Echoes launch night

Nick was on good form at the launch of his book 'Echoes' at the Outside Cafe in Hathersage. 

After negotiating the generous complimentary refreshments the audience steadied themselves for some up-close and personal time with the author. We kicked things off with the Premiere of our film 'Echoes - Outside is Hot and Sticky', introduced by film-maker Lukasz Warzecha. With the appetiser out of the way, Nick somehow managed to hold his tongue for two more minutes while Ed Douglas delivered a razor sharp introduction before unleashing him into the limelight. 

Launching straight into his characteristic energetic style, Nick entertained the full house with exotic tales of mountain adventures punctuated by poignant readings from his book until ultimately, quite frankly, it was time for a beer at the Little John...

We all had a great evening and a big thanks goes out to all the team at Outside Cafe, Vertebrate Publishing and Boreal for putting it all together and of course special thanks to Nick's entourage (The Hippy and Ray Wood) for delivering our protagonist in fine form.   

To buy a copy of Nick's book ‘Echoes’ head-over to the Vertebrate website

Watch 'Echoes - Outside is Hot and Sticky' by Polished Project now at our vimeo channel here  

Andy Turner Lecture: Dublin

UCD Mountaineering Club, Snow & Rock and Mountain Equipment are proud to present Andy Turner Lecture on Wednesday 18th April 2012.

 
The lecture will take place at 7.30pm in the Astra Hall, University College Dublin.

Tickets cost 5 Euro's and are available to buy at the UCD climbing wall, UCD Mountaineering Club and Snow & Rock store, Dundrum Tel: 00353 (0)1292 4700

All proceeds from the lecture will go to the Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue

The Long Hope Movie Night with Lukasz Warzecha

Were pleased to announce the next event at the Mountain Equipment Store, Deansgate, Manchester.
"The Long Hope Movie Night' will feature a lecture from friend of the brand and professional adventure photographer Lukasz Warzecha followed by a screening of the Hot aches productions film 'The Long Hope', this is set to be another great night at the store and we hope to see you all there. 


For more information and details on how to register for this free event click the flyer below or head to the event page on Facebook here   

BMC Alpine Lectures 2012

The BMC Alpine lectures are back for 2012, This year sees ME Pro partner Nick Bullock and Friend of the brand, Plas y Brenin Instructor and Guide Tim Neill present.

Tim and Nick

The partnership of Nick Bullock and Tim Neill is sure to inspire any budding alpinists out there!

Topics covered will include:

• Best areas to visit
• Glacier travel
• Weather
• Huts & bivvys
• Avalanche awareness
• Route selection
• The dark art of moving together.

There will be a Free prize draw each night for the audience members!

Tim soloing Britomartis photo:Toby Keep

Dates & venues 2012
All lectures start at 19:30 and last for 2 hours with a half way interval.  Finish time is approximately 21:30

Newcastle - Tuesday 24 April
Northumbria University, Upper Hall, Sport Central, Northumberland Road, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, NE1 8ST

Manchester - Wednesday 25 April
Manchester Climbing Centre, St Benedict'ss Church, Bennet Street, Manchester, M12 5ND

Birmingham - Thursday 26 April
University of Birmingham, Guild Council Chambers, University of Birmingham Guild of Students, Edgbaston Park Road, Birmingham, B15 2TU

Southampton - Tuesday 1 May
University of Southampton, Lecture Theatre A (3001), Physics Building, Highfield Campus, University Road, Southampton, SO17 1BJ

London - Wednesday 2 May
University College London, Wilkins Gustav Tuck Lecture Theatre, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT

Bristol - Thursday 3 May
University of Bristol, Winston Theatre, Students Union, Queens Road, Bristol, BS8 1LN

Nick on Call the Curtain photo: Rob Greenwood

Tickets are on sale now - £5 per person for BMC members and £7 per person for non-members.  Group discount: purchase 10 tickets or more in advance and each ticket costs just £3.50.
Tickets can be purchased in the BMC Online Shop or by telephoning the BMC Office on 0161 445 6111.

EOCA Voting now open!

Voting has begun for this years EOCA conservation funding programme. 

