On April 3rd Hilary Bloor  will start the Marathon des Sables (MdS) which is regarded by many as the toughest footrace on Earth (see Unstoppable: The James Cracknell Trilogy on the Discovery Channel)!

Hilary notes "Although l have done lots of long distance events before, this will be a big, big challenge for me. I've not been able to run consistently for years and it's only preparing for this that l've been able to get the miles in.

The MdS covers 250km over 7 days on foot in the heat of the Sahara (could be as hot as 50C) and is totally self-supported. I have to carry all my own food, sleeping kit and cooking gear for the whole 7 days, weighing about 9kg (or more!). It will be very hard and l will suffer big time!"

Follow the race: here (Hilary's race number is 682)

She adds: "My sister, Vivien and her family and many of my friends lost their homes during the recent earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. I don't normally ask for sponsorship for these events, as l do them for pleasure. But on this occasion l am. Please support me as best you can to help raise money for the British Red Cross/NZ Appeal. They need all the support they can get.

Thanks to Arc'teryx for their support."

 

I know when my alarm is set for 3:40am; I’m mostly going to be jetting off somewhere, usually somewhere nice!  This was my first abroad trip of the 2011 season and I was so excited; I was looking forward to a change of scenery, riding in dust for a change and to get a decent dose of Vitamin D! My hotel was literally across the road from the beach and down the road from the track. The only thing was that I knew I wouldn’t get to spend much time at the beach – I had to do my Uni work while I was there! Gutted

The first day of practice went really well, the track was dusty and very fast; I had absolute awesome fun! It is a pretty rocky and rough track also, with some cool jumps, so after 5 runs I was pretty tired! They had made some changes to the track; the big north shore jumps had been taken out and a lot of smaller ones replaced them. Which were fun but I wanted bigger jumps to prepare for South Africa. However, this track required a lot of precision riding – precise line choices, which is similar to SA.

The next day of practice was great in the morning; my first two runs down were awesome. I had the lines dialled, now all I needed to do was let go and hang loose!! I had planned to do a couple of runs in the late afternoon – however – it rained really hard from 1.30pm onwards and didn’t stop until 4pm. Riders were coming down looking soaked and I heard it was going to be a nice day tomorrow. So I decided not to ride, to stop the course getting beat up and there was no point riding in the wet if it was going to be dry tomorrow.

The next morning I woke up only to see that it had rained all through the night and continued through until 9am. So my first practice run was pretty wild but was amazing fun! I only had time for one practice run and then I shortly went up for my qualifying run. The run itself was not the best, there were many sections I wasn’t happy with and I lost a lot time. I qualified in 3^rd place with Myriam Nicole 1^st and Manon Carpenter 2^nd.

I went up a little earlier for my second run and had a look at a couple of lines at the very top where I lost a bit of time.

The race run went well, was smooth and I was happy with it. It was by no means a perfect run and there are areas I intend to work on this year. I finished in 1^st place, with over a 3 second lead ahead of Myriam Nicole 2^nd (who got 5 UCI World Cup podiums in 2010 and a 6^th place at the UCI World Championships in 2010, and she didn’t crash in her race run!) and Manon Carpenter 3^rd.

I was really happy with how I was riding and I felt strong on the bike. I am now looking forward to the next couple of weeks racing; next weekend Pearce Cycles Series #1 at Hopton and British Downhill Series #2 at Moelfre before I head off to South Africa for two weeks where I’ll be racing the SA National Series race and for the start of the UCI World Cup tour.

I would like to thank Trek Spain, 23 Degrees and Trek World Racing for looking after me this weekend.

 

Quantums make a leap and Hornets make a buzz.

 

Mile End Boot Demo was busy. Every year it is. But this year there was a bit of a stir around the 5.10 stand as the new range of shoes stepped out with their stand out colours. They were flying off the counter. These new tweaked Anasazi lasts have a down-turned toe but a host of other features, and everyone was impressed.

 

Next Demo is at Birmingham Redpoint 9^th April. Full new range there.

 

I gave them a blast on the wall again, on steep boards with bad feet and they stuck like glue.

 

But I’m still struggling on the super steep roof work. I use my toes so much that with a down-toes shoe I can’t get the hook I need. Maybe I need to get stronger and stop pussying around on my toes! But the Blanco still wins over for me. But I’ll be at Malham later this week and on the walls there a toe hook is never gonna happen. The Quantum will be a leap forward in performance

 

4 Bangers from Mr Pasquill.

 

 

 

 

We have just arrived back in Sheffield and our 6 month long trip has come to an end. The last couple of weeks in Font were brilliant – the weather really picked up and it was dry and windy for almost two weeks which is pretty rare in the forest. No rain at all meant that the conditions were perfect, it didn't even need to be that cold because everything was so completely dry.

