Time for a new blog...

Winter sunset over Fort William after a big day on the Ben

I started this blog on the 21st December 2009 to share my adventures as a mountain instructor and expedition guide. Nearly 600 posts later and with almost 100,000 views I've managed to upload 1GB worth of photos and writing which has taken me up to my Blogspot limit. So it's now time for a new blog.....

www.mountainzblog.blogspot.co.uk

I'll still keep this blog online as I hope it's a useful resource but please update your browser if you would like to continue to follow me.

Terrex Swift 2012

After a full weeks work on Skye including a couple of Cuillin Ridge traverses I made the long drive down to Yorkshire for the Adidas Terrex Swift, a 48 hour adventure race. A three hour bivi in the field at the start probably wasn't the best preparation but at 9am our team of four were off trotting around the town of Kirkby Lonsdale. The large crowds were surprised to see us having all come out for a town Jubilee photo!
12km later and after a quick wade through the river Team Custard arrived at our canoes for a paddle down the River Lune, through Lancaster and out to the coast. A few swimmers floated past but we made it without incident picking up a few places on the 3 portages. With only one portage trolley our improvised double decker worked incredibly well.

 A very successful double decker portage

Portage time during the canoe stage

Exiting the water and on to the mountain bikes we suffered four mechanicals in the first four miles but got back into our stride and were soon at Gisburn. Some good route choices enabled us to miss out most of the technical mountain biking while picking up all the checkpoints just before it got dark. The final bike section to Malham dragged as the weather dramatically changed for the worse and we made the sensible choice to drop one checkpoint during the night navigation stage, the wet limestone seriously slowing our progress.
We'd opted not to stick a tent in our transition bag, a serious miscalculation and with the rain hammering down and in desperate need of sleep we took the sneaky option and hunkered down for a couple of hours in the transition barn. Away at 6am into a cold, grey and very wet morning the long grind up out of the valley on mountain bikes was probably the toughest part of the race for us although Carrie had got her second wind and was flying. A couple of hours later conditions were improving and we enjoyed the intimidating abseil over Kilnsey Main Overhang. Back on to the bikes for a long stint broken by a tactical stop in the pub for jacket potato and chilli. There were very few teams around us now and we decided to miss the two most northern checkpoints giving us a good run through Swaledale and onto Hawes for the final transition. A sterling effort from Kieran on the bike nav kept us straight especially during one bad patch where I dropped off while spinning up a hill.

As the final team into Hawes we opted for a quick hours kip as the site was dismantled around us. Heading away in to the twilight the initial climb exposed us to a brutally cold north easterly which had us donning all our layers. There were plenty of torches to be seen on Yorkshires three peaks but we made a good tactical decision and headed straight for the caving. A through trip in Calf Holes was more than we'd anticipated and we had a great time abseiling into the active streamway, a couple of wriggles and an exposed rift to finish. The first time I've gone into a cave in the dark and come out in daylight. Away down the valley we headed straight for the finish in Settle. Sleep deprivation was now kicking in and the prize for best hallucinations went to Andy who was mocked by clowns faces in the dry stone walls! I opted for a quick pitstop and on rejoining the group found them all fast asleep in the sun sprawled across the footpath. Our pace slowed over the final few miles due to chafe-age but we were in good spirits as we trotted up to the line in just over 47 1/2 hours.

Crossing the finish line after 47:31:40

  10th place Team Custard with their medals

We'd jokingly suggested a top 10 placing would be our target and in the final results we'd achieved that from the 26 teams that had started. My efforts in last years Terrex C2C were our teams only experience of adventure racing and it was a steep learning curve but an absolutely great event. Huge thanks to Kieran, Andy & Carrie, to the Open Adventure crew and awesome job to planner Dave Johnson.
 

 A few hours kip and Team Custard were ready to go again!

Competition Schedule for 2012

 The start of day 3 on the 2011 Adidas Terrex C2C

Plenty of racing to be had this summer. I'm limiting myself to three events as I'm guessing I'm going to be needing some recovery time after these...

First we've got the Adidas Terrex Swift is at the beginning of June. 48 hours of non stop fell running, mountain biking and canoeing plus some ropework challenges. Carrie, Kieran, Andy and myself are racing as Team Custard with 'beanie' support from Custard Climbing Creations.

