Finally some good news!
I have accommodation booked at the Glen Nevis Youth Hostel. So, although I'm not sure how we're going to get there yet, at least we know we have beds and a roof when we do. Now all I have to do is pay for it. Very soon. Needless to say, the call has gone out to the rest of the climbing party to get their money in...
Incidentally, much of the climbing party (including myself) competed in a football tournament over the weekend, this one to raise money for Sport Relief. Yep, we're all veritable money-raising machines! You'll notice that I don't put here how we did in the football tournament. This is because it would distract from the serious issue of the Ben Nevis climb.
Yes, I'll go with that...
Monday, 15 March 2010
Monday, 8 March 2010
Calm before the storm...
It's been a while since I last blogged, but that's mainly because I keep on expecting to have big news to tell... and then not quite getting there. Patience, as they say, is a virtue.
I'm hoping to have some good news to tell by tomorrow, and the conversation I've just had might suggest force my hand in that regard. Essentially, I'm hoping and praying that the situation doesn't change overnight... All very cryptic I know but I don't want to jinx the situation. However, there should be various things ini the offing very soon.
Three pieces of information I do have from the weekend just gone:
1. Travelling to Nevis and back by rail or air will be very expensive, i.e. Probably much more expensive than a minibus. That leaves three options - Coach, for which timing could be an issue, Convoy, which will involve several people driving all the way and will still cost with petrol, or the aforementioned minibus. I intend to ring up and get a quote for one this week, as well as finding out whether we need people with special licences to drive it.
2. I have received sponsorship forms from LOROS which I have started to hand out to the party. Many will have a lot of success with this and have promised to start thrusting them under the nose of anyone who looks like they might have a fiver on them. (Good work lads.)
3. We now have 13 people in the party, as we've been joined by Ben! The poor lad probably doesn't know what he's let himself in for... But I'm sure he'll do well as his enthusiasm knows no bounds.
I'm hoping to have some good news to tell by tomorrow, and the conversation I've just had might suggest force my hand in that regard. Essentially, I'm hoping and praying that the situation doesn't change overnight... All very cryptic I know but I don't want to jinx the situation. However, there should be various things ini the offing very soon.
Three pieces of information I do have from the weekend just gone:
1. Travelling to Nevis and back by rail or air will be very expensive, i.e. Probably much more expensive than a minibus. That leaves three options - Coach, for which timing could be an issue, Convoy, which will involve several people driving all the way and will still cost with petrol, or the aforementioned minibus. I intend to ring up and get a quote for one this week, as well as finding out whether we need people with special licences to drive it.
2. I have received sponsorship forms from LOROS which I have started to hand out to the party. Many will have a lot of success with this and have promised to start thrusting them under the nose of anyone who looks like they might have a fiver on them. (Good work lads.)
3. We now have 13 people in the party, as we've been joined by Ben! The poor lad probably doesn't know what he's let himself in for... But I'm sure he'll do well as his enthusiasm knows no bounds.
Friday, 26 February 2010
Avalanche...
I was alerted by the news of an avalanche on Ben Nevis this week. I also understand that two climbers died in an avalanche on another Scottish mountain.
Obviously this kind of thing is part of the reason why we want to make the climb as close to the end of the football season as possible - We've got better weather but we're still doing it within the football season and as part of the 125th year celebrations. Even so, it's a reminder to me that this isn't just a walk in the park.
In other news... well, there is no other news at present. I haven't made any progress regarding transportation yet, and nothing direct regarding accomodation either. Still, hopefully we'll be able to form an action plan for both over the weekend and make some real progress.
Obviously this kind of thing is part of the reason why we want to make the climb as close to the end of the football season as possible - We've got better weather but we're still doing it within the football season and as part of the 125th year celebrations. Even so, it's a reminder to me that this isn't just a walk in the park.