Around the time the weather picked up I managed to injure myself a bit. I was trying a problem called Pancras that involves (with my beta) doing a pretty burly move on a two finger pocket and when I went for it something when rip in the region of my forearm (nearer my wrist) and I felt it into my ring finger of that hand. Rubbish. I didn't climb for a few days and then began to slowly test it out on some easier climbs. I was surprised (and happy) to find that it wasn't too bad. It is an open hand injury so as long as I keep four fingers on (preferably at least half crimped) then it is fine and I can pull as normal. The things I couldn't do without pain were holding a pocket (two or three fingers) and random things like opening the van door (!). I took it easy for a bit and had to make some changes -like not competing in the CWIF. This was a tricky decision as it now forms part of the selection process for the British Team and I have already been away for almost all the trainings this year. My finger may have been okay but in a competition situation, with the adrenalin and the atmosphere, one always pulls a bit harder and I decided it wasn't worth the risk. So, decision made, I stayed in Font.

This turned out to be a huge blessing. I had basically given up on my remaining projects as I thought I wouldn't be able to try them any more but as my finger improved I thought maybe I could have a little go at some of them. We had six days left of the trip and day one after some rest I revisited Hotline (7C). This is a beautiful high block that is technical and burly at the same time, with a committing throw at the top. I had tried it earlier in the trip and Kook had successfully done it when the conditions were a lot worse. I had not yet made it to the last move and was a bit nervous about it -it is big and committing and you are pretty high. So this time, mindful of being a bit injured, I took a rope to have a little go at the top in safety. The moves were surprisingly okay and after a short practice on the rope I came down and did it first go from the ground -very pleased!

Day two of the last six I went back to Vague Patatras (8A). I had had one previous session on this and was feeling really positive about it, the only problem was whether my finger would be okay on one particular key hold. I went to join two friends Scott and Micky who were trying it and getting very close. My first go was just a tester to see if I could hold the hold still but it felt fine and I got further than I expected. Psyched now, with all three of us getting close, we took it in turns. On my fourth go I found myself at the last move and then topping out the boulder, very surprised! The others didn't quite make it that session but Micky went back and finished it on his next session. Here is a video: 

Vague Patatras, Fontainebleau 8A from mina leslie-wujastyk on Vimeo.

Day three we went to Petit Bois. This is a lovely little crag but it is often damp so this dry spell was a great opportunity to go there. I climbed La Baleine which I have never done before and is a brilliant 7a! I then went to try a problem called Paddy. This is a stunning block, font in a nutshell with a very slopey top out! It was originally climbed by Dave Graham and he gave it 8A but it has since been downgraded by a few people to 7C+/7C. It is a crimpy start followed by lots of slopers and blind foot movements. I think I was lucky to find a good sequence and surprised myself by doing it in four goes, I my mind it can be no harder than 7C.
 

On day four we went back to the Eclipse roof at Cul de Chien. Kook has been trying Total Eclispe and getting very close but this time he decided to try the low sit into Nouvelle Vague. He pulled it out of the bag very quickly and it got me psyched to try to do Nouvelle Vague (7C). I had tried it before and found it very hard to hold the slopers but this day the conditions were so good that it was like climbing a different problem. It took me quite a few goes but eventually I managed to finish it (with a very undignified grovel at the end!).

 

On day five I returned to Megalithe (7C) at Rocher Greau. I have tried this on previous trips and had no luck but this trip I had tried it once and managed to get past the crux (to the break) and then bailed off because it is high and scary and I didn't know what to do! So this time I was determined. I knew I could do the crux and that the top wasn't very hard – just scary and committing. When I got there I switched my brain off and just climbed without thinking about the potential fall and luckily I topped it out!

On day six, our last day, we went to Rocher Canon and bumbled about in the sunshine, although Kook did some crushing by sending La Baleine (different one) (7C) and another 7C climb there too.

 

After probably my best week ever in Fontainebleau we set off home, back to reality and to friends!

 

The Arc'teryx Photo Shoot-Out

Following the success of this competition last year, when it was won by Alexandre Buisse (UKC report here), Arc'teryx were again the sponsors for this year's shoot out. The five finalists were chosen by Arc'teryx sponsored mountaineer and professional photographer Ian Parnell: Alex Messenger, Henry Iddon (the skiiers in the mist is one of Henry's photos), Rob Eavis, Sam Davies and Steve Crook.

In the end the winner was chosen as Rob Eavis. We have two of the winning entries to show here. So get yourself a drink, put it on full-screen, sit back and enjoy:

 

The climbing Works International Fesitval went off with a bang this weekend, with a mixture of local heroes and foreign pro's doing well.

Our very own Katy Whittaker claimed 1st place in the womens, with Ned coming 4th in the hotly contested mens catergory.

Taken form the Climbingworks.com:

"What a Final!! What a day!! The Climbing Works International Festival 2011 came to a close last night in an amazing session of top level bouldering.

 

The Mens and Womens Final provided some amazing action with a range of problems that tested the strength, skills and tenacity of all the finalists. At the end of the night we crowned two new champions.In the Mens, the only non-UK based climber in the final, Jernej Kruder of Slovenia, became CWIF champion with a display of immense power and strength that showed why Jernej may just be the strongest man in Slovenia (and one to watch in the coming years on the World competition scene).

