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Searching for the mountain haggis
New Ibex 50+10 Alpine Rucksack
#ODDVENTURES. DARING DEEDS AND OUR FIRST EVER, EVER STORE – CRIKEY.
THE SPACE BETWEEN
The ‘we spent all our money on a new shop, so stayed close by’ Issue. ISSUE 05: OUTPOST BY ALPKIT. SUMMER 2017. OUTPOST 1
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veryone has their ‘space between’. A place to play, unwind or challenge themselves. A place to escape. Kinder is our space and it has the power to do something special.
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Kinder will grab your legs, forcing you to lengthen your stride. It will fill your nostrils with damp greenness, push the cries of shrill skylarks into your ears and wrench your gaze up and out. Of course we need the hills,
pools, boulders and peat bogs to give us back to ourselves. People fought for the right to roam here just eighty-five years ago. It’s our ‘space between’. Wherever yours is, we’re here to help you make the most of it.
Illustration ©Clare Allan. Clare is based in New Mills, close to Kinder. Check out her work at www.clareallanart.com
“I may be a wage slave on Monday, but I am a free man on Sunday.” I am a Rambler, Ewan MacColl.
OUTPOST 3
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DE N I K TO
Luke and Flora loading up the van Filoment Hoodies £130 Sonder Camino Ti SRAM Force 1 Drop barred adventure bike £2299
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DryDock 100 100L weatherproof duffle bag £70 Kitbag 50 UK made duffle bags £50
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Looking back to Edale from Grindsbrook Clough leading to the Kinder Scout plateau.
Fran, Hebe and Ruth caught the train with:
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Sonder Frontier NX1 Rigid fitted with UK made bike luggage £879 Stem Cell £25 Airlok Xtra 35L Dry bag £23 Heiko Primaloft Jacket Lightweight insulated jacket £85 Sonder Broken Road SRAM GX1 Reba Titanium adventure bike £2099
TO WORK (BOOOO)
The world turns. Winter’s death means life for spring. The curlews, lapwings and cuckoos are back on the high moorland calling you over and over. Miles and miles for you to cover through early starts and long evenings. Now even our softest friends are easy to tempt out of the death zone of sofa, telly and takeaways.
The aim is to bike, boulder, hike, run – even swim if we can. Camp at Kinder’s feet and when we can, leave the busy paths that lead happy throngs around the circumference and head out onto the Peak District’s version of the Cairngorm plateau, where the atmosphere changes quickly from Platt Fields Park to a proper mountain.
Joining a trainload of commuters and hikers at a busy station on Friday morning is slightly surreal. Old school hikers in breeks and cable knits alongside fast and light rainbow coloured shells and the suited and booted – Werther’s Originals and Skittles in the same pick ‘n’ mix bag. The hikers are mainly heading for Edale and the Kinder plateau. And it’s Kinder that brings together our little crew from Manchester, Sheff., Macc., and Staly Vegas.
Friday morning sees Luke and Flora loading up Robin – their slightly battered red T4 in Manchester. Meanwhile on the other side of the Pennines, Fran, Ruth and friends are wheeling their bikes onto the Transpennine Express – great that bikes still go for free. The trip to Edale is just about half an hour from Steel City to rolling hills. Camping in Upper Booth may not be hard core, and we like the challenge of a tough bivvy as > OUTPOST 5
“NO PHONE SIGNAL, NO WIFI AND NO WORK IS A GOOD START TO A THREE DAY WEEKEND.” Fran gets a brew on at the campsite Brukit Wolf £45 Splitta Packable table £19 Hauka Anodised aluminium kettle £10
much as the next person but there’s nothing wrong with the traditional British farm campsite. Our nosy neighbours are new lambs and our corner shop sells the freshest free-range eggs that you could ever buy. Slow and heavy sometimes has more appeal than fast and light and we’re all glad of the thick Dozer mats and super warm down sleeping bags that we could fit easily into the van. The campsite is pretty quiet on a chilly Friday evening but as usual the Duke of Edinburgh has his troops on manoeuvres, with the usual heady mix of bewilderment and excitement. Getting the slackline strung out between trees is always a top priority these days. Almost everyone was equally shabby after a couple of beers, with only Ruth looking like she could be cut out for a career in the circus. No phone signal, no wifi and no work is a good start to a three-day weekend. Sometimes you need to unplug from the nonsense before you can plug in to something better.
