Blisters....

Worth a try?!

Silk sleeping bag liners...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BLACK-Single-Silk-Liner-Sleeping-Bag-Sack-Inner-Sheet-/290530744782?pt=UK_SportingGoods_SleepingBags_SM&hash=item43a4fb59ce

£5.99 on ebay...

They increase your sleeping bag warmth by a season. They claim around 5oC warmer!

Coming soon....

Training 30th - 31st May

And what was learnt?!

- think about joint support! Bring knee supports (i actually told them this earlier but no one believed me until we were out on devil's steps!)

- Poles! Needed! Take them

-Stick together and wait for people especially on hills for moral

- break boots in! except if your are fluky Jack and Callum!

- pack stuff in small dry bags for filling all the gaps

- put things in dry bags

- actually sleep in your sleeping bag and on your therma rest! 

- get a non leaking platypus and do it up or the water comes out!!!

- the alps are going to be high!!!

- buy more kit!

- mmm jet boil!

- all the suger in the world can not make up for a good nights sleep!

- rucksacks need fitting! They bite and leave a waist rash!!

- put sun tan lotion on your neck!!! (and preferably get a hat with a big brim!)

Plans for half term training

Right plans for the bank holiday

Meet at Mel's at 1pm on 30th May with ALL of your kit that you are taking to the Alps for the 2 weeks so that we can do a thorough kit check and you can get used to lugging it about. That afternoon we will go to The Purbecks and wild camp that night. We're gonna do the coastal path on Tues with a view to get back late on tues afternoon / eve. We can drop you back in Poole on the way back through

Get packing/shopping/gyming

:)

Naming and Shaming...

Right we are going in 9 weeks and we are still waiting for money and forms!!!!

We need money from

Laura - 1 payment
Jack - 1 payment
Adam - 2 payment
Faye - 1 payment
Ash and Callum £35 for first aid

Forms that we need

Jack - Code of Conduct and Parent Consent
Hannah - Gift Aid form

You are all officially rubbish!!!!!

Dates for your diary

Hi guys, hope the exams are going well so far...

Not long to go now... We are doing a practice on 30th-31st May where we are going to check kit then camp out at the Purbecks (more details to follow) and another practice on 17th-18th June so make sure you get the dates in your diary and sort out work and all your other lamo excuses!

9 weeks to go!!!!!

Adam's misconceptions!

I would just like to formally deny all mischief claims that Adam may have made about me! I mean come on... you all know me well enough! Would I do anything silly like that?!

I will accept full responsibility for sending Jack to find the hot water tap... I mean come on!  But as for any thing else...

I am a responsible grown up don't you know!

An evening with Ranulph Fiennes

Can we go please?!

http://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/page/3021/An+Evening+with+Sir+Ranulph+Fiennes+OBE/994

21 September 2011

An Evening with Sir Ranulph Fiennes 

“The World’s Greatest Living Explorer” (Guinness Book of Records)

Voted as one of the World’s Top Ten Speakers

This represents a rare opportunity to listen to the most intrepid of explorers, Sir Ranulph Fiennes as he speaks in support of the Atlantic Calling rowing challenge.

During his 40-year career, Sir Ranulph Fiennes has led more than 30 expeditions and is the holder of several endurance records. He completed a 52,000 mile Transglobe overland expedition, and was the first person to visit both the North and South poles by surface means as well as becoming the first person with Mike Stroud to cross Antarctica on foot and unsupported.

In 2003, four months after having a triple heart bypass operation, he ran seven marathons in seven days on seven continents. In May 2009, at the age of 65 he became the oldest Britain to reach the summit of Everest.

An evening with Sir Ranulph Fiennes will guarantee to inspire and motivate, demonstrating what can be achieved through the power of human determination and reaching beyond the limits. 

The evening consists of a talk, followed by a Q & A session and ending with a book signing.

 

Adam on training (silver...)

I arrived in Cranbourne and suddenly realised just how hot it was! But we set off any way, throwing a tennis ball around that Jack had decided to bring along with him. We had the easiest day for our first day so we arrived at the field where we were staying with plenty of time to spare. And in this time, Miss Power decided to tell Jack that there was a hot water tap in the field next to ours. So Jack set off looking for a hot water tap amongst the cows. A long while later he returned to a camp full of laughter and couldn’t work out how he hadn’t managed to find the tap.

