CheapTents Outdoor Gear Blog

On the 12/13 May the London 2 Brighton Challenge will be taking place. Now in its third year, this 100 km event is extremely popular for charity fund raising. One of the charity partners is The Hunger Project, and they are looking for volunteers to take part in the event. You can choose to walk, jog or run the 100 km route, so why not sign up and take the challenge?

• iRoc Race: Run, Cycle and Orienteer on Durham Downs
• The Extreme Stroll Around Manchester
• UK Everest Challenge – 2 guys, 5 days, 10 peaks

The motto of the outdoors person should always be “Prepare, Prepare, Prepare”. This is a motto many people live by, and it’s pretty good too. In essence it means if you prepare you will succeed. So with this motto in mind I began looking for the perfect Christmas stocking fillers that I can gift to family, friends as well as other staff here at CheapTents (don’t tell them though).

I searched through out website, found a few nice ideas and so I thought I would post a few to see what you think. For each I’ve written a little review of the product and why I thought it would be a nice stocking filler this Christmas. Any feedback you can give or other ideas would be appreciated.

• A Brief Introduction to Orienteering
• Asolo Footwear comes to CheapTents
• The Happy Valley Walking Festival 2010

This is my first blog post, and though it is not my first attempt to use English I’ll apologise in advance for the incorrect grammar, spelling, typos and general idiocy that this post will surely exhibit!

The point of this particular post is to discuss the Bogle Stroll 2011 that I have signed myself up for. The event is taking place at 7pm on Friday March 4^th 2011. The Bogle Stroll 2011 is organised by Manchester RAG (Raise and Give), which is a part of the University of Manchester Students Union, an excellent organisation that oversees and supports charity fundraising by Manchester Students.

• Tom Buckley Completes Mammoth Charity Trek!
• Warrington Tri Club to Run Sandstone Trail
• Pole Dance for Charity on Ben Nevis

This weekend news headlines read “man falls 1000ft from mountain”, the mountain in question was Sgurr Choinnich Mor, around 5 miles east of Ben Nevis. The climber in question was Adam Potter, an experienced climber from Glasgow.

Sgurr Choinnich Mor, The Aonachs and Bealach Coire Easain - Source Flickr by pamilne

At 2.30pm on Saturday, just moments after reaching the summit Adam began to fall. As his friends looked on in horror Adam tumbled down the mountain 1000ft, approx 300m and 1/3 of the mountain’s height, glancing off 3 craggy outcrops. As he tumbled off each outcrop Adam must have felt almost like he was flying as he plummeted.

• Climber and Urbex Legend Stepping Lightly : Exclusive Interview
• Climbing Restrictions to Protect Birds
• Khumbu Challenge is Under Way

In October 2009 we interviewed John Loder, RSPB Campaign Talks Officer, about the RSPB’s Birds of Prey Campaign. In many countries around the world wild birds of prey are under threat from habitat loss and systematic killing. In some cases reintroduction programmes are helping to restore bird numbers. For example, Red Kites in the Chilterns and Mid Wales and Hen Harriers in the Forest of Bowland.

• Walking Festivals & Events in September
• Chesterfield Walking Festival 2009
• British Waterways’ Wildlife Survey 2010

According to the Federation for Sport at Altitude (FSA) , skyrunning is

Running from the sea to the sky, from the plains to the earth’s highest peaks.

Outdoor sports such as running, biking, skiing, duathlons, triathlons which are undertaken at altitudes above 2000 m are collectively known as Skysports. Typical locations for Skysports are The Alps, Tibet, Nepal, Kenya, Colorado, Mexico or

anywhere that the sky and mountains meet.

And there was me thinking that Skysports was about watching football, rugby or cricket on a widescreen LCD TV at home or down the pub.

• Nokia Coast to Coast Adventure Race
• Nordic Orienteering Championships 2009
• iRoc Race: Run, Cycle and Orienteer on Durham Downs

Over a two week period, 15th – 31st October, Bollington will hold it’s first walking festival. The two weeks will include over 30 walks and rambles, including child friendly activities, and many social events.

White Nancy - Source Flikr AliceRosen

Bollington is nestled in the Cheshire Peak District, close to Macclesfield. Bollington’s surroundings are ideal for walkers of all levels. This means for some of the walks you will need walking boots but for others just some comfy trainers will do. However, don’t forget to pack a waterproof jacket.

• Pennine Walk – Hameldon and Worsthorne Moors
• Glyder Fawr Wales’ fifth “super mountain”
• Nine Edges Endurance Event needs Marshalls

Mt. Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest mountain standing at 19,340 feet, thats almost 6,000m. It is due to the extreme altitudes that Kilimanjaro is considered be hard to climb. Earlier this month Matt Cutts (the head of Web Spam at Google) climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro for Charity:Water.

Matt Cutts of Google Source: Flickr by Tony Young

As a bit of a tech geek I have known about this trek for a while, however to explain why Matt took on this challenge who better to explain than himself.

• Cycle Ride for Charity in Chile
• Pole Dance for Charity on Ben Nevis
• Khumbu Challenge is Under Way

The Nine Edges Race in the Peak District is for walkers, runners, climbers and mountain bikers. Starting from Fairholmes Car Park, the route takes competitors over nine gritstone edges to the Robin Hood pub, near Baslow. For walkers, runners and climbers the distance covered is 20 miles, for mountain bikers 32 miles. There is no fixed route, but competitors must use footpaths and bridleways and must also pass by either the top or bottom of each gritstone edge. Climbers must also climb each edge.

Stanage Edge is a popular place for climbing. Source: Flickr by Darren Copley.

• Strathpuffer 24 Hour Mountain Bike Race
• Adidas Terrex Adventure Race
• The Marathon Des Sables Race, 2009

Adventure racing is becoming increasingly popular in the UK. The Adidas Terrex Adventure Race will be a 4 day non-stop event held in the Lake District. The race will follow a 400 km linear course across Cumbria, with shortcuts available for novice teams.

Good navigation is essential for the race, and you will be provided with detailed maps to follow. The race will include fell running, mountain biking, kayaking, orienteering and a few surprises taking you to those hidden gems. Attitude is everything, so be prepared for the unexpected!

Since this Adventure Race is being held in the Lake District there could well be some open water swimming.

• A Brief Introduction to Orienteering
• Out There! AS-1 Rucksack Review
• Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon LAMM 2010