Four Points Adventure

There's Snow Holeing like Snow Holeing

2009-03-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

This week I've been on a Winter Mountain Leader Training Course in Scotland for which I had to travel over 900 miles from Cornwall to Aberfeldy via Nottingham, a feat only possible through the power of coffee and the fact that I lift shared from Kendal. The intense week culminated in a 2 day expedition in the Cairngorms with a night spent in a snow hole. We stayed in old snow holes that had been filled with drifting snow and although they smelt like the inside of my hiking boot the serene shelter was a welcome relief after the 7 hour battering we had received at the hands of the elements. Although I had a great nights sleep my snow hole buddies did not seem so well rested after being subjected to the killer combo of my snoring and the water torture of a dripping roof! Once back in Aberfeldy (civilisation?) we thawed out with night of curry and whisky, perfect preparation for the 11 hour journey home!

Second Extreme Sport Invented and its only March!

2009-03-18T16:10:00.000-07:00

Hi Sports Extreme Sports fans, as you can see here at Four Points Adventure we are never ones to rest on our laurels and so even after the heady thrills of mountaincoasteerbiking we were thirsty for more. Last Saturday, spurred on by the rare prescence of the big yella fella, Chariot kayaking (skirt optional) was born. See the spray come off the boats as our latter day Ben Hurs charge across the lake to victory, the losers trailing in their wake. To the victor the spoils, deserved not only for being first across the line but for being the first in this newest of extreme sports. "To the Max"

New Extreme Sport Invented!!!

2009-03-05T15:06:00.000-08:00

Here at Four Points Adventure we are always striving for new ways to quench our insatiable thirst for adrenalin and so our efforts to push the envelope of the extreme have spawned a new sport, the illegitimate lovechild of two of our favourite activities Mountain biking and Coasteering: Mountaincoasteerbiking (TM) You can use any old bike you find languishing at the bottom of a rock pool at your favourite coasteering location to add that all important new dimension to the extreme.

First Coasteer Of The Season

2009-03-03T15:32:00.000-08:00

We took our first Coasteering Group of the year today: Air temperature 6 degrees, Sea temperature a balmy 8 degrees. Despite the conditions the group were well up for it and were surprisingly comfortable even after two and a half hours in the water thanks to the liquid sealed technology courtesy of Rip Curl UK. The tide was the perfect height to get all the jumps done with a bit of swell to make it exciting all the way round. Here's to many more!

If You Go Down To the Woods Today

2009-02-14T02:53:00.000-08:00

Today we took a group mountain biking in the tiny mountains and trails of Haldon Forest just outside Exeter. Its an awesome location with something for everyone: wide open trails; single track with switchbacks, berms and whoops to a pretty serious downhill section for the brave/stupid! The scenery is jaw dropping with views over Exeter to the North and Dawlish to the South. The group had a fantastic time and left vowing to come back for some more mud spattered thrills.

We Love Big Dumps!

2009-02-09T10:27:00.000-08:00

Went skiing on Dartmooor on Sunday......Awesome; there was so much snow that it could have been on top of Brieriach in the Cairngorms! We hiked in through knee deep drifts to the top of one of the tors then picked a line back down through the rocks for about a kilometre. We're now closely watching the forecast as its due to snow again and if it does we'll be there!

The Good Old Days

2009-02-05T10:40:00.000-08:00

This weeks cold snap has plunged us deeper into the coldest winter we have had for over 30 years with the heaviest snowfall in the UK for over 2 decades. But it only seems so extreme because we are not used to it due to the effect on our climate from global warming. Weather like this used happen about once every 5 years but now only happens once every 20! Here at Four Points Adventure we love extreme weather so we will be doing everything we can to combat global warming to help our climate get back to the good old days of regular extreme weather instead of having to wait 20 years to be able to climb ice falls on Dartmoor or go skiing in Cornwall.