So later that night we decided that a bit of revenge was in order so Jack and I decided to let down her thermarest and pillow, only for her to find it about 10 minutes later. But even though we hadn’t actually done anything in return, she still found it necessary to swap all the boys sleeping bags around while we were on our night walk, which created some very funny confusion when we returned.

But eventually we got off to sleep and started plotting for the day ahead. But then in the morning we found that she had played another of her practical jokes on us. Somehow during the night, she had managed to get mine and Jack’s boots and hide them in the girl’s tents. This proved a difficult obstacle in the morning when trying to take down the tent and avoiding getting wet feet. By this time, Jack was determined that we would get her back properly the next night.

So after another hard days walk, and night had fallen we very slyly crept around then sides of the field; and then with some persuasion to Dave, we managed to steal her sleeping bag! And as we ran back to our tent with it however, we suddenly bumped into Miss Power and Mark outside our tent. But after a long while running away, we managed to hide it in one of our tents. Unfortunately in doing this, we left our sleeping bags wide open for them to take as well. But after hours of running about and trying to take each other’s things, we finally found where they had been hiding our stuff plus more of theirs. So just as we have the upper hand, they say “time for bed now”. Bit unfair if you ask me!

The last day was again swelteringly hot, but we managed to find our way back with only a bit of sun burn to complain about. A good expedition all round.

Now only 79 days until Mont Blanc…                      

Brecon training....

A sneak peak before they sort their lazy backsides out and write something for the blog!

New shiny tent! Wooh!

Finally after months of waiting we have our new tent! I love my coleman cobra, so much that we brought one from ebay to replace our original one which we'd properly worn out! We do use it all the time though and it is getting worse for wear so when we saw that the new Cobra was coming out we were all over it....

And then a couple of months later after it's launch date it still wasn't out. We have tried other tents as a replacement but not been happy with any of them having been truely spoilt by the size of the original cobra. It was huge inside and tall enough to sit up in, super easy to pitch and needed very few pegs... How would the new one compare?!

We thought it would arrive before the Brecon trip but Mr Loser delivery guy decided not to knock on the door as I waited patiently for it's arrival! Grrr!

But now we have it....

  

- outer instead of inner first pitching

- still really large inside

- higher bottom of the tent makes that space more valuable

- a kg lighter

  

but...

  

- strange tensioning strap things we need to get used to

- and blue?! what a silly colour!

The space inside is brilliant, still long enough for bags at the bottom and the top but I haven't put it up myself yet so will have to hold judgement until I have.

  

Chris was looking at new tents and had decided on the Vango Banshee...

I have slept in one  on my ML and the Banshee 3 was nice. Only a porch one side however and the 3 man was big enough for two people but no where near spacious enough compared to my old cobra. 

Hmmm decisions...!!!

Vango Banshee 3   £80    2.6kg    H100cm*  L230cm  W165cm

Coleman Cobra 3   £72    2.9kg    H100cm   L275cm  W195cm

Vango Banshee 2   £63    2.00kg   H85cm*   L230cm  W135cm

Coleman Cobra 2   £55    2.05kg   H77cm    L257cm  W125cm

* Height of inner and outer not just the inner...

Coleman cobra

Vango Banshee

And for comparison for Ash and Chris who have permanently nested in my Coleman bedrock....

And we're on Facebook...

Ash has set up a facebook page... Tour du Mont Blanc! Like it or face the wrath!

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.194869503891084.53047.194851353892899#!/pages/Tour-Du-Mont-Blanc/194851353892899

Cheap kit purchases!

There is a lot of kit out there that we would definately not object to being the rightful winner of in some freak raffle prize... But while we wait for that to happen some cheap kit items that are worth collecting now are...

Mini rucksac in a handy pouch for shopping in down town Cham!

Poundsaver... £1!

Good find Chris and Ben!

Tesco's now do their own variety of spork for a mere £1!

Animal snack bags! What more does a happy camper need?! Especially when filled with tea bags, milk tubes, coffee and sugar.... Free game included! I love the animal game!

Sugar sachets? Sugar with your tea?! (See Ben!)

Inflatable pillow £2.50 from tescos...

And for free... nightly practise of a warming kukarr to warm your cockles before bed! KUKARR!

Kukarrrrrrr!

Waiting for posts on training from Jack, Adam, Ben, Laura and Faye....!

Muchos fun has been had....