I’m taking the opportunity to catch up on news during a long drive south from Aviemore (don’t worry…..I’m not typing as I drive!). The last few weeks have been a very busy mixture of mountain activities and first aid training along with a few days of mountain biking and some business development along the way. Oh yes, and I even got a chance to head to the Welsh mountains for some ski touring and climbing with friends.
Our winter courses have kicked off to coincide with some peachy Scottish winter conditions and Matt and Al have been busy in the western mountains. All our winter courses are full except for 2 remaining places on our 2 day winter skills course on the 6th and 7th of March so please get in touch if you want to join us on that one. As always private guided instruction can still always be arranged on dates to suit you. I have been delivering a course this weekend in the Cairngorms and we’ve had wonderful weather and great snow condittions. Dave, Lindy, Alison, Grant, Lorenzo and Ted have been brilliant fun to work with and I’m sure they’ll all go on to use their new skills very soon.
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been focussing heavily on completimg the first aid accreditation I started 14 months ago. The system involves assisting and delivering on a variety of courses to develop the skills needed to effectively deliver all aspects of first aid training. It’s been great fun developing new skills and Peak Mountaineering will be in a position to offer courses very soon. Please get in touch if you are interested or if you want some quality training for your organisation or workplace.
In between all this I’ve had a few days mountain biking in the Peak District and a day on the Marin Trail in Wales with regular MTB clients Sam, Bill, Dan and Andy. From our initial bookings it looks like we are going to be delivering more biking activities than ever this year - which is great news for us! Please check out the courses on our website or book some private guided biking if you fancy getting involved.
Finally, our involvement in the 10:10 campaign continues to pay dividends. We have heard from over 40 Peak Mountaineering clients who have signed up to the campaign (and a similar number of family and friends). Please consider joining us in making a difference in 2110.
It seemed like it would never end…..but it has! Everything is melting and all those juicy routes that we waited ten years to do might not be back for another decade! Or maybe the cold spell will be back with us soon and the freeze thaw cycle will create even better conditions? Only time will tell.
One thing that is certain is the thawing snow and ice and weakening snowpack is creating a massive avalanche hazard. Photos taken from an RAF Valley Sea King yesterday showed considerable avalanche activity and it is only going to get worse. If you are out and about in any mountain areas this weekend please take extreme care.
And just to reinforce the point here is one of the most amazing videos I’ve ever seen. The team were skiing in Alaska after heavy snowfall and the skiers helmet cam tells the story. All I can say is that rescue within 4 and half minutes is incredible (the skiers glove came off as the avalanche slowed giving rescuers a visual reference point). The skier had travelled 1500 feet!
If you have been listening or watching the national news or keeping an eye on climbing websites recently you will have heard about some tragic avalanche accidents in Scotland over the last week. Similar large dumps of new snow have also created avalanche activity in Snowdonia with high avalanche risk being reported on several mountains - including Snowdon where a large slide near the top of the PYG Track caught 2 walkers earlier today (luckily they were unharmed).
With all this snow it is vital that hill goers take the time to understand where it is and isn’t safe to travel. In Scotland help is on hand with the daily SAIS (Scottish Avalanche Information Service) reports which have a brand new more user friendly format this year. Details of the forecasts and guidance on interpreting the new presentation style can be found at www.sais.gov.uk. Unfortunately for mountain goers in other areas of the UK no such service exists at the moment so it is essential that note is made of any local information or advice sought before venturing out.
A very personal and poignant account of being caught in an avalanche was posted by UKC forum user Andy on his blog. A very sobering account that is well worth a read and many thanks to Andy for sharing that experience.
I’ve been in Snowdonia for the last few days seeing in the new year, meeting up with old friends and enjoying some quality time with the family. The weather has been brilliant here - very cold, a fair bit of snow but clear crisp days. The Pen Y Pass car park was blocked by snow yesterday but generally the roads are clear and there are plenty of people enjoying the new year festivities in such a beautiful place. As regular readers know Peak Mountaineering runs many of its courses in Snowdonia and it is always a really special place to spend time. I won’t be climbing this trip but we are taking the family up to Cwm Idwal today to see what winter routes are being done and, if conditions don’t change, i’ll be hot footing it back early next week for some personal playtime on the ice.
I always use the new year as a chance to look ahead to the new adventures we have planned and, as usual, I’m really excited by the coming year. We have far more bookings for courses than we usually do by this point in the year and we also have plans to bring a selection of new activities on line. One of my jobs for next week is to send out a newsletter with some of our new adventures detailed. It will automatically be sent to anyone who is on our newsletter subscription list (or please sign up via our newsletter subscription link on the homepage). We hope to inspire you to undertake some new adventures in 2010.
In the meantime a few possible dates for your diary………………
Many of our winter skills courses are full but we have quite a few spaces on a 2 day course running on March 6/7th based in Fort William. We also have several spaces on an Intermediate Navigation Course running on March 13/14th in Snowdonia. Details for these courses can be found on the website. Please just get in touch if you fancy coming along.
So please look out for the new newsletter when it hits your inbox. Until then best wishes to everyone from all of us at Peak Mountaineering for a really happy, prosperous and adventure packed 2010.
