Keep an eye on the Adventure Racing World Championships

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Well, if like me, you're not quite focused/fit/driven/mad/masochistic enough to want to take part in adventure racing, it's great to know that you can still get involved (kind of) by tracking the teams in this year's Adventure Racing World Championships on the online interactive race tracker that's been specially set up for this year's event. Watch the little dots travel round the course, view the leader board, see photos of the teams, find out about landmark stages and generally feel part of the action from the comfort of your own home - all at www.sleepmonsters.co.uk

Teams from all around the world have come to compete in the Championships and it's a huge honour that Lochaber has been chosen as the dramatic setting for the event. The incredible landscape here will certainly have some tough challenges in store for the teams as they take on the week-long endurance race covering hundreds of miles of challenging terrain.

They set off on Saturday 26 May from the Isle of Rum and will cover a huge area of Lochaber as they kayak, climb, canyon, walk, bike, abseil, and run in their pursuit of endurance victory! The small isles, Knoydart, Loch Ness, Glencoe, Rannoch Moor, Ben Nevis - they'll tackle them all over the next few days.

To get an idea of the terrain the teams are pitting themselves against, have a look at the stunning video of last year's Wilderness Arc adventure race in Lochaber at http://www.arwc2007.com/videos/warc06.wmv

The first teams are provisionally expected back on Thursday 31 May.... best of luck to everyone taking part!

posted by ocuk @ 3:42 PM  0 comments

sea kayaking to Ballachulish

After a Saturday of heavy rain cabin fever was beginning to set in. A few text messages and I had a sea paddling buddy for Sunday. If you’re going to get wet, make it salty! The forecast was light SW winds and rain all day so we opted for a 20km trip from Shuna Island just N of Appin to Ballachulish. Left a car at the public car park by the Isles of Glencoe Hotel and set off down to the lay-by and great little launching beach on the A828 just N of the top of Shuna.

The wind looked better than forecast with definite white horses in the middle of Loch Linnhe. Just as we set off a rain squall hit and a good blast of wind from the rear to get us surfing up to Eilean Balnagowan. Who cared about the rain, we were hooting along! Strange but eventually we noticed that the rain had stopped and things were brightening up. Just off Balnagowan the waves heaped up and we were off like rockets to Rubha Mor, the western tip of Cuil Bay.

The closer we got to Ballachulish Bay the warmer it got, the wind easing off then picking up again. And then the tide, still two hours to low water. With the sun beating down and the wind dropped to a gentle breeze it was a hot slog against the tide under the bridge and into Loch Leven. No let up in the edd until we were past Eilean Choinneich. A few more paddle strokes and we were in the bay at the car park.

Whether you're an experienced sea-kayaker or new to the sport, Lochaber is a fantastic place to come and play. For great days out and more information visit the kayaking section of the outdoor capital website.

- Ken

posted by ocuk @ 2:58 PM  0 comments

Gaelic for gamekeepers, poachers and hillwalkers !

Monday, May 14, 2007

The view from the Eagle-Watch cruise boat looking back at Glenfinnan.

As part of the Glenfinnan Festival on Friday 11th May I headed out to the Glenfinnan House Hotel for an evening of 'Gaelic for gamekeepers, poachers and hillwalkers'.

Sitting in the elegant drawing room Colm O’Rua and Iain MacFarlane gave us a brief run through of the basics of the language and names you would come across as a stalker or hill walker. This made me realise how much of Scotland was gaelic speaking in the past with cities such as Aberdeen owing their names to the gaelic langauge. After a brief sojourn to the very cosy bar of the hotel, we all got aboard the Eaglewatch cruise boat for trip down Loch Shiel. Local historian Tearlach MacFarlane was a mine of information on the gaelic place names and the history of the people who used to live around the loch.

As we are in the highlands, and all this learning was thirsty work, there was a wee bar in the boat and we cruised back to the sound of Colm, Iain and Tearlach on their banjo, fiddle and pipes seranading us as we had a wee dram (it would have been rude not to). The cruise finished by 9.45pm but a little bird tells me the last revellers left the bar in the boat at 11.15 (an early night really).

The Glenfinnan Festival is just one event that is part of Highland 2007 - a year long celebration of every aspect of Highland culture. For more information on events in the Outdoor Capital go to the events section of the Outdoor Capital website www.outdoorcapital.co.uk

posted by ocuk @ 12:17 PM  0 comments

A walk in the ancient oakwoods

Friday, May 04, 2007

Lovely day on Saturday for a shortish walk (2 hours) in the tranquil quiet of the ancient Sunart Oakwoods near Strontian (5 minute ferry trip over from Corran (8 miles from Fort William, towards Glencoe), then once onto the peninsula, it's a 15-min drive to Strontian). Some of the finest temperate oakwoods in the British Isles lie around Loch Sunart, remnants of a much bigger band of coastal woodland which once stretched from Scotland down the Atlantic coast of Europe as far as Spain and Portugal.

These ancient semi-natural woodlands are home to some of the best collections of lower plants (plants which do not flower) in the whole of Europe. The clean air, moist climate and woodland cover have combined to produce ideal conditions for lichens, mosses and liverworts.