The EOCA - European Outdoor Conservation Association is a Conservation organisation made up from an ever expanding group of brands and retailers within the European outdoor industry, formed to raise money for conservation projects worldwide. In 2012, just six years after its formation, EOCA is aiming to raise its first €1 million for conservation. All the money raised will go directly to the conservation projects chosen by its members and this is where we need your help.

As a member of the EOCA this year we nominated the 'Conservation of Snowdonia project' which we are pleased to announce made the final short list of 6 projects for the Category of Outdoor. 

Conservation Snowdonia works to protect, enhance and celebrate Snowdonia. The organisation wants to develop its volunteer programme for habitat creation and biodiversity enhancement, specifically targeting sites vulnerable to climate change and increased recreational use. The project will help organise more volunteer work days to help with litter picks, clearance of invasive species, footpath work, vegetation management and will encourage locals to 'adopt' their own site to work on.

You can read more information, volunteer and donate to this great project at

http://www.snowdonia-society.org.uk/        

How can I vote?... well the EOCA has teamed up with various outdoor publications across Europe here in the UK they have teamed up with TGO Magazine. Voting is quick and simple all you need to do is head to www.tgomagazine.co.uk/EOCA and fill in the online form. You can also vote via a number of other titles across Europe.

Benelux

LIFT magazine: www.liftmagazine.nl/p/45/91/poll

Bike & Trekking:  www.bikeandtrekking.nl/p/45/91/poll

France

Wider: www,widermag.com

Voting ends Thursday 22nd March'12 

You can find out more about the EOCA and the other 5 shortlisted projects at 

http://www.outdoorconservation.eu/       

Tour der Vertikalen Nächte mit Thomas Tivadar

Hast Du schon mal in der Vertikalen hoch über festem Boden geträumt?

Auf der "Tour der Vertikalen Nächte" von Mountain Equipment, bergfreunde.de und Gore-Tex kann das für Dich Wirklichkeit werden.
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Lerne von Bigwall-Experten Tom Tivadar, wie man eine Portaledge in der Senkrechten aufbaut und das Hänge-Biwak zum gemütlichen Nachtlager wird.

Dabei kannst Du die aktuellen Schlafsäcke von Mountain Equipment testen.
.

Hier wird biwakiert:

08.03.12 Bad Tölz, DAV Kletterzentrum Oberbayern Süd
09.03.12 Frankenthal, DAV Kletterzentrum Pfalz Rock
10.03.12 Korb, Active Garden
17.03.12 Kirchheim (bei München), High-East
19.03.12 Kelkheim, Sportpark Kelkheim
20.03.12 Frechen, Chimpanzodrome
21.03.12 Wetzlar, DAV Kletterzentrum
22.03.12 Leverkusen, A-Werk Kletterhalle Absturz
23.03.12 Ahlen, Big Wall Kletterzentrum Ahlen
24.03.12 Kassel, Vertical World
25.03.12 Jena, rocks.Kletterhalle
26.03.12 Chemnitz, Onside Klettersport
27.03.12 Coburg, DAV Kletterzentrum
30.03.12 Dornbirn, K1 Kletterhalle Dornbirn
31.03.12 Ravensburg, Kletterbox DAV Ravensburg
19.04.12 Offenburg, DAV Kletterzentrum
20.04.12 Darmstadt, DAV Kletterzentrum (ohne Übernachtung)
21.04.12 Berlin, T-Hall Berlin
22.04.12 Lappersdorf, DAV Kletterzentrum Regensburg

Alle Tourdaten mit Adressen und weiteren Infos findest Du
auch unter www.bergfreunde.de/vertikalenaechte

Felicity's Solo Antarctic Crossing

Fresh back from her successful expedition to become the first Woman to make a solo crossing of the Antarctic continent, Felicity Aston shared her experiences last night at 'The Deck' above the National Theatre in London.

Main expedition sponsors Kaspersky Lab put on a great evening and we joined media, family, friends to hear Felicity recount the highs and lows of her two month journey, offering a remarkable insight into the exceptional psychological challenges that the isolation of such a long solo journey presents.

