Category: Member Posts

I’m just putting the finishing touches to the ‘January’ pictures. Thanks to all those who have sent me their snaps. My ‘copy date’ for any other contributions for January is tomorrow, Friday 29th. A plea – before you send them to me, do 2 things:- 1. Rename them with your title/caption. That way, I don’t have to start reconciling a string of numbers that appear below the picture with a description provided in the email (or sometimes sent later): and 2. Send them as attachments to the email, and not in the body of the email. I don’t then have to ‘Save as’ and put them in an interim folder. I sound like I know what I’m doing, don’t I? But I’m still learning. Help me. Thanks Bill

Anyone interested in El Cap climbing or the way digital photography is enabling fantastically complex pictures to be produced should check this out.  Simply, gigapixel photography is done by taking thousands of photographs of a subject and stitching them together digitally to produce super high-resolution images that you can scroll into.  There’s an amazing one of The Nose that tracks climbers on every pitch…for anyone who has climbed it, you can relive the fun, pain and suffering! El Capitan Gigapixel Climbing Routes

I’m putting the January gallery together this week and will aim to go public on the 31st. I’ve got some pictures but would like some more! I know you have all been observing the rules but a lot of people in the Club live in or near the hills and mountains and will have been out for their daily exercise. Please send them to me (billdeakin@yahoo.com) with a caption. Thank you.

Why are islands so compelling, these small lands, half actual worlds, half ghostly, half part of our life, half from another realm? John Keats wrote of Ailsa Craig, “Hearken, thou craggy ocean pyramid! Give answer from thy voice – the sea – fowl’s screams” From icy, tropical, desert, flat, high and volcanic we are talking about islands tonight. Bring some stories of your own. I hope you’ll join me, see you there. John Beatty Zoom details are the same for ALL of these Season 2 Lockdown Slideshows (if you managed to get into the last event – The Diamond & The Black then the same link will work this time!) https://zoom.us/j/91271240405 Meeting ID: 912 7124 0405 Password – The year of founding of The Rucksack Club  

Two winter Mountain Medicine webinars that might well be of interest to members this week are: 8pm Wednesday 13th January: Pre-hospital Management of Severe Hypothermia 8pm Thursday 14th January: The Power of Negativity by Kev Shields, a Scottish based climber sponsored by Rab. He is well known for decades of cutting edge soloing all done with the limited use of one hand. In his talk, Kev will explore the physical and psychological impact climbing has had upon his life and what it can offer those who take up the sport. Click here to access these two sessions, which will be of interest to all   

I’m setting up the Club Gallery ‘ 2021 – the year in pictures ‘. Send me your lockdown snaps. Thanks. I’m not a member of other Club Whatsapp/Twitter/Instagram/dodgy cycling/walking groups, so pass the message on. I’ll ‘upload’ at the end of the month and nominate the ‘Goal of the Month’ (no prizes other than the accolade). Thanks again.

Great to see so many Club members and like-minded people from the wider climbing community on Zoom last night for the launch of Season 2 of The Rucksack Club Lockdown Slideshows (perfect timing, eh!?) There were just over a hundred in the audience, but if you did miss it, you can still share our Colorado climbing roadtrip adventure on catch-up. Here’s the link: https://vimeo.com/497686442 If you enjoyed that, then bear in mind that Bill and I are just the warm-up act. The next show is The Real Deal as John Beatty (renowned wildlife and outdoor photographer) will take us on a voyage of Island Discovery. In John’s words: Why are islands so compelling, these small lands, half actual worlds, half ghostly, half part of our life, half from another realm? John Keats wrote of Ailsa Craig, “Hearken, thou craggy ocean pyramid! Give answer from thy voice – the sea – fowl’s screams” From icy, tropical, desert, flat, high and volcanic we are talking about islands tonight. Bring some stories of your own. I hope you’ll join me, see you there. John Beatty Same log in details etc as last night’s show – see the calendar entry or watch your email /[…]

Woodhead Mountain Rescue Team have had one of their vehicles condemned at this critical time (mid-winter & pandemic). They are crowd funding for a new vehicle, as they have not been able to raise funds in the normal ways for some considerable time. Please consider supporting this appeal if you are able. https://woodheadmrt.org/

Something to stop us all going stircrazy over the next six months. https.//seansmountaincamera.blogspot.com/2021/01/seans-christmas-new-year-quiz.html My IT skills are a bit limited as you can see, If this doesn’t work i can send the original email. I think you will have to write the answers down separately on a paper/ John Warby