UKC

Ford SkyMasters and Leo 'Dicaprio' HouldingVideo

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Mick Ryan UKC

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The Ordnance Survey Outdoors Show is back. This huge event, held at the NEC Birmingham over 27-29 March, features a whole host of 'adventure' sports, especially climbing.

The big draw last year for climbers was the Ford SkyMasters climbing competition held on a climbing wall suspended from the ceiling.The competition route involved over 100 moves and negotiated a number of hanging objects including a Kalymnos section of stalactites ending with a dyno for a Ford Ranger truck! See second place winner Drew 'Dirtbag' Haigh in the photo above. Dave Barrans and Michaela Tracey were last years winners. Steve McClure is setting this year's routes

There's a detailed blueprint of this Entre-prises designed wall here. This year's wall is quite different, and designed by Walltopia, we'll have more details about that later.

Lots of other events and stands of interest to climbers too. DMM are bringing an ice climbing wall! Redpoint and Walltopia are bringing climbing walls. Alpkit are running their design competition, coLAB.

Leo 'Dicaprio' Houlding will be there (he's now a Ford Motor Company brand ambassador), as will Tim Emmett, Simon Yates, crusty Doug Scott CBE, Catherine Destivelle - settle down lads, and 'climbing incompetent', the incredible explorer Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet OBE - Eiger North Face at 64 despite a morbid fear of heights (see Kenton Cool's UKC article: Climbing with Sir Ranulph Fiennes - Part One)

UKC TICKET OFFER

The Outdoors Show have a special offer for UKClimbing.com readers. 2 adult tickets for just £22 (on the door price £34) Quote UKC1 when booking. Book online at OutdoorsShowExtra.co.uk or telephone 0844 415 4418.

Easier to grab them here: www.seetickets.com/outdoorsshow

Watch a video of last years Ford SkyMasters climbing competition below...........

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Comments

ericinbristol
21 Jan, 2009
Good event maybe. Crap video for sure
TobyA
21 Jan, 2009
I hope Leo is a more successful brand Ambassador for Ford than their current CEO has been in recent months. Making climbers struggle toward touching a beautiful, shiny sports pick-up seems an odd message to be sending right now - what with the very possible collapse of the company because of their focus on making trucks like the ranger. Oh well, there is always the American tax payers to bung them 12 billion in "bridging loans". So if you're good, if you struggle, yes you can cruise about in some pimped up builder's van getting less that 20 mpg. I guess they have to try and flog them somehow.
Tyler
21 Jan, 2009
I expect this year there'll be a few of them hanging from the ceiling, they've got to find somewhere to put them.
toad
21 Jan, 2009
in all probability, the Top Gear effect
TobyA
21 Jan, 2009
I heard Southampton docks has restyled itself as a car park for the Hondas that Honda isn't putting on ships because there is no where to send them to. Supposedly the docks are doing OK, even with no through traffic as they just charge the car firms to leave them there. But back to Leo and his trucks - d'ya reckon outdoorsy types have been identified as socio-economic group less touched by the economic downturn or something? Too many of us in the public sector maybe? You would have thought they might do better flogging these trucks at the British national lumberjack and tree surgeon convention or similar. Places with people who actually need pick ups.
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