Pyranha Rev

With Jim offering us a go in Pyranha’s new playboat, the Rev, Nic and I eagerly headed to Alpkit’s Nottingham headquarters to pick them up. With no rain about to try them on some river waves we headed to the National Water Sports Centre to try them on the artificial slalom course.

It’s been a while since I’ve paddled a Pyranha playboat I have enjoyed. The Rev was a lot different and I felt able to throw the boat around with a lot more ease whilst keeping control over it. Although I was in the medium and it was a little small for me, I still found it popped nicely for loops and floated well on the Muncher wave.

Although it was only a short session with the Rev I look forwards to getting my hands on a large one to try so I can really push it. The medium was a fun boat to paddle but I found it worked best when I really drove it into moves.

07 May, 2008 by Bill

BUSA No Polo 2008

Some Teessiders enjoying the party

The weekend of 11/12/13 April saw the annual BUSA Canoe Polo Competition at Hatfield Water Park, Doncaster. It is an event that sees teams of five chasing a ball around a swimming pool sized pitch, the aim to score in the goals suspended two metres above the waters surface.

Canoe Polo is a sport I have not played very much that I do enjoy, mainly because you are allowed to push people in! It does get very competitive and heated at points, especially with the Universities that take the event so seriously. However my University, Teesside, like many others see this event as a social gathering and the chance to compete against like minded Universities. Last year we came joint bottom, playing our first ever polo game against Cambridge (I think) in the first round. We did manage two wins but against similarly poor and drunk teams.

This year we were determined to do better.

However, as we don’t have our own polo boats we were relying on others to lend us their spares. We turned up to the event and contacted the club who were supposedly lending us the boats. It turned out that they did not have enough boats to lend us. We were pretty gutted but still managed to make a good weekend of it doing what Teesside do best. Get merry and party. A cracking 80’s themed party was thrown by the organisers with some awesome costumes seen during the night, my personal favourite Optimus Prime. A fully working Transformers outfit, legend.

We will be back next year (well without me, as I graduate) and are all ready thinking up some schemes to raise money for our own boats.

07 May, 2008 by Bill

Ignoring the bank holiday forecast

Clear skies over Snowdon

If the forecast was to be believed we would have been better staying at home doing DIY, however it had been a busy week and we just needed some outdoors time, we decided to risk the bank holiday in North Wales.

Leaving Nottingham Saturday morning we arrived in Llangollen for lunch. It had been a while since we had climbed in this area and with Nicks original Stuart Cathcart guidebook looking very dated we ‘upgraded’ to the latest Clwyd Limestone Rockfax.

It was a really nice surprise to find some well equipped low and mid grade sport climbs. The previous weekend we had been to Rubicon in the Peak District, 15 years after our last visit, and were dissapointed that things were exactly how we remembered them. In the end we had a great day ticking routes on the Compact Wall in the Trevor area.

Saturday should have been a different story, we should have woken up to rain but instead there was not even a cloud over Snowdon. If we had been on our game we would have made an alpine start, but we were slow.. breakfast in Pete’s Eats, browsing gear shops for boots.. and then it was 11 already and it did start to rain.

That was no surprise and anyway our plan had been to climb at Tremadog. What was a surprise was to find Eric’s Cafe up for sale. The drizzle eased off after a couple of cups of tea and we headed out to try the Plum. To our shame we didn’t even manage to locate the start of the route. We knew it was somewhere between Christmas Curry and The Fang but all we found was ivy.

As things turned out our incompetence was a blessing in disguise.. 5 minutes later the rain returned, light at first then heavy stranding the more efficient parties already on the face. We led the retreat back to the cafe for some tea and carrot cake!

The evening cleared up real nice leaving the mighty Mnt Snowdon silhouetted against a lucid evening sky. Our luck was in.. the forecast had kept away the bank holiday crowds and we knew tomorrow would be a great day.

07 May, 2008 by Kenny

Slacking off

The Chunk testing the Alpkit slackline

Spring has finally come to Alpkit HQ, regenerating Alpkit staff morale and stimulating early season training on the makeshift AlpLine. We are kind of learning with every fall but You Tube has a great selection of slacklining videos, one of our favourites is Dean Potter on the Lost Arrow Spire.

06 May, 2008 by Kenny

A Gentleman’s Adventure

In the mist

The plan was to circumnavigate anglesey, like all best laid plans, the weather had something to say about this!

