Archive for January, 2009

Buachaille Etive Mor, near Glencoe in Scotland, was the scene of a triple tragedy on Saturday. Three other triple fatalities have happened in the area in the past 15 years.

9 people in total, in at last 2 separate parties, were caught up in the avalanche in the Scottish highlands.

Buchaile Etive Mor is known for its distinctive shape, which looks like a pyramid. The mountain’s highest point is at 3,352 feet (approx. 1.020m).

The route the climbers took yesterday is a popular walk in the summer for amateur hill walkers but in winter it is more difficult to ascend and is normally only tackled by experienced climbers.

The 3 climbers who died, brothers Eamonn Murphy, 61, from Carrick­fergus, Co Antrim, and John Murphy, 63, from Portrush, Co Antrim, and Brian Murray, 46, from Monifieth, Tayside, were experienced climbers who were taking the “easy” way up Coire na Tulaich, a gully about 10 metres wide by 20 metres deep, when the avalanche struck at about midday on Saturday. The snow could have been moving at up to 75mph. They, along with 6 others, were engulfed by thousands of tonnes of snow.

Experts said last night that although the climbers had not been reckless, the deaths were a reminder of the dangers of the mountain. Hamish MacInnes, 78, a founder of the Avalanche Board, which assesses the risks of avalanches in Scotland, said: “There are a lot of avalanches on this particular mountain.”

“It’s a miracle we survived. We have never experienced anything like this in all our climbs on the mountains”, said Jim Coyne, who, along with his friend, David Barr were climbing together when the avalanche swept down the mountain. David was taken to hospital with a shoulder injury.

Police warned people to keep off the mountain amid fears of more avalanches. The avalanche risk at the time was “considerable”, a category 3 out of 5, according to Scotland’s official Avalanche Information Service. It rose to 4 today.

The mountains of Glencoe are built from some of the oldest sedimentary and volcanic strata in the world. They were subsequently moulded, sheared and repositioned by a geological event known as a ‘cauldron subsidence’ which took place 380 million years ago. The mountains which first greet the visitor arriving from the south are the strikingly beautiful and instantly recognisable peaks of the Buachaille Etive Mor and Buachaille Etive Beag, – ‘The great’ and ‘The little’ Shepherds of Etive.

Glen Coe is a very popular tourist destination; partly because of its scenic qualities and historical associations, partly because it is on the main road north, and also because of its attraction for walkers and climbers. It is famous for the quality, and variety of its winter climbing, most of its routes being comparatively easy of access from the main road.

Rock climbers concentrate on the Buachaille Etive Mor (1018 m), often called simply “The Beuckle”, and on the various routes on the Three Sisters (shoulders of Bidean nam Bian). For adventurous experienced walkers, the finest mainland scramble in the UK is the Aonach Eagach.

Our thoughts are with the families and friends of everyone affected by this tragedy.

How some extreme sports’ enthusiasts spend their weekends…

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We have often written about Jeb Corliss, one of the most celebrated and well known names in the world of base jumping and wingsuit flying , who in April 2006 was arrested while attempting to jump off the Empire State Building in New York. Earlier this week Corliss, 32, of Malibu, California, received probation and community service for his thwarted stunt.

He was convicted of reckless endangerment in December. Prosecutors argued he could have caused injuries by jumping, despite his claims to have studied traffic patterns around the foot of the 102-storey tourist attraction.

The skydiver could have faced up to a year in prison for the offence. The judge, Thomas Farber, said he received letters from Raymond Kelly, New York City Police Department commissioner, and the Empire State Building owners asking for a jail term for Corliss.

Mr Farber, however, rejected the suggestion, saying, “I simply don’t find it warranted in this case.” He added that in all his years as a prosecutor and a judge presiding over murder, rape and other cases, he had never received a letter from a high-ranking police official asking for a specific kind of sentence.

“From some of the letters I received, you would have thought the defendant tried to commit a terrorist act,” the judge said. Mr Farber sentenced Corliss, who had no prior criminal record, to three years’ probation and 100 hours community service, which he said the Californian could complete in his home state.

Corliss has made more than 1,000 safe jumps in countries all around the world including Japan, Russia, France and Malaysia.

Regular readers of this blog will know that Corliss is attempting to be the first man to land on earth, with only a wingsuit and no parachute, and to survive, and then go up and do it again. Details of how this will be achieved are top secret but we do understand that a special landing strip is being designed, somehow to be suspended in the air, which Corliss will have to fly to with pinpoint accuracy.

OMG – sure sounds tough – good luck Jeb.