It took 59 days for Felicity to ski from the Ross ice shelf to the South Pole and then on to Hercules Inlet on Antarctica’s Ronne ice shelf. Here’s a link to a recent BBC news interview clip http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-16879161 we’ll keep you posted on upcoming talks. I highly recommend you go along to hear all about it first hand if you can.

Long Hope Night at the RGS - Tomorrow Night

This is your last minute reminder that Dave, Andy and Paul are presenting the story of the Long Hope route at the Royal Geographical Society in London tomorrow night. 

The latest exciting news is that Dale Templar, the Producer of the BBC's Human Planet series, will be our host for what promises to be a fantastic evening of speaking and film. 

If you live in the London area don't miss this rare opportunity to see Dave MacLeod in town and hear first hand the truly remarkable story of the hardest sea cliff climb in the world.

Tickets are still available; you can reserve them here or buy them on the door tomorrow night.

Dave gives us more information below...

"On February 8th, myself, Andy Turner and filmmaker Paul Diffley will be speaking at the Royal Geographical Society in London about the Longhope route. Mountain Equipment, Gore-Tex products and Cotswold Outdoor have helped us arrange an evening of entertainment at the RGS to share with you what was pretty memorable adventure for us, both in terms of the climbers involved in attempting to climb this cliff over 40 years, and in documenting it on film.

Myself and Andy will be speaking about our experiences in preparing and attempting the first free ascent of the original Longhope Route as well as some of the history behind climbing on the cliff, and then we’ll present The Long Hope film made by Paul Diffley. In particular I’ll talk about some of the psychology behind taking on a three-year sporting ambition to open a new route at world class difficulty like this, how I’ve learned to be comfortable with the dangers involved, and some of the hurdles that you just couldn’t plan for along the way. Andy will be speaking about how his winter mountaineering adventures in Scotland, the Alps and Norway were about as good preparation as you could get for this type of adventure, yet still not enough to avoid some knee trembling moments on a 1400 foot loose, bird infested sea-cliff.

We’ll have a bar and plenty of time to meet up and talk about adventures on cliffs during the evening or ask questions. We’ll also have some signed copies of the Long Hope DVD and various other films and books we’ve made. Doors open at 6pm to start 7pm. It should be a great night!

Tickets and full details are available in my shop right here. It’s going to be a busy show so it would be a very good plan to get your ticket early."

Friday Night: Kendal Mountain Festival

Great night at the KMF last night... I'm sure a few people are feeling the effects of it this morning.

L to R - Andy Turner, Dave MacLoed, Paul Diffley, Ed Drummond, and Oliver Hill

photo - henryiddon.com

The Long Hope went down a storm at its premiere, Paul Diffley and his team have done an amazing job definitely a must watch!. It was also great to see Ed Drummond and Oliver Hill in

attendance too

Ed Drummond takes to the stage

Then the ME pub quiz... 

Andy Kirkpatrick gets the quiz underway

Big thanks to everyone that took part in the ME Pub quiz, we had an amazing night, the list of captains read like a "who's who" of climbing Dave MacLeod, John Dunne, Stephen Venables, Lynn Hill, Leo Holding, Twid Turner, Jerry Gore, Nick Bullock, Cory Richards, Denis Urubko, James Pearson, Faveresse brothers, Sean Villaneuva-O'Driscol, Andy Cave, Simone Moro, Andy Turner, Brian Davison, Brian Hall all brought under some mild form of control by quiz master Andy Kirkpatrick. 

packed Malt Room for the quiz

Big thanks to Mick Ryan from UKC for putting together the questions and Clive Allen and the Kendal team for hosting the event. I should also mention that Andy Turners team won, so well done to them. Now time for some films and rest before tonights party.

Nick Bullock - Must get... fitter, stronger, better lecture dates

Fancy checking out Nick Bullock's latest lecture? - Must get... fitter, stronger, better well why not head to one of the following dates in the next 2 weeks.

Were pleased to announce that Nick will be lecturing at the Mountain Equipment Store, Deansgate, Manchester on Thursday 17th November'11 at 7pm. To register for this event head over to the ME Stores Facebook page here 


Nick will then also be lecturing at Kendal Mountain Festival on Sunday 20th November'11 at 2pm at the Box, more information available here 

Jens Holsten Lecture: A life in the Vertical World

Were please to announce that ME Pro partner Jens Holsten will be lecturing at Redmond Vertical World, Redmond, WA at 4pm on Saturday 12th November'12.