READ MORE alpkit.com/spotlight/the-space-between
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? Slack Kit £38
We used: 1. Tetri 2 person tent £135 2. Viso 2/3 2 person tunnel tent £149/£179 3. Dirtbag Self-inflating sleeping mat £55 4. Mountain Ghost 140 Synthetic sleeping bag £60
5. Kitbag 50 50L bombproof duffle bag £50
9. Bruler Complete Camp Cook System Bruler meths burner with splitta table, concertina wind shield and H.A.A.P. pan set £62
12. AliPots Aluminium pan set £25
7. Kelvin Titanium drinking mug £29
10. Koro Lightweight remote canister gas stove £45
14. Extreme Foods Breakfasts/Puddings £5
8. Mashk Portable Sink Sturdy and light portable camping sink £14
11. Hauka 1.3L hard anodised aluminium camp kettle £10
6. Swig Bottle Drinks bottle £5
13. MytiMug 400 400ml titanium mug £20
16. Prism 100 Waterproof, aluminium head torch with 100 lumen of CREE LED power £24 17. Prism 630 Water resistant headtorch £43
15. Clip 350ml insulated flask £10
18. Slack Kit 50ft slackline set £38 19. Dozer Sleeping mat £59 20. Mountain Ghost 300 Primaloft sleeping bag £100
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OUTPOST 7
NEW HOMES FOR SALE
OPEN-PLAN LIVING EXCELLENT VIEWS PET FRIENDLY GREEN BELT LOCATION
from
£149 £135
2 Person, 3 Pole Semi-geodesic Tent
O2
VIS
i
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etr
2 and 3 Person, 3 Pole Tunnel Tent
• 3kg • 7071-T6 alloy poles • 68D 3,000mm HH polyester flysheet • Flysheet and inner pitch together
alpkit.com/featured/tents
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• Viso 2 – 3.3kg/ Viso 3 – 4kg • Flysheet and inner pitch together • 7071-T6 alloy poles
DARING DEEDS REAL STORIES, EXPEDITIONS, ROAD TRIPS AND ADVENTURE. alpkit.com/deeds
SCREE TO SEA MALCOLM WHITEMAN AND WIFE ANNE TAKE ON ALL THE SWIMMABLE SECTIONS OF THE RIVER KENT FROM ITS SOURCE INTO THE ESTUARY. Terrapin Natural swimming wetsuit £99 Lotic Wild swimming wetsuit £145 Silvertip Thermal cold water wetsuit £195
The idea for project ‘From Scree to Sea’ came a few years ago when my wife Anne and I were sitting outside the Eagle & Child Inn, Staveley on a warm summer evening, where we had stopped off for a pint after an evening swim in Windermere. Looking at the River Kent, which goes past the pub beer garden, I wondered about how easy it would be for us to swim home to Kendal – it seemed like a good thing to try over a summer weekend... Cut to mid-February 2017, on a dark and frosty morning we were up, getting our kit ready to start a slightly different journey. The weather forecast was good and the swim would start today. After discussions with filmmaker and friend Ian Palmer, the project had morphed from swimming from Staveley to Kendal, to a swim of all the swimmable sections of the Kent from its mountain start up in the Kentmere Valley to where it goes into the estuary. We had also decided to film the various sections over the seasons, hence the winter start. Our new Alpkit Silvertip wetsuits and Huub extremities kit would help us deal with the cold water we would initially encounter. Those who know Kentmere will realise that it’s a good three mile hike from the trail head up to the top of the reservoir and we had a stunningly beautiful day for it. Snow on the fells, frost everywhere, blue skies to die for and a half mile swim with the water temperature about 4ºC. With the right kit everything is possible and our swim was one of the
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most enjoyable and memorable things Anne and I have ever done in the Lakes. The filming went well and we were raring to go for the next stage which would be Kentmere Tarn. Unfortunately due to weather being poor at weekends and winter colds, we were delayed until late March when a suitable weekend day offered the chance of good weather for the filming. Arriving at the tarn (this time a short two minute walk from where you park) we had glass smooth water which reflected the clear blue sky above us, early morning mist hanging over the water and crunchy frost on the grass. Despite the similar conditions to the first swim, we could feel a change in the water temperature as the seasons had started to move on. Since swimming these two bodies of water we are now onto the moving water of the river itself. We will be swimming all swimmable sections of the Kent from scree to sea. We estimate we will have swam well over half of the river’s 20 mile length by the end of the project. Ian is a local filmmaker who is ace (instagram @ipalmer71). Many thanks to Alpkit for the generous support that has allowed this project to happen. READ MORE alpkit.com/deeds/scree-to-sea
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY Come and see us as we tour the country through 2017. Here’s a list of some of the bigger events we’ll be showing our goodies at. We shall also be running and attending smaller events through the year. So keep a watch out on alpkit.com/events or sign up to our newsletter for regular updates.
