UK news Latest Climbing News from the UK |
| Aug 7: BMC to meet Gordon Brown at Downing Street |
| by Tony Ryan - BMC |
The Prime Minister is hosting a reception for the BMC in 'Celebration of British Mountaineering' at No.10 Downing Street on Wednesday 8th October 2008.
The event is being held in recognition of the work of the BMC, of all British mountaineering activities and the current role our sport plays in contributing to a fit and active nation in the 21st century. The reception will be hosted personally by The Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP and attended by government ministers, MPs, members of the House of Lords and senior civil servants.
The BMC has submitted a list of people to be invited including senior figures from the mountaineering world and key partner organisations, a number of BMC volunteers, competition climbers, the outdoor media and leading grassroots activists in rock climbing, mountaineering, hill walking, and exploration. Guest numbers are limited so regrettably not everyone can be invited.
Read more on the BMC Website |
( Read More... | 16 comments, 14:02 Thu )
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( Source: BMC ) |
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| Aug 7: Hard Rock Festival II and South West Film Festival |
| by UKC News |
![[Hard Rock Festival II, 5 kb] [Hard Rock Festival II, 5 kb]](http://img.ukclimbing.com/t/94601.jpg) What: Hard Rock Festival II and South West Film Festival.
When:15 to 17th August.
Where: Mill Adventure Centre, South Molton, Devon
Climbing competitions: dry tooling, speed, bouldering, and lead comps with over £1,000 in prizes; film festival, talks, beer, party, trade stands, live music, workshops.
Last year Rich Mayfield and Mark Stevenson completed all the 60 routes in Hard Rock in 35 days and finished with a grand party, The Hard Rock Festival. See this video taster: Hard Rock Challenge Film
This year the celebrations continue and again in aid of Mountain Rescue.
Tickets are £5 per day or £15 for the weekend (including camping). If you are looking to camp for the weekend you need to pre book your tickets.
Full details at http://www.hardrockfest.co.uk or http://www.swfilmfest.co.uk
If you require anymore information or wish to buy tickets, please contact Hard Rock Festival II on 01769 572070 or email them at info@rockandrapidadventures.co.uk
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( Read More... | 2 comments, 16:49 Thu )
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| Aug 6: VACANCIES: Three Climbing Jobs |
| by UKC News |
The Westway Sports Centre in London is looking for a full time Climbing Wall Duty Manager: Salary £18,404. Full job description and how to apply here: Job Vacancy: Climbing Duty Manager
DMM are also on the hunt for a customer service representative who is fluent in written and spoken German. You'll be based in Llanberis and your main role will be building strong relationships and identifying new business opportunities within the German speaking countries.
Full details and how to apply here: JOB VACANCY at DMM
Wild Country, based in Tideswell near Buxton in the Peak are looking for a International / Export Sales Co-ordinator. The primary role is to maintain and develop Sales in Export markets
Full details and how to apply here: International / Export Sales Co-ordinator
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( Read More... | 1 comments, 13:11 Wed )
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World news Latest Climbing News across the globe |
| Aug 6: K2: Survivors Recount Tragedy |
| by Melissa Thomasma - Alpinist.com |
Read Luca Signorelli's translation of Marco Confortola's account at UKClimbing.com, here.
The last known survivor of the disastrous ice avalanche on the upper flanks of K2 has descended to base camp.
With the assistance of an American mountaineer and two Sherpas, Italian climber Marco Confortola was able to reach base camp and is currently awaiting helicopter rescue. As soon as weather permits, Confortola will be picked up from base camp and flown to Skardu, Pakistan, where he will receive advanced medical care. He is said to be suffering from extreme frostbite on his feet, like the other survivors of the avalanche.
"Up there it was hell. During the descent, beyond 8000 meters, due to the altitude and the exhaustion I even fell asleep in the snow, and when I woke up I could not figure out where I was," Confortola told his brother Luigi in Italy via satellite phone.
Last weekend Dutch climbers Wilco van Rooijen and Cas van de Gevel were flown to a military hospital in Skardu; they are receiving treatment for their own frostbite.