On the drive across from Nottingham the weather had steadily deteriorated, we were supposed to be launching into the Menai straights no later than 5 to catch the out going tide. After a few broken, no signal, lots of voice mail phone conversations the six gentlemen met in a car park over looking the straights. It was obviously nothing was going to happen tonight. It was cold, raining and a strong wind was blowing from the south. Even on a strong tide this wind would be too strong to paddle against.

A plan ‘B’ was hatched in a local drinking establishment and we set off for Roscolyn for an overnight bivi. We’d make the call in the morning of what we could paddle. The windy night didn’t make for a greats night sleep but we awoke slightly refreshed. The wind had strengthened and was still coming from the south. Any paddling on the south side of Angelsey would be a bad idea, especially as for at least 50% of the group this would be their first time in a sea kayak, this included me.

Plan ‘C’ was put into action and we drove to the north side of the island. We decided to put in Cemaes Bay and paddle with the tide round to Moelfry. The shuttles took longer than planned but we got underway around 11am. The wind was extremely strong, and our first strokes in what seamed extremely narrow boats compared to our whitewater kayaks were a little tentative. As we paddled out into the tidal flow we quickly gained confidence. Stato Steve kept us constantly updated with our speed from his GPS. 11kph, 12.1kph, we were motoring now. Looking back to shore we passed the old brick works, and decided to pass on the pint at Bull Bay. We pulled in for a break and a quick spot of lunch at Porth Eilian. Along the way we caught site of a porpoise, soon dispelled any despair over the weather.

After lunch we paddled out around the lighthouse with its wailing fog horn. This low drone gave a eerie feel as the rain started to intensify. We were paddling much slower in the afternoon, the tidal flow had slowed and we felt the wind begin to change direction. As we rounded the headland to paddle into Dulas Bay the wind was in our faces. Paddling hard Stato confirmed our worst fears, the tide had turned as well we weren’t going anywhere fast. We decided to head back to Port Eilian where we had left a backup shuttle.

The weather looked to be improving as we got changed and we began to look forward to another evening under the stars. As we drove off, the heavens opened. We drove round to Wylfa head where we had been told of a bivi hut. Wet and now very tired, an old smelly lifeboat station shed with a leaky roof, filled with pebbles and seaweed didn’t seemed an attractive proposition. Another emergency meeting was called and some light refreshments ordered. A few calls to directory enquiries and we had found six beds for the night. It was back to Roscolyn thanks to the guys from Outdoor Alternative.

In the morning the weather couldn’t have been more different from the previous day. The sun was trying to break through the mist that had rolled in from the sea and there wasn’t a breeze in the air. We decided to paddle around the stacks, a classic sea kayak journey that should be everyones tick list. By the time we were changed the sun had broken through the mist and the sea looked calm. After a quick surf on the small breaking waves we set off buoyed by the pleasant weather. As rounded the headland we could see the breaking waves of Penrhyn Mawr. This was going to be our first real taste of a tidal race. As we paddled into the race we started to accelerate, the bows of the kayaks split through the waves, keeping extremely stable. We broke out of the race to explore the cliffs and as we paddled across the bay we caught a glimpse of South Stack, shrouded in fog. It was long before we were completely surrounded by mist and staring a compass. The fog horn was emanating from somewhere in front of us and it seem ages before we could at last make out the vague proportions of the sea cliffs. Hugging the coast around South Stack we paddle into Gogarth Bay. Normally riddled with climbers the cliffs tower above the water. The tops hidden by the mist we continued along until we reached Parliament cave. We landed the boats on the small rocky beach and pulled out various food stuffs from the hatches of the boats. Stato Steve had done us proud with the food for the weekend on today’s lunch menu a platter of Samosa’s, Bargi’s and Pakoras.

During our lunchbreak the mist lifted and we rounded North Stack to see an HSS ferry pulling into Holyhead harbor. We had been told of the wake these things can kick up so waited for it to hit us. Apart from what appeared to be some slightly large swell nothing materialised so we set off on the last leg of our journey. We paddled into the bay and up onto the beach for the last time this weekend. Tired but extremely satisfied with our first sea kayak adventure. Sea kayaking is certainly an aspect of kayaking I would like to do a lot more of. Maybe I’ll even get the rest of the Alpkit team out on a adventure on the sea one day!

28 April, 2008 by alpjim

Rev’in it up in the wind.