At the end of June I'm taking part in the inaugural Celtman, the Scottish version of the iconic Norseman. Based in Torridon this Ironman distance triathlon starts with a 3.8km swim in Loch Shieldaig, 200km on the road bike on some great Scottish roads and a marathon to finish taking in the two Munros on Beinn Eighe.

My final big race is the Montane Lakeland 100 at the end of July, a 100 mile trail race which passes through pretty much every corner of the Lake District A foot injury curtailed my attempt last year but the training's going well so fingers crossed.

Friday night film - MTB

Terrex Sting in Stirling 2012 Preview

Adidas Terrex C2C 2011 Report

Setting off for the long paddle down Ullswater

Knowing I'd be looking for a new challenge after this years Everest expedition and having bumped in to several teams in various states of disrepair on the 2010 expedition race I signed up to race as a solo in this years Adidas Terrex C2C Adventure Race. Finishing a tough weeks work with Outward Bound at 9pm on the Thursday and having spent Wednesday night camped out with a group I packed by headtorch until 1am, got a few hours kip and headed down to Whitehaven for a nice early start!

Film of day 1 courtesy of Ian Grimshaw

Conditions were perfect and there was a great buzz around the harbor. I had sourced a 25kg plastic touring kayak a couple of days before the race so I was always going to be slow on the paddling stages but at least I wasn't going to end up in the water like a number of teams in their unstable racing skis. A small break at St Bees was providing plenty of entertainment but I picked a good wave onto the beach and made a dry exit. Onto the bike for the ride over to Crummock Water and the second paddling stage. The portage between the two lakes was always going to be a sufferfest but I got the boat comfortable on my shoulder and was able to pick up a couple of places on the rocky west shore path. From Buttermere the big climb of the day led up on to Robinson. With no other teams in view and following the race line marked on the map I missed the obvious trod which gave a far easier line on to the ridge. The teams behind me made no mistake and we were soon running as a pack along the ridge. The great undulating descent over Catbells played to my strengths and I arrived at Nicol End feeling pretty good. However in common with many of the other racers the exit from the water after the 500m swim in Derwentwater proved problematical with cramp in both legs! Getting my trainers on for the run in to Keswick town center was a long process but once I got moving things eased up and I even managed a sprint finish.

Slow & steady transitions!

Staggered starts the next morning meant I left around half way down the field for the quick spin up to Thirlmere. At half my size and weight Carrie had done a sterling job to get my heavy boat over the gate and down the bank to the water. Thirlmere was mirror smooth and a great paddle enlivened by an exit through knee deep mud. The second big climb of the race was up on to Helvellyn. However my tracker was spotted doing 60mph via Ambleside so I didn't win King of the Mountains! After a great run down Swirral Edge and down to Patterdale I was reunited with my tracker and could begin the long paddle the length of Ullswater. Putting in a big effort I was able to hold my position until in a flurry of activity all the leading teams came past me at Pooley Bridge. The final section of the day was open route choice to Kirby Stephen. Running pure slicks on my mountain bike worked very well apart from the initial off road section to Askham which generated a few hairy moments.

The exit from Buttermere - too tired to carry the boat after the long portage!

Day 3 was all new to me with a boggy run over Nine Standards. An unplanned detour on the way up saw me scaling a tree to cross a huge wall. Once back on route I was able to enjoy the long descent despite going over on my ankle. The final sprint finish also nearly did for me with a very slippery stile but with just a couple more bruises to add to the collection we were out on to the mountain bikes and my favorite part of the journey. Apart from one long push the majority of the climbing was rideable followed by some great flowing downhill. Most of the leaders, followed by their ever attentive helicopter, came past at this stage but I was still ahead of Team Adidas Terrex at the final transition. A quick change of tyres and a blast along the roads to Northallerton on some particularly filthy bikes.