"Everything was going well to Camp 4 and on summit attempt everything went wrong," van Rooijen reflected. He said that while earlier expeditions had fixed lines through the Bottleneck, they had placed them at incorrect places, making them unsafe. "We were astonished. We had to move [the fixed lines]. That took of course, many, many hours. Some turned back because they did not trust [the lines] anymore," he explained.
Read the full report by Melissa Thomasma on the Alpinist Website |
( Read More... | 3 comments, 19:28 Wed )
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( Source: Alpinist ) |
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| Aug 5: Gloomy Day in K2 Base Camp |
| by UKC News |
Nicholas Rice writes from K2 Base Camp: August 5th 2008:
Today, after a rainy night in base camp, I headed down to the empty mess tent to enjoy a quiet breakfast. I quickly got working on starting my now very tired generator, and plugged in all my dead electronics; after receiving countless emails and phone calls from the media, and making very difficult calls to the loved ones of the deceased, my 17.2Amp lead acid battery wasn't quite cutting it. I logged into my email and was again barraged with requests for interviews from the media.
I took a break from the computer, and headed down to Gilkey Memorial to put up the plates we had made to memorialize Hugues, Karim, Gerard, and Baig. It was ironic, as the last time I had gone was with a happy healthy Hugues. I am, however, happy that he in the end, achieved his goal. This was his third year in a row on K2, and finally he had made the summit and lived his dream. It is a shame that triumph and tragedy seem to come hand in hand on K2. After the memorial, I headed back to base camp. I still have my fingers crossed for the Italians, as they are still waiting for the helicopter evacuation from ABC on the Abruzzi Route.
Read the full blog entry at www.nickrice.us
Also of note is this analysis by Freddie Wilkinson at the Huffington Post: Avalanche Triggers Survival Situation on K2 |
( Read More... | 2 comments, 18:19 Tue )
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| Aug 5: 8000m First Ascent - Despite Major Head Injury |
| by Erik Lambert |
![[Gasherbrum 1, 2 kb] [Gasherbrum 1, 2 kb]](http://img.ukclimbing.com/t/94408.jpg) A new route was established last week by Russians Valery Babanov and Victor Afanasiev on the southwest face of Gasherbrum I (8068m) despite Afanasiev suffering a severe head injury from rockfall. Their alpine-style blitz took four days, from July 29 to August 1, two weeks after their ascent of Broad Peak (more details on the Alpinist Website).
On the night of July 30, their second night on the wall, a rock falling from above ripped through the tent and struck Afanasiev on the head. Babanov spent the remainder of the evening helping his partner control the bleeding. "We thought our climbing was over," Olga Babanova reports her husband saying over satellite phone. "But we cannot descend the same way we came up. It was dangerous." To retreat, the pair was forced to continue to the ridge, but upon reaching it Afanasiev "decided that he had the endurance to go to the summit."
Read the full report by Erik Lambert on the Alpinist Website |
( Read More... | 5 comments, 19:24 Tue )
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( Source: Alpinist ) |
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Events Diary Lectures, Competitions & picnics |
| Fri, Aug 8: Derby Two Day Climbing Festival 2008 |
Alter Rock Climbing Centre Derby. |
( Link: Alter Rock Climbing ) |
| Fri, Aug 15: South West Film Festival |
All weekend, The Mill, South Molton, Devon |
( Link: South West Film Fest ) |
| Fri, Aug 15: Hard Rock Festival |