I picked up a Pyranha Rev last week to test before we order them for the Alpkit team. I’ve paddle it a couple of times just down the road at the National Watersports Centre with favorable results. I have not been a fan of Pyranha playboats since the the demise of the Pro-Zones. The new Rev is the first boat I have sat in that looks and feels right from the word go.
This weekend I took the Rev with me up to Angelsey for a couple of sessions at Stanley Embankment. Its been a while since I have been there and the first time on a decent tide since the new A55 has opened. Getting changed in the carpark with the wind howling and waves breaking on the beach large enough to think about surfing them, why did I get out of bed for this! The paddle across to the tunnel was hard going but we’d timed it just right as the wave had just starting working.
I forgot how much fun Stanley was. The Rev surfed well and ripped across the wave. The strong wind blowing through the tunnel made it very hard to get a real feel of acceleration down the wave. Everyone I was with struggled to get any sort of explosive release from the top of the pile to attempt anything really dynamic . However occasionally a surge would jack the pile up a little higher and with a few strong paddle strokes you could race down across the face of the wave, and bounce a blunt off the side radials but these were rare. The spray stung my eyes but the sheer speed of the wave makes me grin from ear to ear. My friends in similar sized playboats were having a hard time in the boils beneath the A55 but the Rev didn’t seem to be affected… or I was just lucky!!
So far I haven’t got a bad word to say about the Rev. It’s not earth shatteringly different from any offering from any manufacturer out there and won’t make me a freestyle legend. It feels very controlled and predictable. With their exams all finished Bill and Nicola are coming down next week to them ago and hopefully you’ll see them out and about in their Rev’s very soon.

21 April, 2008 by alpjim

Climbing Works International Festival

Beth in the semis

An under strength Alpkit team arrived at the doors of the Climbing Works. Beth had deserted us for a team that actually stood a chance of winning, Ashleigh was poorly and couldn’t join us, Dan.. well Dan had had a hard night.

Not to be perturbed we downed a coffee and got stuck in. We had 5 hours to try and climb the 30 qualifying problems. Percy and his team and set something for everyone, a good mixture of hard and easy routes.. not an easy task when you have everyone from punters like us to world class rockhuggers like Gaz Parry and Steve MacClure climbing on the same blocs.

Time drained away and problems got ticked off. Beth was keeping a check on us, checking out the old school moves and we did our best to show good style. Dan had disappeared to a dark room.

Both Beth and Dan qualified for the semi-finals, Dan even qualified in 3rd place with his team placing first overall. The format had changed with each semi-finalist having 5 minutes to climb each of 4 problems onsight. Despite his early performance Dan was wilting, but Beth was going strong and narrowly missed out qualifying for the final in fifth place.

It was time to eat, a BBQ was provided in the courtyard but the queue was long and Alan Monks had tempted us into visiting the Kashmir Curry House on Spital Hill. And so we had arrived at the final, we had been at the wall for 12 hours.. that’s a long time to be at a climbing wall.

Full results can be found on the Climbing Works Website

16 April, 2008 by Kenny

Ice Ice Baby?

Dressed for the slopes

Now, I realise that striclty speaking this does not constitute as part of my climbing experiences, however, I shall continue. Earlier today I had my first snowboarding lesson. I enjoyed it so much I think that I may quit climbing and take up snowboarding more avidly. Only kidding. Nonetheless, I had great fun. I was taught only the basics of tying your feet on to the board, falling over, going down a slope backwards with front breaks, and some directional boarding. I got the hang of tying my feet up straight away. Falling over properly I could do in theory, but in practice it was a little trickier.

I participated in some arm flailing whilst descending the slope backwards but my real trouble came when I attempted to change direction whilst going backwards down the slope. I suddenly forgot how to bring myself back to centre and found myself going down this slope a lot faster than I had anticipated. This resulted in some heels over head tumbling. Smooth.

Hopefully I shall get a little more able at snowboarding then I can take some trips away combining winter climbing (something I am yet to try but would like to soon) and snowboarding. Switzerland or Canada would be nice. Hmmm… to be continued…

22 March, 2008 by Ashleigh

Skymasters and more

Skymaster Course

Well, I arrived at the Outdoor Show 2008 a bit later than the rest of the Alpkit group because I had to go to college on the Friday morning. When I got there Beth met me at the gate to give me my exhibitor pass which had a lovely passport photo on it. Oh the joy.