John Beatty overlooking Kinder Downfall in 1965
MTB MARATHON OXFORD 27-28 May 2017
“EVERYONE NEEDS A ‘HOME PATCH’, A PLACE TO BE AWAY FROM THE WORLD, BRIEFLY, TO CATCH ONE’S BREATH FROM THE FAST PACE OF OUR LIVES.”
MTBMEETUP LLANDEGLA 3-4 June 2017 TWEEDLOVE 9-11 June 2017 EROICA BRITANNIA 16-18 June 2017 BANTHAM SWOOSH OSS 24 June 2017 NORTHERN GRIP MTB FESTIVAL 8-9 July 2017 MTB MARATHON MINEHEAD 9 July 2017 MTB MARATHON HOPE VALLEY 2-3 September 2017 DART 10K OSS 9-10 September 2017 BIG SHAKEOUT 22-24 September 2017 ALPKIT HATHERSAGE STORE Look out for ongoing events
John Beatty, photographer, pictured here in 2015, has lived in the Peak District for 60 years. Kinder Scout is his backyard.
Every Sunday morning in the early 1960s my dad took our family up to Hayfield to walk for half an hour to Kinder Reservoir. That was as far as we ever went, just to look over the wall and across the water to the huge western flank of Kinder Scout. We finally made it to the Downfall on a cold February day in 1965, momentous for me and the beginning of a lifetime of hiking the wild moors of Kinder Scout, the people’s mountain. Everyone needs a ‘home patch’, a place to be away from the world, briefly, to catch one’s breath from the fast pace of our lives. In the space between childhood and today, I have run, walked, climbed and cycled on and around Kinder Scout thousands of times, always drawn to the wild
emptiness, and the sculptured gritstone ramparts that encircle and guard the summit plateau. To be out on a bright spring morning along the rim rocks of Crowden Brook, and to hear the returning curlew, reminds me that this isn’t just a journey on a map, but an exploration that relates to a relationship with elemental forces of nature; the wind, the snow, the rain, the shapes of land... the space. The wild out there, is the wild within. Kinder Scout, The People’s Mountain, with words by Ed Douglas and photographs by John Beatty, is published by Vertebrate Publishing in autumn 2017.
READ MORE alpkit.com/spotlight/ man-of-kinder OUTPOST 11
The Night Garden
“Er, thanks”
“Try climbing up”
Dave finding his own way up one of the Woolpack boulders. Project Pad Taco style bouldering pad £180 12 alpkit.com
Kinder’s Ramparts
The Poc Poc Blocks
If you climb in the Peaks, you learn to love gritstone. One tiny, glassy pimple of rock can bite deep enough into the rubber of your boot to support your entire weight and the angry sandpaper surface inside a crack will lock tight against your twisted hand. Safe as houses grip when the gear is thin. Good friction even on soggy Peak District days. On these days, when the polished limestone of the White Peak would be trying to spit you out, the gritstone of the Dark Peak gives a reassuring welcome with the roughest of handshakes. So on a mizzley day, we find ourselves trudging across the peat and heather to explore the Woolpacks, a boulder field on top of Kinder. We are determined to prove that all boulderers aren’t lazy oafs that only aim for targets they can jump onto from the car door. It’s an hour to walk up Crowden Brook, an easy scramble around the waterfalls and much more fun than the eroded main path.
OUTPOST 13
It’s impossible not to be intrigued and awed by the boulders of Kinder Scout. Once described as ‘the ramparts of paradise’ by Robert Roberts in his book from 1997. These soft organic shapes manage to be weird and ethereal at the same time as solid and timeless. If Mother Nature was at the height of her classical phase when she created the postcard prettiness of Grasmere she was going through a much darker more experimental phase when she threw down the abstract sculptures of the Woolpacks. These rocks were key in the area becoming a Site of Special Scientific Interest and giving it extra protection.
I may be a wage slave on Monday, But I am a free man on Sunday.