Jens...

"As climbers and humans, we never know when our journey will end. Of course, it is impossible to see the future with all it's unimaginable twists and turns. We wake up each day and take the next step.

Although times to come are hard to predict, the roots of personal evolution can be looked back upon and added up to reach a sum of who we are today. Fifteen years agon I stepped into the Redmond Vertical World for my first time. That junior high after school activity sparked a passion that still drives my life to this day. Since that time I have worked extensively with The Vertical World as an instructor and route setter. Although the last six years have seen me squishing grapes for money, I am excited to head back to the Redmond VW for a slideshow presentation on November 12th. All the adventures I've had so far in this life blossomed from the skills, friendship, and work ethic instilled in me during those dusty days slapping plastic. I am excited to share photos and stories from my journey as a climber that continues on and on, and on..."

If your in the Redmond, Washington state area make sure you come along and check Jens lecture out

More information available at Redmond Vertical World

DE: Peter Habeler "My way to the Summit"

Mountain Equipment and Globetrotter Munich proudly present:

PETER HABELER "My way to the summit"

which takes place 29.11.2011 at CineMAXX, next to the Globetrotter store, Munich.

Please find below the details in German...

Präsentiert von Mountain Equipment und Globetrotter Ausrüstung

Ein außergewöhnlicher Lebensweg führte Peter Habeler von den heimatlichen Zillertaler Alpen über die schwierigsten Wände der Alpen zu den höchsten Gipfeln der Welt. Er gehörte bald zu den bekanntesten Bergsteigern im Alpenraum.

Im Jahre 1978 wurde er weltbekannt, als ihm gemeinsam mit Reinhold Messner die erste Besteigung des Mount Everest ohne zusätzlichen Sauerstoff gelang. Weitere erfolgreiche Achttausender-Expeditionen zum Nanga Parbat, Cho Oyu und Kangchendzönga folgten.

Schon zuvor machte sich Habeler mit frühen und unglaublich schnellen Wiederholungen extremer Routen einen Namen. Die Eiger-Nordwand und der Freney-Pfeiler am Mont Blanc gehören zu diesen Touren. Als erstem Europäer gelang ihm die Begehung der Salathé-Route am El Capitan im Yosemite Valley.

In seinem Vortrag „Das Ziel ist der Gipfel“ berichtet er von seinen großen Bergerlebnissen und Grenzerfahrungen, von Triumphen und Niederlagen. Und warum es ihn immer noch, immer wieder gipfelwärts zieht...

Der Vortrag ist exklusiv zu sehen bei Globetrotter München am Isartorplatz.  

Kartenverkauf an den Kassen im Erdgeschoss

Ort: CinemaxX, Isartorplatz 8 | Passageneingang | Saal: siehe Eintrittskarte

Datum: Dienstag, 29. November 2011

Beginn: 19 Uhr

VVK: € 12.- / Abendkasse: € 15.-

Macht mit beim Gewinnspiel zu diesem Event!
Wir verlosen 5 x 1 Freikarte für den Vortrag. 

Um teilzunehmen, beantwortet uns einfach folgende Frage: Wann hat Peter Habeler Geburtstag? 

Schreibt das Datum in eine Mail, mit dem Betreff Peter Habeler, an gewinnspiel@invia.de. 

Einsendeschluss ist der 31. Oktober 2011.

Thomas Tivadar : Great Trango Tower Lecture

Munich based ME Pro partner Thomas Tivadar will be lecturing next week - on Tuesday 18th October at retailer Bergsport-Hütte, Augsburg, Germany. Thomas will be presenting his talk about the first ascent of the Northwest Face of the Great Trango Tower, Karakorum back in 1999.

Thomas Tivadar 

For those who are interested in attending, please find below the details in German...

