided by one of our local Mountain Leaders throughout.

This event was developed for the Anthony Nolan Trust and takes place in Snowdonia on September 4th - 6th 2009. Bespoke events are also available on request.

Day One

Teams will be transported to the start at Pen y Pass, before ascending the Pyg track to the summit of Snowdon (1085m). The route then takes in Garnedd Ugain (1065m), past Clogwyn Station on the Snowdon railway, before descending down Cwm Hetiau to the village of Nant Peris, where food and refreshments await! With the Snowdon Massif under your belt you will cross the A4086 where the Glyderau await.

Elidir Fawr (924m) is the first challenge before contouring round Bwlch Y Brecan to Y Garn (947m). The route then takes you past Llyn y Cwn to the summit of Glyder Fawr (999m), then Glyder Fach (994m) before heading towards the final peak of the day, Tryfan (915m).

A challenging descent takes you down to the road where transport will be waiting to take you back to base camp, where a hot shower and food await. Teams will overnight here under canvas.

Day Two

Transport will take teams back to the base of Tryfan, to tackle the Carneddau section of the Raid.

From here the first challenge is Pen Yr Ole Wen (978m) before heading over to Carnedd Dafydd (1044m). A slight detour from the ridge line takes you to Yr Elen (962m) before heading back to summit Carnedd Llewelyn (1064m). The route then takes teams over Foel Grach (976m), Garnedd Uchaf (926m) and Foel Fras (942m), before dropping down from the ridge line to Aber, where your transport awaits!

All tentage, food and transport are provided from your arrival to your departure.

See www.anthonynolan.org.uk/reddragonraid or call the office on 0800 5870988 for more details

Whatever happened to common sense?

Every time I'm walking on one of the more popular "tourist" routes up British mountains I must admit to feeling a mixture of surprise and anger at some of the idiots I meet. In fact whilst sitting on the summit of Ben Nevis last summer, I counted how many people were inadequately equipped or inappropriately dressed. The final figure was around 90%! Most people were wearing footwear with no ankle support, many had jeans on and hardly anyone was carrying a daysack or any equipment!


More importantly, I'm always angered by the stupidity of parents who decide to not only risk their own safety but the safety of their children. We regularly see the "competitive dad" types walking with rather unhappy (and tired) looking youngsters. During our recent training weekend a woman had ventured to the summit of Scafell Pike with a toddler and a babe in arms. Obviously not having read the local weather forecast, the mother was wearing jeans and a cotton hoody, the toddler was attired in jeans and a leather jacket and the toddler in an all-in-one cotton suit. When we saw them again at the car park, the baby looked seriously cold, having experienced what was probably his first hail shower! His extremities were uncovered and looked red and sore. Surely this is tantamount to child abuse? This child could easily have become hypothermic or suffered a non-freezing cold injury. His slightly older brother looked cold, wet and tired - classic conditions for the rapid onset of hypothermia.

Come on folks - it's not rocket science! It might look picture postcard perfect from the car park but the conditions on most mountains can change rapidly, even in summer. People can and do die all year round on Britain's mountains. In addition, the strain that some people's selfish stupidity puts on UK Mountain Rescue organisations (which are charities, staffed by unpaid volunteers) is becoming critical.

Mobile phones have made people less self-reliant; it's all too easy now to call Mountain Rescue for situations that don't require them. Many seem to think that they can call to be guided off a mountain! That said, if you are in genuine trouble don't rely on your mobile. Signals can be infrequent in the mountains with all major providers. Individuals on independent Three Peaks Challenges are often horrified to find that the Wasdale Head area at the base of the Scafell Massif has no mobile signal at all, preventing communication with any support team.

The current popularity of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) is a double edged sword. It's a great piece of kit to complement use of a map and compass but on it's own it can be responsible for many mountain rescues. People need to understand that GPS has it's limitations; it relies on being able to "see" satellites overhead. If poor weather or geographic features prevent this (as often happens on Scafell Pike) the GPS can become extremely inaccurate. It's effectiveness can also be limited by operator error. If you're thinking of purchasing one, please please learn to effectively use a map and compass first and always use these as your primary navigation tools.

My advice would be;

• If you have no experience take advice before you venture into the mountains.
• Carry a map and compass. Know how to use them!
• Ensure you have the right clothing and equipment for every eventuality. Carry a headtorch even during the day - what would happen if you became delayed into darkness due to injury or navigational error?
• Carry spare clothing.
• Ensure you have more food and water than you expect to consume.
• Check weather forecasts - http://www.mwis.org.uk/ provides specific forecasts for all Britain's major mountain areas.
• Consider leaving a routecard and estimated time of return with someone responsible who can react if you don't return on time.

http://www.mountainandglen.com/ contains information on choosing the right clothing and has a kit list for mountain walking.

Our valuable Mountain Rescue resources are being stretched to their limits by some peoples' ignorance. Let's all take responsibility for our own actions and prepare adequately before heading out to enjoy the beauty of Britain's wild places.