Talisman Newsletter |
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Newsletter Edition Number 5 18th December 2006 |
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Merry Christmas
A well frozen Loch Morlich in the Cairngorms National Park And a cold snowy New Year...Talisman Activities UpdateThis is really three newsletters in one as the Spring and Autumn editions didn't quite happen! While the rest of Europe is suffering from a distinct lack of snow and mild temperatures, winter is well and truly here in Scotland with good climbing conditions in many of the classic snow ice gullies and skiing on the upper runs of Cairngorm. Winter skills and winter mountaineering courses will be running from New Year through to Easter and more about these below. We still have a few places available for our Christmas and New Year winter skills courses if you fancy a last minute break....
Winter, spring, summer & autumn...
All images can be enlarged by clicking on the thumbnails Last winter it was very cold to begin with but very dry then the snow arrived in abundance in March and conditions were great for mountaineering and skiing right through to April. For the really keen some of the snow gullies were in condition in late May and even early June!
We've include a brief selection of last seasons group photos in the Newsletter. The full selection can be found on our Talisman clients photo album at http://www.talisman-activities.co.uk/images/album/album.htm
There were so many memorable days that it would be impossible to go over them all but one incident that does stand out was when the RAF helicopter was stranded in Coire an t-Sneachda. This happened at a time when there was waist deep snow in the corrie. There was a great trail as far as the helicopter but from there on, swimming techniques were more appropriate as we found out when we went climbing with Stuart on his first mixed winter route, a tech grade V.
Mark came along on a winter skills course in preparation for a trip to the Alps to climb Mont Blanc. In the end, Mark had an incredible trip with an ascent of the Aiguille de Bionnassay and of Mont Blanc. He was lucky in that his Guide was having the trip filmed and the video can be seen here http://www.tvmountain.com/topo/mixte/miages.htm We met so many different people over the winter on the courses and it was interesting to find that many had found there way over to Chamonix this summer. It was great meeting up again.
We went to Skye in May with Sara, Caroline Alison and Graeme and what an experience that was. The Inaccessible Pinnacle was successfully climbed and we had five great days out bagging at least one Munro a day despite the weather trying very hard to thwart our plans. We even had blizzard conditions one day! Sara and Caroline came back up north for a rock climbing day at Cummingston - sun, sea, sandstone and six routes!
We had some lovely climbing days in June at Creag Dubh, Cummingston and in Coire an t-Sneachda then headed off to the Alps for the summer. The first few weeks were play-time and we climbed some of the Swiss 4,000 metre peaks before going on to Chamonix which was to be our base for July and August. Paul joined us and the three of us decided to go for Mont Blanc. This was a fantastic trip as we had perfect weather and had spent time getting acclimatised before taking the Three Monts route over the summit and then down by the Gouter Route.
Ann and Daniel came on a winter mountaineering course last winter in preparation for some Alpine mountaineering. They were lucky to be able to come out for three weeks and during that time we did some lovely walks as fitness training. Then they joined Jonathon, their guide, for an introductory Alpine course which took them to the Weissmies in Switzerland, some rock climbing around Chamonix and ultimately saw Daniel get to the top of Gran Paradiso in Italy. Their original goal of Mont Blanc was thwarted by the weather and by Ann having an injured leg so perhaps next year they will be back for more.
Ron’s bit…Private Guiding...This winter I will be offering private guided climbing (1:2) on some of the easy classic Scottish gullies and ridges during the weekends in March and April as well as our standard climbing courses so if there are any particular easy routes you are interested in please do not hesitate to contact us. Winter 2006/2007…Let it snow... The winter skills weekends and winter mountaineering courses begin at New Year and bookings can be made now. There are courses running throughout January, February, March and through to Easter so lots of dates to choose from!
The winter skills courses run at weekends and more information is available here: Scottish Winter Skills Courses (Cairngorms) The winter mountaineering courses run from Saturday through to Wednesday so as to use up less of your precious days off or to enable course participants to have a few days after the course to try out their new skills. More information is available here: Scottish Winter Mountaineering Courses (Cairngorms) Winter walking holidays can be arranged and more information is available here: Winter Walking Holidays All courses will be based out of Aviemore in and around the Cairngorms and we have some exciting, alternative venues for when the weather is too bad for Cairngorm itself. The winter walking holidays will venture further afield and will explore Scotland's winter Munros. Advanced mountaineering and climbing courses These were popular last year so we will be running these again for returning clients from our mountaineering courses. These will be in March and early April and we will spend time climbing and exploring some of the great routes in the heart of the Cairngorms and Ben Nevis. Contact us for more details. There are photos below of Pete climbing at Aonach Mor on one of these courses last year. Three day mountaineering courses This year we will also be running three day mountaineering courses aimed at people who have already completed a winter skills course and want to progress to slightly steeper ground. These courses will run in March and April. Contact us for more details.
And more…Spanish Hot Rock We returned to Costa Blanca again this November for some sport rock climbing and several classic multi-pitch 'trad' routes in the Echo valley and on Puig Campana areas. The idea was to get some hot rock climbing before the Scottish winter set in. The weather had other ideas though and as soon as we left, Scotland was it was hit by severe blizzards and good winter climbing conditions. We missed out on some Scottish action but had fantastic warm weather for the whole two weeks in Spain. Plenty of sun with temperature in the early 20's on some days. We were joined in our luxury villa by Tracey, Ian, Helen and Paul.
Trips overseas Winter ice climbing trips to Norway, trekking in Nepal, exploring the Tatras mountains, Alpine walking. All of these trips and more can be arranged. If these interest you, please contact us to discuss your ideas.
All images can be enlarged by clicking on the thumbnails WinterNetWinterNet will be providing photos and reports on Cairngorm conditions and now that the snow is falling, pictures and reports are being regularly updated. Last winter stunning photos of ice routes across the far north of Scotland were also regularly posted by Macmountaineering, Inverness and we look forward to more from them this winter. See www.winternet-scotland.co.uk and www.winternet-scotland.co.uk/reports/macmountaineering/latest.htm Photos and Videos Many photographs and video clips are taken throughout the courses by Talisman and the course participants. As more and more people are using digital cameras, we are able to bring together all the photos and video clips taken during each course to produce CD and DVD’s. This means that everyone joining the courses can have a visual record of their experience. Clients Photo Album All our group and client photos can be found on our Talisman clients photo album at http://www.talisman-activities.co.uk/images/album/album.htm Accommodation in Aviemore We can arrange bed and breakfast accommodation in the Aviemore area at comfortable, local guest houses from £22.50 per person per night. Cairngorm Mountain Sport
Aviemore-based mountain equipment shop which is great for picking up kit, hiring boots etc. Helpful advice and a cafe upstairs too! www.braemarmountainsports.com Macmountaineering Inverness-based mountain equipment shop and also mail order. They now have brand new website and stock a wide range boot sizes up to 47 and a great selection of quality climbing equipment used by the professionals. Orders can be placed online. See their website here http://www.macmountaineering.co.uk And finally…We are Ron Walker, Talisman’s owner, creator and web master, qualified Mountain Instructor and International Mountain Leader and Fi Chappell, qualified Summer, Winter and International Mountain Leader. Both are outdoor enthusiasts who find it very hard to stay indoors!
From the rambler to the scrambler let Talisman be your guiding light for safe adventure activities! Future newsletters will follow but if you don’t want to receive these, e-mail us and type REMOVE in the subject header. Newsletter Edition 4 can be found here |
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