Andy Turner at the ME Store

I've just got home from a great night at the ME store. Big thanks to all those that turned out - also to Peter and all the guys at the ME store for hosting the event and of course Andy for his brilliant lecture. Below are a few pictures from this evening......

ME Store, Deansgate Manchester

The basement before we got underway

Andy "lecturing"

(L-R) Mark Brigham - Marketing Manager Ellis Brigham, Andy Turner and Peter Darch - Store Manager

There will be more lectures/films coming to the store over the coming months; to make sure you don't miss out head over to the ME store facebook page here and sign up for all the latest info.

Dave MacLeod - Within a Move

Were excited to hear that Dave's within a move on his Glen Nevis Project and hopes (weather permitting) to complete in the coming days.

Dave working through the moves of his project yesterday

You can read Dave's full post at his blog here

2011 British Kyashar Expedition

On the 6th April 2011 ME Pro partners Andy Houseman and Nick Bullock head out to the Hinku Valley,Nepal to attempt the first ascent, alpine-style of the 2000m South Pillar of Kyashar (6769m).

Andy sat below Kyashar in 2010 photo: Tony Stone

Andy made an attempt on Kyashar back in October 2010 with fellow climber Tony Stone, however they had to turn back on the ascent as Tony was having difficulties acclimatising. You can view more here where you'll find Andy's full report from that trip.

Nick has also just posted a pre expedition report which you can view here

The guys will be hopefully be sending us updates via satphone from the exped - so make sure you check back for all the latest over the coming weeks.

North 3 - 180 Degrees

Unfortunetly due to some of the worst weather conditions seen in Resoulte Bay for 30 years Ben and the North 3 team have had to pull the plug on this years solo attempt. The worsening conditions meant that the time window Ben had to cross in had become too short and the risks had become too great.

You can read Bens full report at his blog here and below is the latest video from the guys who are currently back in Ottawa waiting to start the long journey back to the UK.

Bens focus now shifts to Antarctica, and his Scott 2012 expedition which starts in October, on the centenary of Captain Scott’s final expedition.... so watch this space!

Andy Turner Lecture - Manchester 31/03/11

ME Pro partner Andy Turner will be lecturing at The Mountain Equipment Store, Deansgate, Manchester on Thursday 31st March'11 at 7pm - so if your in the area make sure you come down and check it out

photo - LWimages

Andy is a regular devotee of the dark art of Scottish Winter climbing. Over the last few years he has accrued an impressive list of ascents, the first ascent of The Secret (VIII,9) in 2008, an amazing 5 day spell in 2009 where he climbed Centurion (3rd ascent), the first winter ascents of Sassenach (IX,9) and Bruised Violet on Beinn Eighe (VIII,8). 2010 saw him completing the second ascent (first clean ascent) of Cracking Up (IX...,9) in Snowdonia, and the first ground up ascent of The Tempest (X,9). Most recently he has ticked off the Dave Macleod test pieces The Cathedral (X,11) and The Hurting (XI,11) in ground-up style. Andy is undoubtedly a class act in this discipline.

Elsewhere in the world Andy’s exploits have seen him narrowly missing out on the summit of Cerro Torre via the Compressor route, turned back one pitch form the top by a storm, making the third ascent of Snotty’s Gully on Phari Lapcha, along with numerous alpine routes including the North Faces of the Matterhorn and Les Droites and just a few weeks ago bagged 2 new routes in Lofoten, Norway.

Andy on - Nothing Compares to you - Lofoten Photo Nick Bullock

Andy came to climbing at the relatively late age of 25 from the world of competitive road cycling where he was racing in the hard competitive arenas of Belgium, France and Holland. During this time saw a fair amount of success but when the falling off and getting ill became too much of a routine he decided to investigate climbing, a sport his father had introduced him to many years earlier.

Andy will be talking about his exploits on the hard testpieces he has climbed in the UK and further afield

Andy Parkin - "Universal Man" Video

Professional photograher Ray Wood has just called to let me know about a great short film that he and Ray Saunders aka 2Rays productions have put together of ME pro partner and artist extraordinaire Andy Parkin working on his amazing "Universal Man" sculpture at LLAMFF last weekend.

Andy at work - photo: Ray Wood

You can view the video and read Ray's article over at the DMM website here

Blood, Sweat and Frozen Tears. (Extreme ledge shuffling on Beinn Eighe.)

A short clip from Nick Bullock and Andy Houseman's trip to Beinn Eighe last Thursday to climb "Blood, Sweat and Frozen Tears"... I'll leave it to Nick and Andy to fill you in on all the details at their blogs : )
Nick's - here & Andy's - here