In other news... well, there is no other news at present. I haven't made any progress regarding transportation yet, and nothing direct regarding accomodation either. Still, hopefully we'll be able to form an action plan for both over the weekend and make some real progress.
Friday, 19 February 2010
LOROS helps out!
I've been in touch with LOROS themselves and I'm happy to report that I received a very helpful email back containing various suggestions, perhaps the biggest one being the taking of publicity photographs and getting in touch with the local paper, the Leicester Mercury.
As such, we now need to get everyone together for said photograph, which is easier said than done. You see, the considering that we all met from an internet forum, we all come from different walks of life. Hence it's difficult to get us together all at once! I may have to compromise and get as many of us in the photographs as possible. However, this is at least driving the publicity side of the trip forward.
In other news, it looks like we may have another climber on board, in the way of silkily-skilled Joey. That's silky football skills rather than mountaineering/hiking skills, of which I know very little. Even so, I have little doubt that he'll be racing the rest of us to the summit!
As such, we now need to get everyone together for said photograph, which is easier said than done. You see, the considering that we all met from an internet forum, we all come from different walks of life. Hence it's difficult to get us together all at once! I may have to compromise and get as many of us in the photographs as possible. However, this is at least driving the publicity side of the trip forward.
In other news, it looks like we may have another climber on board, in the way of silkily-skilled Joey. That's silky football skills rather than mountaineering/hiking skills, of which I know very little. Even so, I have little doubt that he'll be racing the rest of us to the summit!
Sunday, 14 February 2010
New Site
Not a site as in a location that I'm hiking to, but a web-site! (See what I did there? Never mind.)
This one is a rather important one though, as it's where I'll be taking online donations for the trip. After much procrastinating, I set it up today:
http://www.justgiving.com/TheFoxesOfNevis
JustGiving works simply by having people pledge their money through the links provided; it then tells us how much we've raised and gives that money straight to the charity. As various TV meerkats would say: Simples!
As such, I invite and encourage you and all readers of this blog to visit this page, which also has a link to LOROS so that you can see what they're all about and the work that they do. You'll see that it is indeed a very worthwhile cause.
Many thanks!
This one is a rather important one though, as it's where I'll be taking online donations for the trip. After much procrastinating, I set it up today:
http://www.justgiving.com/TheFoxesOfNevis
JustGiving works simply by having people pledge their money through the links provided; it then tells us how much we've raised and gives that money straight to the charity. As various TV meerkats would say: Simples!
As such, I invite and encourage you and all readers of this blog to visit this page, which also has a link to LOROS so that you can see what they're all about and the work that they do. You'll see that it is indeed a very worthwhile cause.
Many thanks!
Monday, 8 February 2010
Osmaston Trail
Yep, I've been out training again!
This time I was accompanied by my dad and we went all the way out to a village called Osmaston, near Ashbourne in Derbyshire, to set out on a 5 mile hike.
At least, that was the plan. And for a while it went well. We hiked up and down a few hills, took a walk through a wood and encountered a rather nice lake and water mill. (See pictures.) By the time we'd reached the village of Shirley to the south, we were finding the going easy and pleasant.
Then we hit the sign that nobody wants to see, the one that strikes fear into the heart of every traveller... "Diversion". Well, we took the diversion, stopping only to ask for directions and have lunch, and about 2 miles down the track we realised that we'd been going south-west instead of west-north-west.
Well, we'd reached the road by then, and a local suggested taking the road back to Osmaston. But I was too brave for that and, using my compass seriously for what amounted to the first time, directed us up a public footpath, across an estate and back toward the woods. Ignoring the time that we walked through one field containing protective ewes with young lambs and the next containing humping cows, this was relatively successful. We ended up back on a footpath inside the woods and following a couple of other hikers. Whether they were bothered by our following them or not, I don't know. But at least we were heading north-east now so we couldn't go too far wrong.
As darkness threatened we arrived back at the lake and the water mill, and we knew we weren't far from the car. A bar of chocolate and a small hill later and we had returned. Clearly we missed about two thirds of the route.