In the Womens final, our very own, Climbing Works mild mannered receptionist, Katy Whittaker triumphed by the narrowest of margins over Melanie Sandoz of France. Katy sealed her win by flashing problem number 4 but it could be oh so different if Melanie had managed to hold the cut loose / swing on problem number 3.

The full results are available to view in pdf format below:

(each bloc has 2 columns, the left hand side is the amount of attempts it took to get the bonus, the right hand column is the amount of attempts it took to reach the top hold. A 0 means that the problem was not topped out)

 

Mens Final Results>>

 

Womens Final Results>>

 

You can view some more photos online at our Climbing Works Picasa albums here. We'll get more up over the next few days along with some film footage.

You can watch some of the highlights from the qualifiers on our website here>>

 

For any mor einfo head to the climbing works blog HERE

 

Sheffields first Downhill mountain bike race since 1995 happend last weekend!

Check out the report....

"Wow.

Sitting at my desk this morning, I’ve finally had a chance to look back and appreciate how good last weekend turned out to be. After so much planning,brain-storming,stressing and running about, it all came down to a damp Saturday day in March…."

Read on for more HERE

View this year's Open Entries recevied to date (details on how to enter are below).

One of the most exciting events this year will be the Arc'teryx Adventure Shot Photography Competition and Quiz.

THE QUIZ

This high energy, audience-driven event will start with a pub-style Quiz with prizes donated by Arc'teryx. Hosted by comedian, climber and author, the one and only Niall Grimes.

THE SHOOT-OUT

Following the quiz will be a "shoot out" by five adventure sports photographers vying for cash and a heap of Arc'teryx kit. Each will have 5 minutes in which to showcase their photographs to the audience who will rate their approval vocally.

Four of the five will be invited by the event organiser, Arc'teryx sponsored mountaineer and professional photographer Ian Parnell. There will be one climbing photographer, one caving photographer, one biking photographer and one running photographer. The fifth finalist will be a wild card, chosen by Ian and the ShAFF judges, from online entries.

The competing photographers for 2011 are:

• Alex Messenger - climbing
• Henry Iddon - biking
• Rob Eavis - caving
• Sam Davies - winner of the open category.
• Steve Crook - running

Last year’s winner, amateur photographer & computer science PhD student, Alexandre Buisse (www.alexandrebuisse.org) wowed judge & event organiser, Arc'teryx sponsored mountaineer and professional photographer Ian Parnell. Alex went on to win over the audience and scoop the £500 cash prize and £1,000 worth of Arcteryx clothing.

Alex has since won his first commission to take promotional pictures for adventure travel firm, Jagged Globe. You can see his pictures from their Khumbu Climber Nepal trip on his website.

2010 winner Alex Buisse says:  “I love mountaineering & being in the mountains. I wanted to share the climbing experience with people who couldn’t come with me. My vision is the drama of it, which is why it fits into the format of the Arcteryx Shaff competition which is short and fast-paced. The prize was really nice. It gave me contacts and credibility to win a competition against professional photographers.”

“It’s part of why I was sent by [adventure travel company] Jagged Globe to Nepal last month to use in their brochure to spend a month in the Everest Region on their Khumbu Climber trip. It was an amazing trip and my first commission.”

“I’ve been trying to decide whether to go pro but winning the Arc’teryx Shaff competition really helps my confidence and helps push me towards doing the scarier, more interesting, more adventurous choice [of going professional].”

His advice for this year’s entrants is:  “As long as you have photos that show you love adventure then you should give it a try because I wasn’t pro when I entered. Try to be fast-paced and don’t make it a boring slide show.”

Click here to listen to a Heason Events podcast interview with Alex Buisse on the Shaff website and click here to watch Alex’s winning slide show online.

 

HOW TO ENTER:

Open Competition is now closed.

• Simply send us 6 photos that you feel represent your portfolio well. Email them to adventureshot@shaff.co.uk
• We will upload the photos to a ShAFF web account where they will be publically viewable.
• Keep the size under 750 pixels so nobody can print from them.
• If you are selected we'll contact you at the start of February. You will need to be able to attend the event which takes place at 21.00 on Sat 5th March at ShAFF at the Showroom Cinema in Sheffield. Note that expenses won't be paid.
• You will need to prepare a 5 minute audio visual presentation and present it to the live audience alongside the other four finalists. Note that in 2010 the event was won by (then) amateur photographer Alex Buisse.

JUDGING CRITERIA

The judges will assess entries for:

• Consistent high quality across a wide range of images (i.e. not just one standout shot).
• Images that capture the essence of the outdoor adventure experience (i.e. what it feels like to be deep in an adventure, the emotions, the wonder of it all).
• Images that "we" perhaps haven't seen before, or take an unusual or innovative look at our adventure world.