Vortrag                  Thomas Tivadar - Bigwall-Spezialist, Techno-Climber

Great Trango Tower - NW | Erstbegehung Lost Butterfly (1999)

Partner                   Bergsporthütte Augsburg

Termin                   18. Oktober 2011 / 19 Uhr / Abendkasse

Ort                        Barbara-Saal, Am Katzenstadl 18a, 86152 Augsburg

1999 | Great Trango Tower
Route: Lost Butterfly (VII 5.10 A4) | Gabor Berecz, Oskar Nadaski, Thomas Tivadar

Ende der 90 Jahre war der Great Trango Tower (6287m) Schauplatz für die zu der Zeit schwierigste Route der Welt: „Lost Butterfly“. Bei widrigsten Bedingungen kämpften sich die drei Alpinisten durch die 2000 Meter hohe Nordwest- wand. Die untere Hälfte der Wand ist senkrecht bis leicht geneigt - der Schwierigkeitsgrad ist VII, A3.

Durch die obere Wandhälfte, die auf rund 1000 Metern durchgehend überhängend ist, arbeiteten sich Berecz, Nadaski und Tivadar in diffiziler New-Wave-Kletterei in Richtung Gipfel. Die Bewertung der Wand reicht hier bis A4+.

Das ganze Unternehmen bewältigte das Team übrigens ganz ohne Bohrhaken als Zwischensicherung!

Das Wetter war in diesen Tagen extrem schlecht... doch die drei konnten die ungünstigen Bedingungen an der überhängenden Wand tatsächlich ignorieren, während andere Expeditionen an Nachbarbergen in der Region Ihre Touren abbrechen mussten, bzw. erst gar nicht über das Advanced Basecamp hinauskamen.

Trango Expedition 1999

In der oberen Wandhälfte biwakierten die drei - natürlich in Portaledges - 25 Tage am Stück. Die komplette Verpflegung und auch das Trinkwasser musste das Team in Packsäcken und Tonnen transportieren - Frischwasser gab es in der Route nicht. Allerdings waren die Temperaturen so eisig, dass Ihre Vorräte regelmäßig einfroren. Um Gas zu sparen und dennoch nach einer Nacht in der Senkrechten Wasser für den täglichen Bedarf zu haben, gab es nur eine Möglichkeit: abwechselnd teilte sich einer der Männer seinen warmen Schlafsack mit einem tiefgefrorenen Packsack und dem Eisblock darin...

In einmaliger und unverwechselbarer Art berichtet Thomas Tivadar in seinem Vortrag von dieser Expedition.
Nur bedingt zur Nachahmung empfohlen!

Off to the EMMF

The cars packed... so I'm off North to Edinburgh for the Edinburgh Mountain Film festival which gets underway at Ratho tonight! with friend of the brand and professional photographer Lukasz Warzecha. I'll see you there!

For programme and ticket information head to the EMMF site here

Getting Blown around on Mountain Skills Training

We are back at Plas y Brenin for our annual Autumn mountain skills training courses.

Rich B (ME Product Marketing) giving a gear seminar, with a fantastic view

The forecast said high winds from the south west so Tryfan was suggested as an ideal objective as it would be sheltered and the plateau of the Glyders could be avoided. With this in mind we pulled up in the parking bays opposite the spiky ridge line of Tryfan and decided to scrap the original objective and head for the east ridge Y Garn. The east ridge of Y Garn was nicely sheltered with some pleasant scrambling giving great views back down the down the Ogwen valley when the clouds parted.

After a quick lunch number 1 (I always like at least 2 lunches in a mountain day) the group split, with Martin and myself opting for the super direct finish to the ridgeline. The ridge was nicely exposed with an airy feel and a great view back along into Ogwen.

Martin (ME North UK & Ireland Sales Rep.) upset because of a lack of jamming cracks.

We caught the rest of the group sheltering on the plateau from some strong winds having a chat about the merits of softshell. From Y Garn we got on with the walking, gently leaning into the wind brought us to the summit of Glyder Fach. From here it was a dash to get onto the Gribin ridge and off the plateau.

The forecast for tomorrow is looking good! MWIS are saying snow on the tops and lightening, I'm looking forward to unveiling my lime green Changabang pants.

