Fells Runners Have Sinking Feeling

TORRENTIAL rain and high winds were the cause of an unsettled Mountain Marathon in the Lakes last weekend.

A months rainfall was dropped in 24 hours in the National Park, even though bad weather warnings had been broadcast, this was worse than anyone had expected.

2,000 fell runners bore the brunt of this downpour and must have been very sorry for themselves by the end of the weekend. Over-night around 1,700 runners were unaccounted for, but that number gradually dropped off the next day and all competitors were accounted for by the evening.

The lakes is renowned for being a wet and windy area, as the winds are channelled up the long narrow valleys at speed and let loose their damp cargo on top of the hills.

Sty Head in the Lake District is the wettest place in the UK, on average, with 430cm (169") of rain a year

Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival

THE FESTIVAL you've all been waiting for has arrived.

The Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival (17th-19th October)is designed to showcase life on and around mountains and the sports which come with them.

Festival director Stevie Christie said: "This year's Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival is set to be the best, yet aiming to entertain, enlighten and inspire.

"Magnificent scenery has a starring role in all the films whether it's the wilds of Alaska, waterfalls in Mexico, Icelandic glaciers or the mountain peaks of Scotland."

This year the festival is endorsed by legend Sir Chris Bonington and record breaking cyclist Mark Beaumont, who rode around the world in 194 days.

The festival is in the George Square lecture theatre of Edinburgh University.

More information can be found at www.edinburghmountainff.com.

Road to Ruin

Fears are increasing for the Annapurna Circuit, as work to build roads into the mountains are well under way.

The Circuit is one of the best loved trekking routes in the world. Stretching 300 Kilometres and rising up to just over 5000 metres at Thorung La, it attracts hundreds of eager trekkers throughout the two main seasons.

The trek is an amazing chance to get a glimpse of the Annapurnas and some of the most picturesque landscapes in existence.

All that is under threat now, as a new road building scheme is underway which is attempting to grind its way through some of the more beautiful valleys and passes, with the intention of making vehicular access to the remote villages a reality.

In one sense it is beneficial to the local economy, but if you are intending on doing the circuit, I would recommend you go sooner rather than later.

Camelback all-nighter

Camelback mountain, 2704ft, Pheonix Arizona, is the setting of one mans attempt at focusing attention on suicide prevention.

Daniel DeCelles,21, will hike up and down the mountain from dawn until dusk to raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

The hike is also in memory of DeCelles’ friend who committed suicide.

He believes he should reach the summit 10 times over the night.

6th Highest Mountain Claims Life

Cho Oyu (26,900ft), Nepal, has claimed the life of a Police officer from Winnipeg.

Guy Leveille, 45, fell after getting into difficulties on a tough climb.

Mr Leveille was climbing the sixth highest mountain in the world to raise money for orphans in Nepal.

Everest Jump

Everest free fall is £17,000 adrenalin rush.

A group of 32 men and women from several nations has reached Everest base camp (12,350ft) ahead of their attempt to parachute from 30,000ft, just above the mountains summit of 29,029ft.

The air temp will be around -40C and wind speeds will be gusting up to 180mph, but that hasn’t deterred the brave adrenaline junkies.

In total, the drop will take eight minutes, the first of which will be in free fall.

For half of the team it will be their first jump, and it’s likely to be their most exhilarating ever. 

Snowdon claims Police Chief

Mt.Snowdon’s latest victim died of exposure and a cocktail of drugs.

Former Chief of Greater Manchester Police Michael Todd,50, was found dead on Wales’ largest mountain in March this year.

At the time it was unclear as to what exactly had caused his death, though he was found with an empty bottle by his side.

Dewi Pritchard Jones, North West Wales coroner said: “Mr Todd died of exposure when his state of mind was affected by alcohol, a drug and confusion due to his personal situation”.

Missing Mountain Tops

Nearly 500 mountain peaks have been chopped off in Appalachia due to open cast mining.

The mining companies find it much cheaper to use this technique rather than the underground mining, which is more prevalent when extracting coal.

Certain Laws recently changed in the USA and this has meant that open cast mining has become a more popular way of getting at the seams of coal striations found all over the mountains in Appalachia.

The mining companies are said to be re-planting vegetation on the mountainsides once they have extracted all the coal available, though how successful this has been is open to discussion.

Scottish Chick Success

Two Golden Eagle chicks have hatched on Beinn an Tuirc, Argyll.

The largest hill on the Kintyre peninsula, Scotland, was built with a dual purpose.

It is the largest conservation site in the UK for the Golden Eagle, and at the same time it is a £21m wind farm.

These are the first in a decade to successfully fledge at the site.

Mt.Kilimanjiro via Beijing

Mt.Kilimanjiro is to be the stage for a team of Polish para-olympians to promote sports tourism.

The 13 strong team is aiming to climb the 19,341ft behemoth in order to show the world that disabled people can achieve anything they have a will to.

It is also hoped that the event will strengthen ties between Poland and East African countries. 

Ready to Rumble

Eight days, 1500 miles, a 17,500ft pass and several high altitude ice desserts, could only be one race on the planet.

The Raid de Himalaya is set to start on the 2^nd October.

This will be the tenth annual race, which takes its hardy participants over some of the most inhospitable terrain in the world.

250 Motorists from around the world will participate in the event, which starts in Himchal, north west India and ends in Leh, Ladakh.

 

Shrinking Violets

Subalpine Meadows are under threat due to shrinking snowpack.

Mt.Rainer (14,411ft), Washington State, USA, is in danger of losing it’s high mountain meadows according to U.S Forest Service research.

Global warming is being blamed for the lack of snowfall, which in turn means glaciers shrink.

Once the glaciers start to shrink, trees are given the chance of proliferating in areas in which they wouldn’t  normally be able to root.

Plant ecologist Mignonne Bivin, said: “Meadows stay open because of snowpack. That’s what restricts trees – temperature and water availability. As we get less snow and more rain, we get more trees.”

Normally, of course, this wouldn’t be a problem, although the trees, once they have developed, warm their surroundings and thus the snowpack isn’t able to settle.

Scientists have been studying the changes for over 15 years and see the problem continuing to gain momentum.

Glacial Flood Warning

Towns and villages in the lower Himalayan regions are in grave danger of being flooded, according to experts.

Global warming is melting the glaciers so fast that the lakes and pools in which the water collects are unable to hold the amount of water gushing down the mountains.

A study by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) believes the floods could happen at any time, destroying homes and land as they go.

Senior water specialist at ICIMOD, Dr Eriksson said "The threat of these lakes will remain unknown because their outburst can be triggered any time by avalanches, landslides and earthquakes".

Monsoon Causing Havoc

THE monsoon seems to be lasting forever over in the Himalayas.

Several teams attempting Manaslu and Baruntse are frustrated at being penned in at various stages of ascent.

Mountain Mama

AN elderly woman spent the night on the summit of 3500ft Schiehallion mountain in Scotland.

The woman,73, had been scattering the ashes of her late husband with her son.They did not have any maps, torches or Navigational equipment.

Weather conditions deteriorated and they became separated.

Her son raised the alarm and the RAF search and rescue team was deployed, they were forced to quit the search after conditions worsened.

The search was resumed the next morning, though rescuers feared she might not have made it.

To everyone’s surprise, she walked through the door of the local medical centre just after 9am.

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