Celebrating the life of Roger Payne

The life of Roger Payne was cut short on 12 July in an avalanche on Mont Maudit in the French Alps. The breadth of his contribution to life in general and mountaineering in particular was extraordinary.  He had a capacity to bite off life in big chunks and then wash them down with vast quantities of climbers’ rehydration fluid and so the people wishing to celebrate a truly great man are diverse, both socially and geographically. With that in mind, there are plans to have 3 separate events to mark Roger’s life:

·        A church service near his home in Leysin, Switzerland at 2 pm on Saturday 21^st July

·        There will be a memorial service at 2pm on 28^th July in Shepherds Bush, London.

·        The British Mountaineering Council and British Mountain Guides will organise a memorial event in   Manchester in the ensuing weeks.

Anyone is welcome to any and/or all of these events as Roger touched the lives of so many people in so many different ways.

Church Service in Leysin

This will be in the small church of Leysin, Vaud, Switzerland at 2 pm on Saturday 21^st July. The church has a capacity of about 140 people, so there will be a PA system to transmit the proceedings to anyone we are unable to fit into the church. The church is located at 46°20'29.96"N   7° 0'45.37"E or Swiss coordinates 567196 132338 or you can find it at http://goo.gl/maps/MYl8

The local police will be on hand to direct day visitors to parking facilities.

For those of you travelling from further afield, accommodation in Leysin can be found at http://www.leysin.ch/en/accommodation

There will be a reception at the nearby Fromagerie immediately after the service from 3 to 6 pm, after which a previously arranged Festival de Musique will recommence. We are sure Roger would thoroughly approve of loud music and drinking. 

Julie-Ann would welcome either flowers or a contribution to the Roger Payne Memorial Fund, which will support international mountain training. If you would like to contribute to this fund, please visit http://www.bmg.org.uk/index.php/eng/News/Roger-Payne-Memorial-Fund

For those of you can’t be in Leysin, there will be 2 guides recording the event with both still photos and video and we will circulate their images via the internet after the event. 

Church Service in Shepherds Bush

There will be a memorial service at the URC Methodist Church in Askew Road, Shepherds Bush, London W12 9RN. The event will start at 2pm and there will be a reception afterwards.

Details of the events in Manchester will follow soon, but keep an eye on the BMG website (www.bmg.org.uk) for more information.

Thank you all

Julie-Ann and all those close to Roger would like to thank you all for the incredible support that has been shown through emails, cards, telephone calls and visits and look forward to seeing you.

Gear from the future.....

The ME marketing office is now deserted and with everybody else either at or on route to the massive Friedrichschafen trade show in Germany I thought I’d take advantage of the peace and quiet to write one of my rare blogs.  I fly out on Friday morning to do my bit showing  our Spring/ Summer 2013 kit to the many buyers and journalists roaming the vast halls searching for ‘the next big thing’.  It’s a gear freaks dream with every brand you’ve very heard of, and a lot more besides, showing off what’s coming in a years time.   We’ve got some fantastic new products coming out across our range and I’ve been lucky enough to get my hands on a few of the samples to climb in this summer, I’ll give them some abuse and get back to you!

I say ‘summer’ but if you’re in the UK at the moment you’ll know it’s actually the monsoon season.  It seems to have rained for some part of every day for weeks now  and even as I write this the rain is bouncing off the windows in Kendal.  Getting any climbing done at all has required serious dedication with even the fastest drying crags up here in the Lakes damp and seeping.   Routes have been snatched between the downpours but when it’s wet at Shepherds and even the Malham catwalk is dripping you’re in trouble!  In an attempt to stay positive and with my upcoming Alps trip in mind I’ve been back on my winter bike after work, mudguards and all, hammering out the road miles to stay fit and going to the wall far more than is acceptable  in June and July.  After wasting the whole of last summer being ill I’m pretty keen for some results in the Alps this season, nothing too ambitious initially but hopefully once the cobwebs have been blown off I can’t start to up my game again in readiness for some bigger projects.   

The majority of my trips to the bigger hills beyond the Alps have been spent working on commercial expeditions and, whilst they were brilliant experiences, it’s not the same as going away with just  a partner and an objective.  I’ve been properly inspired by Nick and Andy’s recent adventures on the Slovak route on Denali and, whilst I’m not going to jump straight on that, something big and adventurous is definitely calling before too long.

I’ll fill you in on my adventures when I’m back in a few weeks time but if you’re in the Alps and you see a man in a futuristic looking orange ME smock then come and say hello!

Rich

Nick Bullock talks about 'Echoes'

Heres a short video of Nick talking about his first book 'Echoes' due for release this September. 






Find out more at the Vertebrate Publishing website here

Over the top

Nick's now back online after his and Andy Houseman's successful ascent of Slovak Direct on Denali. Check out Nick's blog for a full report - http://nickbullock-climber.co.uk/

  Nick and Andy on the Summit photo Nick Bullock Collection

Down Codex: Hits the Catwalk

Over the past few months our design team have been supporting Falmouth design student George May and his latest Eco design project by donating a supply of of our Audited Animal Welfare Down from our DOWN CODEX programme.   

George created a 5 piece collection including a Pull-On which uses our DOWN CODEX Down.  

George tell us more....  

"The pullover above is made of 100% silk. The silk has been treated with Poppy Oil and a Walnut Alkyd Medium in order to waterproof it. The coating made the silk habotai go translucent and crisp and adds fairly good waterproofing. You can see the down through the silk. This is all non toxic and eco friendly so goes very well with the ethically sourced down! 

The lining is pure silk without a coating so has great insulation properties. It features a chest zip pocket and a zip up to the neck in order to get it on; the zip has a wind guard behind it. The belt can be removed so you can have it as just a standard pullover. The jacket looks quite fashion-like but it is tailored in order to provide full movement in the arms and good comfort. It also features high performance merino cuffs on the gaitors in the sleeve.

Here is a link to a short video of my collection.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ7aiS0_ADo 

All of the clothes in the collection have used varying techniques and fabrics in order to make them high performance."

You can check out more about George's collection here www.georgemay.co.uk and read more about our DOWN CODEX programme at www.thedowncodex.me.uk 

photos: Kirstin Prisk

Mazeno Ridge Expedition 2012

Tomorrow ME Pro partner Sandy Allan, Cathy O’Dowd and Rick Allen set out from the UK for Kathmandu to attempt the 1st ascent of Nanga Parbat via the Mazeno Ridge. The longest ridge on any 8000m peak, considered “the ultimate endurance challenge.” and one of the most coveted goals left in the Himalaya.

The Mazeno Ridge

The Mazeno Ridge divides the Diamir and Rupal Faces of Nanga Parbat. The 10 kilometre (6 mile) ridge with its eight 7000 metre peaks has never been climbed all the way to the summit.

 

You can read more about this expedition, check out latest up dates, videos and location of the team through out their trip over at: http://www.mazenoridge.com

Video: Bleau Chapter

Heres a short video put together by ME Pro partner Juri Chiaramonte from his recent trip to Fontainebleau.