But we (or importantly: "I") learned a few things. Firstly, use the compass more and earlier. Secondly, look up what time the sun sets in the evening before heading off. Thirdly, fields that have recently contained cattle are essentially quagmires.
Anyway, despite the mistakes I think I got a few decent pictures out of it!
This time I was accompanied by my dad and we went all the way out to a village called Osmaston, near Ashbourne in Derbyshire, to set out on a 5 mile hike.
At least, that was the plan. And for a while it went well. We hiked up and down a few hills, took a walk through a wood and encountered a rather nice lake and water mill. (See pictures.) By the time we'd reached the village of Shirley to the south, we were finding the going easy and pleasant.
Then we hit the sign that nobody wants to see, the one that strikes fear into the heart of every traveller... "Diversion". Well, we took the diversion, stopping only to ask for directions and have lunch, and about 2 miles down the track we realised that we'd been going south-west instead of west-north-west.
Well, we'd reached the road by then, and a local suggested taking the road back to Osmaston. But I was too brave for that and, using my compass seriously for what amounted to the first time, directed us up a public footpath, across an estate and back toward the woods. Ignoring the time that we walked through one field containing protective ewes with young lambs and the next containing humping cows, this was relatively successful. We ended up back on a footpath inside the woods and following a couple of other hikers. Whether they were bothered by our following them or not, I don't know. But at least we were heading north-east now so we couldn't go too far wrong.
As darkness threatened we arrived back at the lake and the water mill, and we knew we weren't far from the car. A bar of chocolate and a small hill later and we had returned. Clearly we missed about two thirds of the route.
But we (or importantly: "I") learned a few things. Firstly, use the compass more and earlier. Secondly, look up what time the sun sets in the evening before heading off. Thirdly, fields that have recently contained cattle are essentially quagmires.
Anyway, despite the mistakes I think I got a few decent pictures out of it!
Friday, 5 February 2010
Contact with LCFC
Good news yesterday!
I received an email from Leicester City Football Club that they should be able to feature us in some way in a match later on in the season - The home game against Queens Park Rangers on Easter Monday. Hopefully we might get into the programme or even get onto the pitch at half time! (Currently a hope rather than an expectation.) Essentially that should give us plenty of publicity and encourage other Leicester fans to give money to our cause.
Exactly how we receive that money is yet to be decided. A couple of options have popped up - one being setting up an account with a site called justgiving.com and the other being that we collect 'by hand' and had all proceeds in to the club after the QPR game. However, considering the QPR game is a few weeks before the climb I'm getting drawn far more to the former.
Whatever that decision though, this is excellent news and I hope to drive on from here. Issues around transportation and accomodation remain outstanding, but I'm hoping to close in on them over the next few days. For now, I'll just enjoy the moment and dream about stepping out onto the pitch at the Walkers... Not to play of course. That would just be silly. Wouldn't it.
.
.
I received an email from Leicester City Football Club that they should be able to feature us in some way in a match later on in the season - The home game against Queens Park Rangers on Easter Monday. Hopefully we might get into the programme or even get onto the pitch at half time! (Currently a hope rather than an expectation.) Essentially that should give us plenty of publicity and encourage other Leicester fans to give money to our cause.
Exactly how we receive that money is yet to be decided. A couple of options have popped up - one being setting up an account with a site called justgiving.com and the other being that we collect 'by hand' and had all proceeds in to the club after the QPR game. However, considering the QPR game is a few weeks before the climb I'm getting drawn far more to the former.
Whatever that decision though, this is excellent news and I hope to drive on from here. Issues around transportation and accomodation remain outstanding, but I'm hoping to close in on them over the next few days. For now, I'll just enjoy the moment and dream about stepping out onto the pitch at the Walkers... Not to play of course. That would just be silly. Wouldn't it.
.
.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)