Below is a video from wingsuitflyer which gives an update on the wingsuit landing project and as its coming up to a year since that release any further news would be greatly received. As for Corliss’s escape from imprisonment – well thank goodness Judge Farber used his great common sense – Corliss is no criminal.

[youtube=http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=UsztEWuC3cs]

The race began on the 21st January, in Murren, Switzerland and is completed tomorrow with the downhill race… weather permitting. It costs ChF60 to enter.

In 1928 a crazy Englishman, James Riddell, invented (is that the right word?) this race, and it is now one of the largest amateur ski races in the world. The number of participants is limited to 1,800 and at least the same number are turned away each year.

The four-day skiing event includes cross-country, giant slalom and downhill races. The International Inferno Race takes in some of the best and most interesting runs of the Jungfrau Top ski resort. From bombing down pistes to some exhausting uphill marches, it requires more than just one skill and is a truly challenging race.

This is the 66th time it has been run.

Wednesday, 21st, saw the evening cross country race. This youtube is Mario, DoeggiSUI, arriving at the finish in 2007.

Yesterday was the Inferno Combination Giant Slalom, and today sees the Inferno Procession and Devil’s Dance where an effigy of the devil is burnt during a traditional procession …

At 0850 tomorrow morning the Inferno Downhill is scheduled to begin, however there is a little concern about this because of the weather forecast. The Schilthorn is the starting point for the Inferno Downhill – where skiers challenge the clock in a 10-mile, 7,100-feet plunge down to the village of Lauterbrunnen. It is the world’s longest downhill race. RichardfBarber filmed his race in 2008 and it gives you a very good idea of what you will be letting yourself in for if you are considering taking the challenge in 2009 – remember to turn the sound down.

Murren’s other claim to fame is its role in the James Bond Film ‘On His Majesty’s Secret Service’. Remember that scene where Telly Sevalas and his villainous henchmen chase Bond down the slopes? It was filmed here. Headquarters for the bad guys was the revolving restaurant atop the Schilthorn Mountain. It gives today’s skiers a 360-degree lunch. On a clear day, in one swing, you see 200 mountains and 40 glaciers. A segment of the circle focuses on the magnificent trio of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau peaks.

Following on from yesterday’s story of the adaptation of the waveboard to enable use on the ice with the blizice blades we thought it would be useful to talk a little more about how to ride a waveboard.

We have found two good videos on YouTube which talk about the sport, how to get started and what can be done on these boards.

This first video is from sweptawaytv and discusses the basic techniques of getting started on the waveboard. This blend of snowboarding, skating and surfing is claimed to have origins from the martial arts. That may be right – certainly symmetry and balance are required; your vision must be toward the horizon, your feet placed symmetrically on the board, your movement of shoulders, torso and hip to create the propulsion required to move the board.

No doubt about it this street surfing is cool and for less than $100 you can get started, further it is great exercise.

[youtube=http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=rKj0jyEc-aw]

The second video is from awesomescreename and is a good, solid guide on how to start on the board, how to get propulsion, how to turn, and how to stop – most important! Finally one or two tricks are demonstarted.

[youtube=http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=NfE-NM14mE4]

As ever with these extreme sports mishaps do occur so you are advised to wear appropriate protective appendages!

We have noticed that there is an increasing number of those extreme sports enthusiasts who are asking more and more about waveboards and street surfing.

The waveboard was originally invented by a Korean man. This man named it the snakeboard or the S-board. Then an American company asked the Korean man for his idea and the company switched the name from snakeboard to waveboard or the ripstick.

Now there has been a further adaptation which is gaining in popularity in Canada; it combines skating, surfing and snowboarding.

What adapts the board to ice is the blizice system which consists of two small stainless steel blades. The blades can be easily converted for asphalt by inserting wheels, making it a board for all seasons.

Mike Cooke, of the Dog Bowl Board in Brooklin, Ont., said “the sport has become extremely popular, I can’t believe the response we’ve had. A couple of people asked for it and then once I got it in the store it took off. In the last couple months we’ve sold well over 30 boards.”

The first video is from thewavevideos and shows the Street Team stutting their stuff in traditional wave board style..

[youtube=http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=XIxb4Mrqitg]

The second is from ehoob10717 – very instructional for this extreme sport which is getting more and more popular.

[youtube=http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=X3y5tOsJ7J8]

The final video from mpanagis shows what happens and what can be done when you adapt your waveboard with the blizice system. Despite Mr Cooke’s optimism (see above) we are not convinced that this adaptation will have a universal appeal due to the limiting necessity and therefore space, of ice.

Still it might be a good idea to have a pair of blizice in your pocket – you never know when it might freeze over.

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