The way was clearly marked from the village and is a great accessible trail with ample parking, nearby cafe, and wide flat paths most of the way. The route meanders through the glen and after crossing the river you can either loop back on the main nature trail, or branch off to take a steeper section through the great oaks, to see mossed-over ruins of crofts and stone walls. It's a perfect easy walk for all the family - with useful leaflets available at the tourist office in Strontian if you want to find out more about the history and environment of the area.

To find out more about activities on offer in Ardnamurchan see our activities section or if you're interested in joining a guided walk, check out the events page for what's coming up over the summer.

posted by ocuk @ 9:55 AM  0 comments

Canyoning is a must-do!

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

If you have never been canyoning then you must go! I had my first canyoning experience last night and what a blast it was! Canyoning consists of wriggling, swimming, sliding, jumping and giggling your way down gorges and burns. You wear a wetsuit, helmet, boyancy aid and sometimes a harness if you are going to abseil. It is just an excuse to be a big kid again, although real kids can do it too. The guides we were with knew the canyon and made sure we were safe at all times giving us tips on how to slide and jump safely. You look at features and think - I'll never get down that - but you do. It's great fun. We were in the water for about an hour and a half which was long enough for me as I feel the cold - I'd go back like a shot.

A coupled of companies lead canyoning trips in Lochaber and you can find out more by clicking through here or going direct to Vertical Descents or Tulloch Outdoor Activity Centre They provide everything you need apart from some trainers that you don't mind getting wet and a towel to dry yourself off with afterwards.

posted by ocuk @ 11:13 AM  0 comments

Sun, snow and sand in the Outdoor Capital!

What a weekend! The Pescod household was out having fun and enjoying the stunning weather.
On Friday we went bouldering in Glen Nevis. The boulders below Pinnacle Ridge were perfect for us being at the right level and size for Owen (3 years old), a couple of more challenging problems for Louise and only 10m off the road so taking baby Megan's travel cot there was no problem!

On Saturday Louise and Owen joined Maddy and a whole bunch of folk on Camusdarach beach near the scenic coastal village of Arisaig on the dramatic Road to the Isles between Fort William and Mallaig. In the hot sunshine and crystal clear air they had a brilliant time in and out of the water, playing in boats and all the usual (active) beach stuff. The beautiful isles of Eigg and Skye looked so close you thought you could easily swim there. When it's like this there is no better beach in the UK.

And yesterday Lex and I went skiing on Ben Nevis! It felt like optimism might have got the better of us as we walked up complaining about the heat but after a superb scramble up Ledge Route on warm dry rock we skied down Number Four Gully all the way to the lochans in Coire na Ciste. It only took about four minutes to get down of course but all the best things come in small packages! There were a few teams out enjoying the big ridges which are completely snow free now. The major gullies are complete though and there are big snow patches to negotiate to get to some buttresses and ridges. Nearly all the climbs on Carn Dearg Buttress are dry although there are one or two weeps still to dry up on the slabs. A team was on Centurion (HVS 5a) today which looked superb. With a few more days of perfect rock climbing weather to enjoy I think I'll pack away the skis for good now!

posted by ocuk @ 9:54 AM  0 comments

Late nights means fun after work!

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

With the sun setting at nine and daylight lingering until nearly ten, it means playtime after work for all the grown ups who forgot to grow up (and believe me there are quite a few up here in the outdoor capital). Boots, bikes, yachts, canoes, climbing ropes & racks are being wheeled out of sheds, dusted off and put into order for the five pm flee.

We have had nearly a week of good weather here in Lochaber so everyone is getting used to the routine. Last night I headed up to Cavalry Crack Buttress, Poll Dubh crags in Glen Nevis, where Mike Pescod and I climbed Storm; a cracking three pitch HVS about 300 metres from the road. With it being too early for midges, there being clear blue skies and warm enough to climb in t-shirts I decided life doesn't get much better. To find out more about climbing in the Outdoor Capital click through here.

posted by ocuk @ 11:38 AM  0 comments

Trail magazine visit the Outdoor Capital

Freelance journalist Flemmish Webb and Trail photographer, Tom, came up as part of research for an article for Trail magazine. The article will highlight some of the impacts caused to the UK's three highest peaks when people do the Three Peaks Challenge (usually these are charity events where teams are sponsored to walk up the highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales). With Ben Nevis being both the UK's highest peak and Scotlannd's highest peak it gets a huge amount of traffic from these events. There is much debate about whether these events are a 'good thing'; on the one hand they introduce a lot of people to hill walking, but on the other for the communities that live by the Scafell Pike, Snowdown and Ben Nevis badly run events can create a lot of disruption with coach loads of people arriving at all hours, leaving litter etc. So the Trail article - possibly to come out in the June issue - should be informative.

I'd recommend taking your time on hills - that way you get to see wildlife, flowers and enjoy a wilderness experience.

Flemmich and Tom took their time going up the Ben by the North Face with local guide Alan Kimber and the next day took a walk in slightly driech weather to Steall Falls, where they tried their hand on the wire bridge - we had had some wet weather so the water below was flowing un-nervingly fast!

posted by ocuk @ 11:03 AM  0 comments

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