Al Humphreys at the EMMF

Friend of the brand and adventurer extraordinaire Al Humphreys will be lecturing this Sunday at 2pm during the "Adventure Session" at the EMMF, tickets available here

Round the world by bike: Alastair’s quest for adventure began young. Aged 8, he completed the 26 mile Yorkshire 3 Peaks challenge and at 14 he cycled off-road across England. Longer distance cycles while at university led up to a round the world trip of epic new proportions.

In a journey which Sir Ranulph Feinnes described as ‘The first great adventure of the 21st Century’, Alastair rode from England to South Africa, crossed the Atlantic by yacht and then cycled from Patagonia to Alaska. Crossing the Pacific by freighter, Alastair completed his expedition by cycling back to England from eastern Siberia.

Heres a short film taken from Al's latest project "A year of Microadventure" which you can read more about at Al's site

Andy Turner at The EMMF

Make sure you get down to Edinburgh Mountain Film festival this Saturday and check out ME Pro partner Andy Turner's awesome lecture "Living for Winter" at the George Square lecture theatre from 2pm as part of the "Climbing Session" tickets available here

Andy on the trek into the Longhope, St.Johns Head, Hoy Photo: Lukasz Warzecha

Living for Winter: Andy Turner didn't start climbing until he was 25. Growing up just outside Manchester, he had been a competitive road cyclist for years when he turned to climbing. 

Despite being a relative latecomer to the sport, Andy quickly realised that winter climbing was where his talents lay. He is now best known for pushing the limits of onsight Scottish winter climbing including new routes such as The Secret (IX,9) on Ben Nevis and the first winter ascent of Sassenach (IX,9) also on Ben Nevis. 

Andy at work New Routing in Lofoten, Norway Photo: Nick Bullock

Last winter (2010/11) he set about the task of repeating the hardest routes in Scotland with the second ascents of both The Hurting (XI,11) and Catherdral (X,11).  He also managed to fit in some new routing on the Lofoten Islands in Norway.  

Andy's lecture will reflect on the epic winters of recent years and look ahead to his plans for the months ahead.

You can keep up to date with all the latest from Andy at his blog here 

Lukasz Warzecha at the EMMF

In the Edinburgh area this Thursday night?... YES... Then why not head over to RATHO and check out friend of the brand and professional photographer Lukasz Warzecha, who will be getting the 2011 Edinburgh Mountain Film festival underway. 

Lukasz while shooting Andy, Nick and Pete in Lofoten  

Lukasz's lecture "Life as a Pro" starts at 8pm in the Murray theatre, Ratho. Tickets are available here
    

Life as a Pro: Lukasz is the bright new star of outdoor adventure photography, with his work being published around the world. Already known for his radical approach, he's been shooting 'anything climbing' - from winter in Lofoten in gnarly conditions, Ice Climbing World Cups to portraits of Reinhold Messner at the London's Royal Geographical Society.

This is your chance to find out what it's really like to have the "Life of a Pro". Is it all about glamour and jet setting around the world?? No doubt Lukasz will be setting the story straight, illustrating his tales with his amazing images and films.

www.lwimages.co.uk

Photo: LWimages

Autumn Photography work shop: Report

Friend of the brand Lukasz Warzecha just sent over this report from his Autumn photography work shop which took place last weekend in North Wales. 

"It was winter of 2005 when I got a chance to shoot some images with Dave Macleod for the first time… My photography knowledge back then was seriously limited but I remember how excited I was to snap away while Dave was making his way up the ‘Fast and furious‘ in Birnam Quarry. I think I shot entire! 2 rolls of gritty ISO1600 B&W film… 72 frames doesn’t sound exciting enough these days! ;-)
6 years later I found myself teaching climbing photography and 6 of my students (or maybe 5!) could feel this buzz! It was a very special weekend. It meant to be both informative and inspirational and I think it was exactly that.

‘Loved the entire course. All the photoshoots were excellent and the fact that we got to shoot with Dave was unbelievable.’

Have a look at some of my favourite images shot by the students over the weekend."

Photo Richard Enticknap 

Photo Hamish Rose 

Photo Richard Enticknap 

Photo Paul Diffley

You can view more images from the weekend over at Lukasz blog here