January 4th, 2007 10:56pm
Boz
It’s been a while since we’ve put a post up, but its a new year so new resolutions!
Well just before new year myself and nige headed down to the snowdome in castleford for a bit of skiin. Nige had never done it before so he had 3hrs of lessons.
I must admit i was surprised at the slope as it was much better and more realistic than i thought it would be, but unfortunately it was pretty chocker.
Nige was starting to link turns like a pro by the end of the morning, and you never know i may be able to convince him to come skiin for real some time soon
My only tip would be to book in advance as it seems a bit cheaper, it was £31 for 2hrs, or £71 for 3hrs of lessons, kit included.
October 9th, 2006 04:52pm
Mark
The AlpKit Indigo is a basic and cheap head torch – it sells direct from AlpKit for £5 including delivery.It has 4 LEDs, which can be used on 2 modes – 2 LEDS give 80h of use and 4 give 40h of use. It runs off 3*AAA batteries located in a holder at the back of the strap.
The quality is pretty good, its solid enough and if you tilt the head down full, the on off button cannot be activated, stopping this from accidental turn ons. Nothings broken or worn out, but only a year of abuse will tell the full story. The wieght with batteries is 113g – so its ideal to carry as a backup or just for peace of mind.
Performance is acceptable – not as good as a Petzl Tikka, but enough to walk by and certainly good enough for round camp. I have one in the car now for general use – at this price its a very good deal.
You can only buy this direct from AlpKit – here.
October 5th, 2006 02:48pm
Mark
The weather here in the UK is famous in its random nature, and as Autumn / Winter approches the forecast is even more important when planning a day out on the fells.
There are several weather services to use for getting your fix of weather info – here are our favourites:
MWIS
The Mountain Weather Information Service offer quite simply the best forecasts. These are the forecasts you always see in shops and campsite round the lakes, and they focus on the conditions on top of the fells – so wind, temp and visibility is quoted at 750m and they quote maximum values so you know waht you are up against. They are supplied in PDF, and easy to understand, with a detialed forecast for tomorrow issed at 4pm each day, plus shorter forecasts for the following 2 days and a note on the general trends.. Use these if they cover your area:
- The North West Highlands of Scotland
- The West Highlands of Scotland
- Cairngorms National Park and Monadhliath
- The Southeastern Highlands of Scotland
- The Southern Uplands of Scotland
- The Cumbrian Fells
- The English Peak District
- The Snowdonia area of Wales
Head on over to MWIS. Please visit the sponsor sites as well, as this service is offered free and has been under threat before.
Metcheck
Metcheck offer a range of excellent forecasts tailored for various outdoor activites via the hobbies button. Mountainering forecasts should be of interest to Fell Walkers – covering areas like Crinke Crags. The forecasts again focus on the weather high up, with peak wind speeds etc etc. They also offer cycling forecasts, with a hand sweat rating and again exellent info on wind levels.
Visit Metcheck
The Beeb
A good fall back is the BBC – offering all the usual forecasts for towns accross the UK. The BBC can be a bit optimistic though – peak temps and average wind, and usually measured in the valleys.
Visit BBC Weather
As ever, drop us a comment if you know better.
October 4th, 2006 07:10pm
Boz
I’ve been chatting to one of my mates, and going allong with the walking, biking etc here is a cool website.
You pick somebody you know and challenge them in the space of a year to one in each
of the listed activities. Me thinks i’m going to challange Nige! The question is will he accept???
www.challenge365.net
September 29th, 2006 07:43pm
Boz
Read Niges about me page. Now can somebody please tell me how he gets his “Buzz” from walking?
Is it using mechanical assistance?
September 29th, 2006 06:40pm
Boz
Research
I was the lucky one out of the group and M&M did most of the leg work finding out where we where going etc. However we made a fairly naïve decision to go on the walk considering we where forecast torrential rain and wind that could have blown over Blackpooltower
Gear
Pack weights varied from 10 to just over 15 kilos, with 35l to 65l bags. We all shared the 3 man tent and food, but I think I like my creature comforts too much cos I had the 65l…… either that or their just weak
Travel
Parked at Arnside, and train to Ulverston, which worked out well for a 7am start, only problem was getting back to Arnside when we bailed out half way through like the little school girls we are On route we managed to stave off the boredom with classic hits from ‘The Bay’ 102.3Fm (www.thebay.co.uk)
Walk
Day 1 – Started at the memorial at 7am, with the obligatory photo, and made our way upto Coniston for lunch, but managed to leave it from 6.30 til 2 between proper meals (not nice). Managed to make a dairylea and ham sandwich for lunch outside the local co-op. During our stop i purchased some pack away Aquastop over trousers for the impending downpour on day 2……… WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY! by the end of day 2 the inner lining had come away from the trousers….. small angry man syndrome was initiated. However, very friendly shop where the owner filled our water containers for us.
To end the day we stopped at a pub and had a Cumberland sausage and chips… when we set off again i found i was crippled, cos my boots had rubbed a red ring round my legs above my ankles, and the blisters had begun to grow
Day 2 (the end) – Instead of setting off at seven, a combination of my blisters and the rain meant we didn’t get started til 10, and we’d stopped by 2. My feet where in distress due to poor boots, and Marks waterproof had given in, so we turned back about 2 miles past the dungeon gill where the footbridge had been washed away.
Not a good day!
Camping
We managed to top and tail our way into a pretty decent campsite at catstye which had plenty of room, and hot showers for the morning
Recovery
Due to the early bail out, we made it back by half 8 so we went out for a curry to commiserate, however it left the usual Japanese flag effect in the morning
September 27th, 2006 01:45pm
Spare Weekend
Welcome To Spare Weekend!
This new website is here to provide you with news, reviews and most importantly inspiration to get yourself into the outdoors. The site is currently written by a team of 4 twenty somethings who walk, run, bike, kayak and more.
Over the coming months we intend to produce high quality content for you to read, so watch this space.
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