Today we were hoping for a playground with great views down to Edale. Instead we arrive to ghostly shapes in the mist – Kinder is a moody place. As the low clouds clear we start to pick out our targets. Many of the problems are named after children’s TV characters, and quite right too; the Woolpacks is a fun place to play.
We used: Katabatic Jacket £140 Karoo Tough and lightweight trousers £40 Timbuktroos Lightweight and quick drying trousers £40 Swoosh Hoodie £28 Laika Versatile mid/baselayer half zip £28 Definition Waterproof jacket £210 Phud Compact bouldering pad £79
After the obvious chat about ticks, grades and even sillier names for the boulders begin to fade we start to put together our dodgy memory of geography lectures and try and work out how this little patch of crazy shapes came to be. We know that long before ‘all this were fields’, all this was a great sea. And as the silt built up and the sea subsided, the new high grounds were exposed to the brutal ice age storms. It’s our guess that these fierce winds were enough to start the shaping of the boulders we were playing on. Even now you can be in the middle of summer in Edale or Hayfield and step back into fierce winter winds on the plateau. It turns out that no one is sure why we are treated to such shapes but the theory that vegetation locked into the layers of compacted rock have been weathered away leaving only the tough stuff behind seems plausible. Putting together an old-school hike with new-school bouldering really works. Along with the fun and instant gratification that bouldering brings, you get adventure and a feeling of being a bit trad – if this carries on we’ll be getting some gaiters to go with our bouldering mats.
READ MORE alpkit.com/spotlight/ kinders-ramparts 14 alpkit.com
We used: 1. Phantac Men’s RDS hydrophobic warm goose down jacket £195 2. Kepler Zip Top Women’s pure merino baselayer £55
3. Karoo Women’s trousers £40
6. Phud Bouldering mat £79
9. Timbuktroos Men’s lightweight trousers £40
4. Swig Bottle Drinks bottle £5
7. Mountain Exposure Men’s organic cotton t-shirt £18
10. Brukit Wolf 1400ml integrated cooking system £48
8. Swoosh Men’s hoody £28
11. Clip 350ml insulated flask £10
5. Project Bouldering mat £180
12. Kepler Zip Top Women’s pure merino baselayer £55 13. Mujo Bouldering mat £150
14. Boulder Bucket Climbing bag £25 15. Gourdon 30 20L waterproof back pack £38
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DARING DEEDS REAL STORIES, EXPEDITIONS, ROAD TRIPS AND ADVENTURE.
alpkit.com/deeds
SEARCHING FOR THE MOUNTAIN HAGGIS A TALE OF FAT TYRES AND THIN BUDDIES BY PARALYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST STEVE BATE MBE. Bike: Sonder Vir Fortis Fat Bike GX1 £1849 Kit: Fat Bike Stingray Frame Bag £110+ Koala Saddle bag £70 Kanga Handle bar harness £55 Hunka XL Bivi bag £64 Dirtbag Sleeping mat £55 Katabatic Jacket £140 Kepler Padded Boxer £35 16 alpkit.com
In March, together with my friend and best man Ibrahim, I embarked on a five day bike-packing voyage through some of the wild places most precious to me. The stars aligned, high pressure was forecast, and my brand new Sonder Vir Fortis Fat Bike was ready to go. Leaving Contin just north of Inverness, we travelled off-road via farm tracks, forestry roads and mountainous footpaths. Thanks to the Scottish Outdoor Access Code of 2003, people can travel all wild paths and land, as long as they do so in a responsible manner. A forward-thinking government bill, and one that mountain bikers relish. After the first day’s riding, we had seen three people in six hours, and this theme continued throughout the journey. We enjoyed clear blue skies and no wind, leaving the lochs like giant mirrors reflecting mountainous skylines. We rolled into small Scottish towns like Ullapool and Loch Carron to resupply. Friendly locals were overwhelmed by the size of our tyres and our plans to ride over distant mountains.
On day three we were joined by friends, old and new, and we chased each other down rocky single tracks, crossed knee-deep freezing rivers, swam naked in icy lochs, and shouldered our bikes up relentless mountain paths. When the load became a burden we stopped to take in breathtaking views. Our fat bikes monstered though the rough terrain, big tyres soaking up whatever the land threw at us. This was the most fun I’d ever had on two wheels. The evenings were spent in bivi bags or remote bothies. The weather held for the first four days, before we woke high in Glen Affric. The visibility was down to twenty metres. We were back on the stoney single track before long, which then turned into Land Rover tracks, then forestry tracks. A sign our adventure was coming to an end as we headed back to civilisation. I’ve walked many of the hills and glens that we rode through, but to link them all as we did would take at least twice the time. This is likely to be my last big adventure of the summer as my focus turns back to racing and my search for a rainbow jersey, elusive like the famous mountain haggis.
