Earlier this year the coalition government proposed conversational plans to sell off much of England’s forestry and other woodland. After a public outcry the government stood down from it’s position offering to create a panel to report back and suggest the future of the forests.
The independent panel of 12 members, chaired by Right Rev James Jones – Bishop of Liverpool – has now been established and following two meetings is now inviting the views of the people of this country. The task it has been set is not an easy one, over the next 10 months, until April 2012, the panel must discuss and report on the future of Forestry and Woodland in England.
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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.
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Mount Everest, Eric Larsen's Third Pole. Source: Flickr by watchsmart
Earlier today polar explorer
Eric Larsen summitted Mount Everest, the third pole in his three pole challenge. Along with the Arctic North pole and the Antarctic South Pole, the
summit of Everest is referred to as the third pole. Whilst taking on the challenge of reaching each of these specific points may not be a new one, Eric Larsen has achieved his goal in a single year. It is also worth noting that Eric and his Sherpa guides are the only Everest summitteers in the Autumn season this year.
The main purpose of the three Poles challenge is to highlight the importance of these icy environments to the planet and the wildlife that they support:
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Swiss Alpinist and speed climber Ueli Steck is famous for his fast and lightweight approach to the world’s hardest and highest mountains. Sponsored by Petzl, Scarpa, Leki and Mountain Hardware, Ueli Steck has set the speed record for the Matterhorn (1 hour 56 minutes), Grandes Jorasses (2 hours 21 minutes) and the North Face of the Eiger (2 hours 47 minutes). Has has also summitted Gasherbrum II (8035m) and soloed Makalu west pillar (8463m).
Speed climber Ueli Steck climbed the Matterhorn in 1 hour 56 minutes. Source: Flickr by Jeff Pang.
A Snowdonia peak has been found to be an extra 1.8m, due to more accurate height measurements, and has become the 5th “super-mountain” in Wales.
Glyder Fawr - Source Flickr MarchiCTID
Glyder Fawr was measured at 999m using a “photogrammetry” method where detailed aerial images are used to create a 3d model from which measurements are taken. However, this method can be wrong by up to 3m. Enthusiasts from G & J Surveys have used more accurate measurements made by GPS equipment to find the mountain is actually 1000.8m above sea level.
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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.
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There are many mountainous regions in Afghanistan and prior to the Soviet invasion in 1979 it was a popular destination for climbers and mountaineers. In May 2009 the new democratic government created the Band-e-Amir National Park which it hopes will boost national tourism to the area. It should also help to encourage the international community to take adventure travel and hiking holidays in the spectacular and remote countryside of central Afghanistan.
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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.
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At 1,344 m, Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Scotland and the UK. As such it is a very popular mountain for people to climb. It is often attempted by inexperienced hikers who have no idea of the scale of the task or of the potential dangers involved. Many people attempt the summit of Ben Nevis without taking proper outdoor gear.
Ben Nevis Escape Route
If you are planning to walk up to the top of Ben Nevis the first thing you need to know is the escape route from the summit. Regardless of the weather in the valley or on the mountain tops when you start your hike, by the time you reach the summit the weather may have closed in, resulting in near zero visibility. This has happened to me.
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Google is constantly seeking new information which it likes to share with the online world. One of the best examples of this is mapping. Satellite images are available for all to see on Google Earth. Google Maps not only features maps and aerial views, but for many parts of the world we can see what it looks like at street level with Google Street View. An immeasurable number of miles of roads in western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the USA have been photographed at road level. This is done using cars with 360 degree cameras mounted on the roof. The Google cars simply drive around filming our roads and streets.
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