15th - 17th. The Mill Adventure Centre, South Molton, Devon |
( Link: Hard Rock Fest ) |
| Thu, Aug 21: BMC FUNdamentals of climbing workshop |
9.30am - 5pm, The Climb, Amersham |
( Link: BMC website ) |
| Sun, Sep 14: Costa Blanca DWS Festival |
Costa Blanca 14th-20th September |
( Link: www.dwsfest.co.uk ) |
| Wed, Sep 24: Dave McLeod - Don't Die Lecture and Masterclasses |
Edinburgh International Climbing Arena: Ratho
South Platt Hill
Newbridge
Lecture starts at 19.00 |
( Link: eica-ratho.com ) |
| Thu, Sep 25: Dave McLeod - Safe is Risky |
7.30pm Boyd Orr Theatre, Glasgow |
( Link: super7.co.uk ) |
| Fri, Oct 3: International Climbers' Meet |
October 3-10th, 2008. Indian Creek, UT |
( Link: American Alpine Club - Internati ) |
| Thu, Oct 9: Simon Yates - To the Uttermost Parts of the Earth |
London, Imperial College, 7.30pm |
( Link: super7.co.uk ) |
| Sun, Oct 12: SIBL Round 1 |
The Arch. 9am Registration |
( Link: SIBL ) |
| Wed, Oct 15: Simon Yates - To the Uttermost Part of the Earth |
EICA Ratho, 7.30pm |
( Link: www.super7.co.uk ) |
| Thu, Oct 16: Simon Yates - To the Uttermost Part of the Earth |
Glasgow, Boyd Orr Theatre, 7.30 pm |
( Link: www.super7.co.uk ) |
| Thu, Oct 16: UCR Boulder Competition Round 1 |
Winter Bouldering Series Round 1: 4pm, 5.45pm, 7.30pm |
( Link: Undercover Rock Ltd ) |
| Fri, Oct 24: Doug Scott Lecture - A Crawl Down The Ogre |
7.30pm at New Mills Town Hall, New Mills |
( Link: www.canepal.org.uk ) |
| Sat, Oct 25: Doug Scott Lecture - A Crawl Down The Ogre |
7.30pm at Wakefield College - Thornes Campus, Wakefield. |
( Link: www.canepal.org.uk ) |
| Sat, Oct 25: BMC Technical Conference |
Plas Y Brenin |
( Link: BMC ) |
| Sun, Oct 26: Doug Scott Lecture - A Crawl Down The Ogre |
7.30pm at Eastgate Theatre, Peebles. |
( Link: www.canepal.org.uk ) |
| Mon, Oct 27: Doug Scott Lecture - A Crawl Down The Ogre |
7.30pm at The Buccleuch Centre, Langholm. |
( Link: www.canepal.org.uk ) |
| Tue, Oct 28: Doug Scott Lecture - A Crawl Down The Ogre |
7.30pm at The Magnum Centre, Irvine. |
( Link: www.canepal.org.uk ) |
| Wed, Oct 29: Doug Scott Lecture - A Crawl Down The Ogre |
7.30pm at The Tait Hall, Edenside Road, Kelso. |
( Link: www.canepal.org.uk ) |
| Mon, Nov 3: Doug Scott Lecture - A Crawl Down The Ogre |
7.30pm at Easterbrook Hall, Crichton Campus, Dumfries. |
( Link: www.canepal.org.uk ) |
| Thu, Nov 6: Doug Scott Lecture - A Crawl Down The Ogre |
7.30pm Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow. |
( Link: www.canepal.org.uk ) |
| Fri, Nov 7: Doug Scott Lecture - Life & Hard Times |
7.30pm at George Sq. Lecture Theatre, Edinburgh. |
( Link: www.canepal.org.uk ) |
| Sat, Nov 8: UCR Boulder Competition Round 2 |
Winter Bouldering Series Round 2 at the Climbing Festival: 10am, 12pm, 2pm |
( Link: Undercover Rock Ltd ) |
| Mon, Nov 10: Doug Scott Lecture - Life & Hard Times |
7.30pm at Douglas Hotel, 43 Market St. Aberdeen. |
( Link: www.canepal.org.uk ) |
| Tue, Nov 11: Doug Scott Lecture - Life & Hard Times |
7.30pm at Discovery Point, Discovery Quay, Dundee |
( Link: www.canepal.org.uk ) |
| Tue, Nov 11: BMC Winter Lecture |
19:30 at Manchester University. |
( Link: BMC website ) |
| Wed, Nov 12: Doug Scott Lecture - Life & Hard Times |
7.30pm at Byre Theatre, Abbey Street. St Andrews. |
( Link: www.canepal.org.uk ) |
| Wed, Nov 12: BMC Winter Lecture |
19:30 at Newcastle University. |
( Link: BMC website ) |
| Thu, Nov 13: Doug Scott Lecture - Life & Hard Times |
7.30pm at Lochgelly Centre, Lochgelly. |
( Link: www.canepal.org.uk ) |
| Thu, Nov 13: Mt Everest - Stories of Life and Death, Dr Jeremy Windsor |
London, Imperial College, 7.30 pm |
( Link: www.super7.co.uk ) |
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