Finishing day 3 in Northallerton

The final day of the race involved a very early start but the staggered starts worked incredibly well with everyone reaching the finish within a three hour window giving a great atmosphere. An initial leg on the bike led us on to a great run along the Cleveland Way. Clear cold conditions with a fresh breeze and purple heather as far as you could see. A steep downhill to the next transition where we picked up mountain bikes before climbing all the way back on to the ridge for the next stage. The riding was less technical today but I was still able to overtake the two leading teams, Accelerate and Adidas Terrex for a brief moment when things got a bit tricky. Tracking Kim Collison in third place he punctured but made a quick change and was soon disappearing into the distance again taking one of my spare inner tubes with him. Just before the final transition I wandered slightly off the racing line taking an alternative line through a large puddle at speed. With water over the hubs I emerged like a drowned rat to much amusement of the team just behind. However with the sun still shining I quickly dried out and began the final section. Opting for knobbly tyres over pure slicks was a good choice as stage 17 was a combination of tarmac and cinder track. With everyone pushing hard for the finish a number of peletons formed and reformed as the north sea finally came in to view. Dropping the bikes at the edge of Robin Hood's Bay we made a final short run down to the finish line just above the sea.

Sprint finish at Robin Hood's Bay and the end of the race

A great first experience of Adventure Racing and a massive thank you to James and everyone at Open Adventure for putting on such a great and well organised event. Huge thanks also to my support team of Ian Grimshaw & Carrie Gibson who didn't put a foot wrong the whole race and were a massive part of me getting round in a reasonable time.

Happy with 13th place in 27:31:04

Plenty more reports on the Terrex C2C 2011...

• Dawn Westrum
• Team Accelerate
• Planetfear.com
• Sleepmonsters.co.uk
• Kim Collison - Inov8
• Bruce Duncan - Team Adidas Terrex

A quick dip in the North sea to complete the Coast to Coast

Terrex C2C - Day 4

An early start in Northallerton for Day 4 (photo from Planetfear.com)

Finish of the Terrex C2C 2011 with my awesome support Carrie

Terrex C2C - Day 3

Just been overtaken by James Cracknall & Team Adidas

Terrex C2C - Day 2

My one bit of television fame. I'm the figure in the cloud at 1:20!

Terrex C2C - Day 1 (the official version!)

The start of the paddle down Crummock Water just before the heavy squall hit!

Terrex C2C - Day 1

I was very ably supported on day 1 of the Terrex C2C by Ian (Antarctic decorator, extreme skier and self proclaimed Greek god!). In between sorting my kit, thrashing my wee van round the countryside and keeping me fed and watered he managed to shoot this film of my efforts. Thanks for not making me look too bad!

Terrex C2C Adventure Race

This bank holiday weekend is the Terrex C2C Adventure Race . My preparation hasn't been ideal with a full week at Outward Bound Ullswater but it's shaping up to be a great race if a wee bit wet and windy!

Each team carries a tracker and their progress can be followed here http://www.adidas-ar.com/2011/tracking/tracks.php. I'm racing as Solo 19.

Day 1 (Friday, 10am start)

• Sea kayak from Whitehaven to St Bees
• Cycle to Loweswater
• Kayak Crummock Water & Buttermere
• Fell run along Robinson & Cat Bells
  
• Swim across Derwent Water

Day 2 (Saturday)

• Cycle to Thirlmere
• Kayak the length of Thirlmere
• Fell run over Helvellyn via Swirral Edge to Patterdale
  
• Kayak the length of Ullswater
• Cycle to Kirkby Stephen
  

Day 3 (Sunday)

• Fell run over Nine Standards Rigg
• Mountain bike through Swaledale
• Cycle through the Vale of York to Northallerton
  

Day 4 (Monday)

• Continue to cycle through the Vale of York
• Fell run over Carlton Bank
• Mountain bike over the North York Moors
• Cycle through the Esk Valley to Robin Hood's Bay
  

A few other links which will have updates and photos are below;

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/openadventure.
Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/openadventure.
James Cracknell Blog http://www.jamescracknell.com/home

Big thanks to everyone who's got me to the start line - Sarah, Ian, Anna, Carrie, Tim, Craig, Carl & Jo

Friday night film - Adidas Terrex 2010

A full length documentary on the inaugural Adidas Terrex Adventure Race in the Lake District, July 2010

http://www.dreamteamtelevision.co.uk/view-programmes/adventure-sports/adidas-terrex/