READ MORE alpkit.com/deeds/search-for-mountain-haggis
Ibex. Made for the mountains.
Durable and adaptable. Rugged and uncomplicated. Our new 50+10 alpine sack is designed for life above the snow line. Just like an ibex. Almost. Made in the UK.
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Colibri
Camino Al
Camino Ti
Frontier
Broken Road
Carbon disc endurance road bike for big miles.
Aluminium 650b/700c compatible adventure bike.
Quick, light, and responsive titanium dropbar adventure bike.
29er/650b+ with hardtail or rigid options for campsite to crag, trail centres to bikepacking.
A custom build bike for high street money. Wilderness travel and bikepacking.
Transmitter
Transmitter Carbon
Vir Fortis
Evol
CaHoot
From trail centre riding to British all-mountain stuff.
Even more transmitter fun packed into one bike.
Go full fat on 4.8 inch tyres for those hard to reach places.
A gnarly British and alpine trail riding bike.
Custom-made off-road titanium tandem for teams of two.
She said there’d be sausages. Where are the sausages?
Q: Hang about, what the heck is an Oddventure?
#ODDVENTURES 20 alpkit.com
A: Good question. It’s an ideology really. The idea that getting to know the world’s wild places doesn’t have to be done conventionally. You don’t necessarily have to reach the summit, top 100km or burn 10 million calories, and not focusing too much on the goal often leads to much more magical experiences. We might be preaching to the converted here, but if you haven’t tried it, we’ve a few pointers on the next page how going odd can spice up your outdoor life.
Are these sweets magic?
No.
And like so many brilliant ideas, this idea to get to know our local hill better started in the pub. We’d been listening to an ex Peak District warden tell wonderful stories of rocks charged with energy, a strange honeycomb structure with no reason or permission to be built, aircraft wrecks and upside down waterfalls. And slowly, an idea to discover something different on our home patch formed. We’d all climbed, walked, cycled and run around this moorland plateau – could it still surprise us?
adventure – an Oddventure, and after a few more beers we all solemnly swore that this would be the first of many. A couple of us decided to run, while the rest opted to hike.
Armed with a list of some weird and wonderful spots on Kinder, we were inspired. We even had a new name for an unexpected
We almost missed the unassuming Edale Cross, an ancient stone monument. According to its little plaque, it’s of national
Maybe the gods of weird knew we were on a mission to discover their secrets, because the forecast sun never appeared. We’d considered some sort of ceremonial robes for our magical tour, but we were glad of our waterproofs as we ascended into the dank cloud.
importance – it just seemed humble and modest to us – perhaps there’s a lesson for us all somewhere there. We turned northwards as the clouds began to shift and whirl, gritstone outcrops appearing briefly before being elementally eaten up again. We found the stone path which led us to the burial mound on Kinderlow End. Odd to think that over 3,000 years ago our Bronze Age ancestors were laying their dead to rest in this bleak, exposed spot. Who knows whether the dead can tell – but the view from the barrow is spectacular.
OUTPOST 21
Dave used: Balance Waterproof jacket £175 Chilkoot Softshell pants £60 El Burro UK made backpacks £65
An unmagical bit of water
A magical bit of water
BECOME AN ALPKIT ODDVENTURER. Oddventures are about taking normal and tilting it a little. A new way to discover your home patch. A trip with all newbs rather than besties. Stay out longer, wake up earlier. Ditch Strava and go slower. Be a birder for the day if you’re a hard charging mountain biker. Learn bushcraft for the weekend if you’re a confirmed Airbnb’er. Choose a way to mix things up and then write in to Alpkit Global HQ to let us know how you got on.
#ODDVENTURES 22 alpkit.com
Back on the path towards the upside down waterfall, we bumped into our runner friends. The weather had turned more malevolent – the taste of angry pebbles of rain rather than springtime. We all sought sanctuary amongst the boulders. Over lunch they told us they’d got as far as the mythical Mermaid’s Pool.
Kinder Downfall on a clear, blowy day is stunning. The wind angrily sends the water back up into the sky, creating a plume that can be seen from miles away. The waterfall may have been doing that on our visit – but we couldn’t see it through the cloud, so who knows?