Once I got into the show, at about 4.00p.m. I was desperate to see the Skymasters course on which I was going to be competing. When I saw the course suspended from the enormous roof of the National Exhibition Centre, I actually thought that it wasn’t as large as I had been expecting. Then I noticed the tiny climber up in the shadows of the huge volumes and realized that this route was going to be extremely strenuous and tiring. I felt excited that I was going to be able to participate in such an event but incredibly nervous; this route was nothing like anything that I had climbed before: there were swinging volumes with huge gaps in between them; the wall was freely suspended from the ceiling; and there was a ridiculously huge television screen there to watch out every move. My excitement overtook my nerves for the rest of the night and a small group of us had races up some palm trees which was an activity open to everyone at the Outdoor Show.

It was not long before we were all making our way back to the hotel and then off to an Indian restaurant for dinner. This was good fun and allowed us all to get to know each other better, including some members of the Alpkit Team that we had not previously met.

The next day, Saturday; the day of the Skymasters competition, we arrived at the NEC in good time to find out our running order and prepare ourselves. I was up 2nd to last. I was extremely nervous. We all watched our route be demoed and it looked much harder than what I had seen the previous day. Nevertheless, I watched the first few climbers then proceeded to go warm up and prepare myself for the very extreme climb I had ahead of me.
I concerned myself over the efficiency of my warm up and my hydration levels, as everyone who came down off the route said how excruciatingly hot it was. I also kept a close eye on the running order and how long I had left. Before I knew it I was tying on to the end of the rope about to start the climb. I knew that the first part of the climb was relatively easy and it was best to do this with speed.

So I attempted to get up the first pillar quick, I believe I did so in about 40 seconds. As I reached on to the first overhanging volume a mass of nerves and thoughts ran through my head. Not what I wanted. I climbed under the roof of this first suspended overhang and overheard the commentator mentioning how smooth I was climbing, I almost laughed, this was not good, smooth climbing for me. I reached the wobbling barrel which I found incredibly disconcerting; I could not see my next holds on the other side of the rounded, wobbling volume. I got overly nervous and was physically shaking. So much so I missed my next hold, slipped and fell. When I fell, I got caught in the rope and span upside down numerous times.
My time on the Skymasters route was over. Much sooner than I would have liked. I let my nerves get a hold on me and totally lost my focus and did not have a positive mental state. I lost out this time because of that, but I know that it is something I am going to work on, and than, next year, I shall be more prepared and hopefully do better than I did this year. I currently feel quite determined about this.
For the mean while, c’est la vie, I shall have to focus on next year.

Saturday night, the Alpkit Team attended the after show party which had food, drink and music. The band was really good and had numerous dancing contests.

The next day, Sunday, Beth was competing in the final and we were all helping out with the Alpkit store. Beth was in isolation for the most of the morning. When she finally came out to compete we were all there to cheer her on. She climbed really well but it was so tense for everybody watching as we were screaming for her to keep going as we knew where she had to reach in order to get further than the previous climber. She did succeed in doing this and it was fantastic to watch.

The rest of the day we helped around the Alpkit stall, including counting the votes for the coLAB competition. At the end of a long day we all helped to pack up all the gear on the Alpkit store and say our goodbyes till next time. All in all it was a really good event and I had a lot of fun, and my thanks to the Alpkit guys for getting us more involved in the whole experience.

21 March, 2008 by Ashleigh

Outdoors Show 2008

The only photo I managed to take all weekend!

After a long drive from Teesside we finally arrived at the NEC on Friday. We had come along to help on the Alpkit stand and with the ‘have a go’ canoe sessions. Friday was pretty laid back, chatting to all the guys from Alpkit trying to take in all the information about the products! Friday night was a good chance to get to know the full Alpkit team over a few beers and a curry. It got even better when we arrived at the hotel to find a cheerleading squad practicing their routine right outside!

Saturday began far too early after the previous night’s beers and the NEC was soon filling up. The Alpkit stand seemed to be the busiest of the show, always full of people. It was really good chatting to people about the products and very surprising finding out the good reputation that Alpkit has gained over its short life. It was a pleasing break when I headed out to the lake to take part in a freestyle kayaking demonstration and competition. Although it was pretty cold a small crowd of people gathered and formed the ‘cheerometer’ to judge the event. It went well with the crowd getting involved and seeing some of the best freestyle kayakers in the country doing their thing. Hopefully they began to understand what it’s all about!

Sunday was the same again with the Alpkit stand very busy. Nic and I did manage to briefly sneak away to watch a very impressive mountain bike display and some crazy mountain boarders.

The show seemed to be much livelier than previous years with lots more displays and show and fewer shops and because of this was very enjoyable, even with all the hard work.

21 March, 2008 by Bill

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