Category: Member Posts

Guess who these 5 are?! Sadly, 2 are no longer with us

Following Kilian Jornet’s record breaking climb of Mt Everest in 2017.  A vital part of this process took place at home, using a hypoxic chamber Kilian for sleep as well as exercise over the 8 weeks prior to his departure for Nepal. Finally, before flying, he spent a further 10 days preparing in the Alps where, his records show, he spent 100 hours sleeping and ski mountaineering at altitudes of up to 4200m.  Since then, other mountaineers have adopted a similar approach. On his Blog, Into the Death Zone, Jeremy Windsor discusses one such ascent with Roxanne Vogel who made headlines in 2019 by successfully climbing Mt Everest in a 14 day round trip from her home in San Francisco…incredible! Follow the link below https://deathzone.7thwave.io/blog/1661

For Tuesday’s lockdown virtual slideshow we are encouraging you to cook and eat daal bat. Eat it before during or afterwards or for the full Nepalese experience, have it for breakfast too.

Top of the Grande Motte at sunrise…May 2020 What do you do when you have been locked down for 7 weeks in Tignes and you are fanatical about skiing and cycling? Two “Ultimate” boys dreamt of combining the two disciplines for a challenging day out https://vimeo.com/user25116911/skibike …and they loved it so much, they looked for a longer challenge! https://vimeo.com/421213481

Just a heads up for all would be Rucksack cavers.Because of the success of the 2019 Berger Expedition, some of the original team are looking at another mammoth trip next summer “UP or should it be DOWN” the classic world caving trips.The PSM as its known lies close to the French/Spanish Pyrenees town of Bayonne on the western coast of France. Heralded as The deepest world cave for many years until the Berger was bottomed in the late 1950’s it attracts teams from all over the globe because of its ease of access and the mammoth SALLE VERNA cavern bigger than Wembley stadium.A man made tunnel takes tourists into Salle Verna but for the proper cavers unlike the Berger there a different entrances and through trips to accommodate all levels of experience.Obviously its early days and plenty of planning to do,but it would be great to have strong Rucksack club presence this time along with the other clubs involved.John Warby.

Every June, for almost 20 years, Helen and I have organised The Gogarth Meet. Despite my best efforts, and the climbing on The Best Crag In The World, this has become known as the Barbecue Meet! 2020 will be a bit different – we’ll still have the Burgers, BBQ, Beers, Bonfire and Banter, but we’ll be getting together in back gardens across cyberspace rather than on Port Dafarch Beach (you could argue that’s all the best bits, without the carbon footprint or the terror of Main Cliff!). We’ll have a few pics, some tales from ‘Back in the Day’, a prize for the best burger, and a Gogarth-themed quiz to amuse you, so put the beers in the fridge, fire up the barbie and come and join the virtual fun on Zoom. Please pass the invitation on to friends (whether in the Rucksack Club or not – EVERYONE WELCOME!) and get in touch if you’d like to share a story or pics of your favourite Gogarth experience. Link to follow via email or check the Club FB page or email me at virtual-meets@rucksackclub.org Cheers, Dom & Helen

Im trying to contact Micheal at Fine park about a refund for my accommodation, whats the correct email address,the web site is down and he isn’t replying to my messages anymore. John.

I’ve got a mint 1969 Holdsworth Avanti road bike in the garage where it has remained unused but well-maintained for nearly 35 years. If anyone wants it they are welcome to collect it. Brian Cunningham