She hadn’t shown herself – probably a bit blowy for mermaids that day. The legend has it that if you see her on Easter Sunday, you’ll be given the gift of immortality – other versions of the story are a little more macabre. They’d been hoping to run to the Charged Rock, a little further along the path on Sandy Hayes, but had decided to turn back when the rain started to really bite. Once a year the druids of Manchester make a pilgrimage to this rock, collect the energy in a little wooden box and return it to Manchester to be released. Our minds fill with Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark scenes somewhere in Cheetham Hill, but the truth is probably more nylon fancy dress meets a bit of harmless chanting.
Despite a search for the newish beehive structure that apparently the park wardens are trying to investigate – Kinder managed to keep this particular secret. Everyone agrees it’s beautifully built but no one seems to know the why or the who. Answers on a postcard to Alpkit HQ please. Though well-trodden, Kinder is still a magical place to spend a day and it seems to keep back a little mystery and intrigue, especially when wrapped in cloud.
READ MORE alpkit.com/spotlight/oddventure
We used: 1.Shox Twins Trekking poles £30
7. Koulin Trail Tee Men’s baselayer t-shirt £14
12. Timbuktroos Men’s lightweight trousers £40
2. Balance Men’s waterproof jacket £175
8. Koulin Trail 3/4 Tights Men’s technical trail leggings £20
13. Koulin Trail Vest Women’s technical baselayer vest £12
9. Gravitas Men’s waterproof jacket £140
14. Koulin Trail Tights Women’s technical trail leggings £24
3. Kepler Boxers Men’s pure merino boxer shorts £21 4. Chilkoot Men’s softshell trousers £60
10. Definition Women’s stormproof jacket £210
5. Kepler Zip Top Men’s pure merino baselayer £55 6. Trekkers Midweight walking sock £12
19. Kepler Beanie Merino beanie £19
15. Gravitas Women’s waterproof jacket £140
11. Kepler Zip Top Women’s pure merino baselayer £55
18. El Burro 45L roll-top style duffle rucksack £65
20. Gourdon 25 25L waterproof back pack £35 21. Qark Headtorch £36 22. Fuego Beanie £10
16. CarbonLite Twins Trekking poles £49 17. Viper II Headtorch £18
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OUTPOST 23
N *this map isn’t for navigation. You’ll need an OS map
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THE CLOUGHS
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Edale Cross
Edale
NAVIGATION: Barber Booth
The Seven Minute Crossing of Kinder Dave, Alpkit’s most proficient fell runner, goes in search of the elusive ‘seven minute Kinder crossing’ I’d never actually heard of the ‘7 minute crossing’ until recently, but looking back at old runs I must have done it a few times unknowingly. Navigation on top of the Kinder plateau can be difficult, lack of visual cues, the deep ditches and twisting streams make going in a straight line tricky. Although even at its widest you can only really be 1.5km from the plateau edge, so pick a direction and follow it until you reach the perimeter path is always a reasonable escape plan. Eager to test its legitimacy earlier in April I set off from Edale, compass and mobile in hand and not a lot else. I messed it up – I ran up Grindsbrook Clough, turned right and then too quickly turned left onto the plateau, realizing my mistake about ten minutes and no edge later. I did find another helpful path across the middle,
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linking Grinds Brook and Fair Brook but as for the elusive seven minuter, I did a bit more research and eventually cracked it. The sneaky shortcut across Kinder goes between Blackden Brook on the northern edge, to Golden Clough. There are a multitude of little ‘trods’ that might be followable between the two, but the most reliable goes from the stream crossing nearest Nether Tor. Follow the stream bed north then keep on the most promising looking path directly north. In about seven minutes you should pop out of the bogs overlooking Blackden Moor. Going the other way it’s a little less obvious, but if you count six stream crossings east of the Blackden Brook path you won’t go too far wrong. I do recommend taking a compass. Having seen a
group trying to cross Kinder using Google Maps, I played around with the compass app on my phone. For about 500m I followed what it told me was a northwards bearing but it turned out to be much closer to NW and had me in line for the longest straight route possible on the plateau. As well as a real compass, a basic OS grid reference app has been helpful when I haven’t wanted to hang around working out where I am using the traditional ways.
READ MORE alpkit.com/spotlight/ know-your-nav
DARING DEEDS REAL STORIES, EXPEDITIONS, ROAD TRIPS AND ADVENTURE. alpkit.com/deeds
just doing it
TUTUS & BEER KEGS
Have you ever wondered what the residents of one of England’s busiest National Parks get up to as each summer draws to a close?
