CheapTents.com Outdoor Gear Blog

The Jonathan Conville Memorial Trust are holding a 30th Anniversary Lecture called Boundless Horizons – Great first ascents achieved beyond Everest in the greater ranges. The talk will be given by their patron Sir Christian Bonington at the Royal Geographical Society in London on 3rd June.

The funds raised by the lecture will go towards subsidising young people on their Scottish and Alpine training courses. They provide a very worthwile service and thousands of students have benefited from their courses over the last thirty years. At only £10 per ticket it is a great opportunity to support the trust as well as getting to hear Sir Chris Bonington, one of Britains most sucessful mountaineers. For more details on the Jonathan Conville memorial trust and to find out how to buy tickets  for the event see below.

• Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon Entries Open
• Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon LAMM 2010
• CheapTents.com enter the David Staff Fell Race!

At last the waiting is over and the Harrogate Climbing Wall is now open.

Get yourselves down here and get climbing.

Harrogate Climbing Centre (HCC) offers both indoor climbing and bouldering, as well indoor and outdoor climbing courses and qualifications. On offer are taster courses for people new to climbing, beginners courses and courses for climbers to develop their skills and even leader courses.

HCC's 14 meter multi-angled climbing wall.

The main indoor climbing wall is a whopping 14 meter multi-angled wall, designed by Entre-Prises. Climbing grades range from 3+ to 8a. There is also a bouldering section which features problems from V0 – V8, as well as a Fr7b stamina circuit.

• New Bouldering Wall Announced for Manchester
• Newcastle Climbing Wall now open!
• Where’s my nearest indoor climbing wall?

The Fusion 2 back system is comfortable and well ventilated.

The Berghaus Arete Tour 40 Extrem rucksack is a high end pack suitable for climbing, scrambling, mountaineering, ski mountaineering and ski touring. It is made from durable fabric, has a solid construction and is packed with features.

It has a Fusion 2 back system, which comprises of non-absorbent thermo-moulded back panels with a large air gap in the middle. It is surprisingly comfortable and the air gap provides ventilation, helping to stop you getting too hot and sweaty.

• Do I Need a Rucksack Cover?
• Lightwave Fastpack Rucksack Review
• Berghaus Twister Review by Trail

Have you ever been climbing, mountain biking, kayaking, skateboarding and found a great new place for some exciting action? Perhaps you’ve found a place that’s not the best but its close to home and offers the opportunity to get a bit of practice in, just to help keep your skills up to speed? Or maybe you’re going somewhere new and looking for the best place for some extreme sport action? If you want to share your favourite places or find something new then one place to look is Extreme Sports Map!

• Online mapping tools to stop getting lost!
• Multimap does Ordnance Survey Maps
• Green is good, so don’t wait for the weekend!

Mountaineering Ethics will help protect the Mountain Environment. Source: Flickr by dino_olivieri.

The UIAA’s bold summary encompasses the thinking behind the declaration:

Stretch Your Limits, Lift Your Spirits, Aim for the Top!

The mountaineering and climbing ethics code encompasses the following twelve points, which I have summarised below:

1. Individual Responsibility – Be responsible for yourself, for others and for the environment.
2. Team Spirit – Support and encourage your climbing team members.

• International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation UIAA Interview
• Climbing Restrictions to Protect Birds
• International Mountain Day

Tom Stewart, the owner of Rock Over Climbing, has announced that a new bouldering centre is coming to Manchester!

Rock over climbing announce new bouldering centre to open in Manchester City Centre

ROCK OVER CLIMBING will be situated in the city centre (somewhere within a 3 minute walk from Victoria station) and will open early in 2010. It will be the largest dedicated bouldering centre this side of the Pennines, with over 250 routes set for all abilities. There will be something for everyone including kids, beginners, everyday climbers and the best climbers in the country.

• Harrogate Climbing Wall is Open
• Talented Youth Climbers Day, Rochdale, UK
• Where’s my nearest indoor climbing wall?

Just a quick post from all of us at CheapTents.com to say Happy Christmas!

We hope you all got lots of nice shiny new outdoor gear from Santa. Whilst you are enjoying your Christmas dinner and longing to get out into the countryside, spare a thought for poor Santa. Christmas is not plain sailing for Father Christmas, Rudolf and the team, having to deliver all your lovely pressies. After all, climbing down and back up millions of chimneys in one night can takes it out of you. The You Tube video below shows Santa doing a bit of training, abseiling down the aptly named Chimney Rock. Located at Chimney Rock State Park, North Carolina in the United States, Chimney rock is a little way from Santa’s Lapland home, but even when he is on holiday Father Christmas must keep up with his training!

• Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team Teddies
• Climber and Urbex Legend Stepping Lightly : Exclusive Interview
• Hiking in the Atlas Mountains, Morocco

Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team have put together a very cute little video to promote the sale of “Mountain Rescue Teddies” as part of their fund raising efforts. The video which is posted on You Tube is embedded below. It shows the teddy mountain rescue team embark on a heroic mountain rescue typical of the type of rescue the real Wasdale team embark upon in real life.

• If you go down to the woods today…
• Nine Edges Endurance Event needs Marshalls
• Scafell Pike Ascent via Mickledore

Stepping Lightly on his climb up Blackpool Tower, August 2009.

In August this year, climber and urbex legend “Stepping Lightly” hit the headlines in the national press following his covert ascent of Blackpool Tower. Stepping Lightly has climbed many structures including one of Battersea Power Station’s iconic chimneys, Willington Power Station cooling towers and the famous Angel of the North in Gateshead. He also likes bridge climbing and has climbed the Forth Rail Bridge, and the Humber and Severn Bridges.

• Blackpool Tower Climb!
• Bridge Climbing
• Exclusive Interview! Mikael Strandberg – Legendary Explorer and Adventurer

A red kite By Sue Trantor, courtesy of rspbimages.com

Being out in the countryside hiking, camping and climbing often gives us the opportunity to see wildlife. A most impressive sight is that of a bird of prey circling high above, in the clear blue sky, sightings such as this have at times been rare, but thanks to the hard work of individuals and societies such as the RSPB something is being done to conserve an important factor in our ecology.

• Birdfair: Birdwatching and Conservation
• BirdFair 2009 – Lost and Found
• Climbing Restrictions to Protect Birds