Some of them choose to haul a full seventy-two pint beer barrel up and across one of the toughest areas of high moorland in the Peak District National Park. Kinder Scout plays host to one of the most gruelling fell running events to be run on the Dark Peak hills.
THE GREAT KINDER BEER BARREL CHALLENGE
In mid to late September each year up to 11 teams of athletes gather in the car park of the Snake Pass Inn and various contraptions are unloaded from vehicles. What follows is reminiscent of the Krypton Factor as the 9 gallon beer barrels are strapped, taped and somehow secured to various (usually ladder based) carrying devices.
“The event is always run in good spirits and trophies are awarded at the end...”
Although the route is short, only about 3 miles, there is a steep and loose 900ft climb up to the punishing and boggy terrain of the Kinder plateau, and good navigation is needed to find the fastest line, followed by a very steep descent to the other side. The runners cross the finish line at the Old Nags Head Inn, in the beautiful Peak District village of Edale. Whilst drinking in the hills is generally frowned upon, the nervous tension, and being inside a pub, planning to run to another pub whilst carrying a barrel of beer may draw
the unwary into the partaking of one or two ‘performance enhancing’ pints. The whole race is taken in good spirits with the athletes of the Dark Peak Fell Runners and Gladioli teams vying for top spots whilst those behind, such as the Fat Boys or Fieldhead Campsite race for bragging rights and village one-upmanship. There are some loose rules and sportsmanship is assumed but there is some behaviour that could be described as cheating or at best unsporting where barrels disappear on the start line or where vital pieces of equipment go missing... other instances include tree trunks mysteriously finding their way wedged across bridges or large boulders rolled behind gates... presumably these are thoughtfully placed by preceding teams to reassure runners that they going in the right direction... how thoughtful. The event is always run in good spirits and trophies are awarded at the end. The fastest team get to drink their barrel and the party goes on into the night (or at least the mid-afternoon). Sponsorship money is distributed amongst local Edale charities and non-profit making organisations.
READ MORE alpkit.cim/deeds/tutus-and-beer-kegs
OUTPOST 25
THE
The Big Shakeout festival is our end of summer party and the ideal basecamp for a weekend of adventure in the Peak District. The format is simple, be active during the day and be entertained in the evening. If you have a taste for adventure, want to be inspired and try something new, the Big Shakeout is for you. It’s a not-for-profit festival with all proceeds donated to the Alpkit Foundation. 22/23/24 September 2017 Thornbridge Outdoors Great Longstone, Bakewell, Derbyshire DE45 1NY www.thornbridgeoutdoors.co.uk
TICKETS AVAILABL E NOW
Go to alpk it.com/ bigshake out/tickets
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Kepler Short Sleeve Pure Merino Baselayer Fast drying, comfortable, odour resistant. Our 160gsm New Zealand Merino is designed to be worn next to the skin, on its own or as a baselayer when running, riding, climbing or hiking.
ÂŁ35
Discover what makes merino so good: alpkit.com/explore/merino
Cover image by John Beatty wild-vision.com
OOH, NEW AN D SHINY.
HOW TO BUY IN STORE:
ONLINE:
ON PHONE:
Drop by our first ever shop, it’s in Hathersage.
Go online, have a look around – you know how internet shopping works.
Speak to one of our customer service heroes. They know their stuff.
Hathersage S32 1BB
alpkit.com
+44 (0)1773 417007
Ambleside (opening mid-June) ALPKIT HQ:
EASY RETURNS:
FREE POSTAGE:
Five minutes from J26/J27 M1.
If something’s not quite right, we’ll exchange or refund your purchase, no matter the reason.
Oh yes... all our prices already include UK postage.
Midlands NG16 3QU
Free 123 Day Returns
Free UK Postage
THE ALPKIT FOUNDATION:
ALPINE BOND:
Set up in July 2015 to help people overcome obstacles and enable them to Go Nice Places and Do Good Things. Find out more at alpkit.com
If one of our products does not meet your expectations upon delivery or, if during its lifetime it does not live up to the demands placed upon it, please return it to us for repair, replacement or refund.
Support, apply or donate.
Designed to perform and to last.
joepublicltd.com
All prices featured are correct at time of going to press but are subject to change. Multi currency options for $ USD and € EUR now available.
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