Snow Chasers

2009-02-04T14:45:00.000-08:00

After watching the weather reports avidly for days we were at last rewarded with heavy snowfall over Cornwall and Devon. We set set off chasing the best snow at 6 am with our skis, snowboards and shovels, travelling through blizzard conditions to Dartmoor; but the snow here was too sparse so we chased the clouds South again finding 15 cm of snow in the South West's newest skiing Mecca: Milton Abbot. After several runs we moved on to the slopes of Launceston where we made fresh tracks before finding the best snow of the day in a field by the A30 on Bodmin Moor.

Summers coming

2009-01-28T15:08:00.000-08:00

Got the paperwork out of the way early so that we could go and recce coasteering locations in preparation for the coming season. After months spent poring over maps looking for suitable locations in the gloomy winter light today the sun shone bright turning our thoughts to summer, so we ditched the office and headed to the coast.

Time To Go Home

2009-01-18T10:30:00.000-08:00

We awoke to oodles of the white stuff....typical, just as were leaving it starts to snow. In reality all this snow would only be good for one thing: skiing, so it’s better that it came today. Despite high winds the course was a success with 2 grade I gullies, 2 grade II gullies, and one grade II ridge climbed. If you fancy some of this contact us for dates of our next course in February.

Fiacall Ridge

2009-01-17T10:17:00.000-08:00

In an effort to avoid the crowds thronging their way to Coire an t-Sneachda we headed up Fiacall Ridge. We avoided the crux due to the gusting wind and made our way up on to the plateau just off the crest. As you can see from the video it was a stunning day on top and the group thoroughly enjoyed the awesome conditions. We descended by the goat track which wasn’t without it it’s excitement in the conditions.

Nice On Top

2009-01-16T10:14:00.000-08:00

Today we walked into Lochnagar to tackle Raeburn’s Gully. Conditions were better than in the Cairn Gorm area with slightly less wind. The group were pretty blown away by the awesome amphitheatre of Lochnagar with its frozen Lochan especially as we had what must be one of Scotland’s premier climbing venues all to our selves! As you can see from the video by the time we topped out conditions had worsened, the wind had picked up and the walk back to the car was in stark contrast to the serene stillness we had found in the gully.

A Halcyon Day

2009-01-15T10:12:00.000-08:00

Today was a rest day as the last two days were pretty physically and mentally demanding and the weather was not conducive to learning with winds gusting to 80mph. We also took the opportunity to move to the eastern side of the Cairngorms to Lochnagar in an effort to find more favourable conditions.

A Quality Mountain Day

2009-01-14T09:54:00.000-08:00

We awoke to a snow covered bothy with a couple of inches of fresh all round. After porridge we headed up to Gharb Choire Dhaidh where we climbed Twilight Gully on perfect hard snow. There was no cornice at the top and as we topped out the sun came out and the sky cleared, a perfect end to the courses first named route. We hacked back thorugh the occasional snow cloud until it cleared on our descent back in to the Lairig affording us awesome views of Cairn Lochan and Rothiemurchus forest and Loch Morlich down in the valley.

Be Bold - Start Cold

2009-01-13T09:49:00.000-08:00

This morning we headed for Garbe Coire via the Charlamain Gap and up the Lairig Ghru. The weather was fantastic with easy walking over frozen trails until we hit the snow line at 700m, the névé provided solid going as the sun reflected off the valley floor. We reached the Gharbe Coire Bothy around lunch time which was in a sorry state. What was left of the door was hanging off and inside looked like a damp cave, but five minutes of stoves blaring and a cup of tea soon found us more than happy with our rustic surroundings.
In the afternoon we headed up into Garbh Coire Dhaidh to practice movement on snow and the session finished with a climb and descent of a Grade I gully.

Intro to Winter Climbing

2009-01-12T10:56:00.000-08:00

One of our Intro to Winter Climbing Courses started today in the Cairngorms. Initially the idea was to go to the North West Highlands to pit our clients skills against some of the awesome ridges of Torridon: An Teallach, Liathach and Benn Align, but owing to our craving for the white stuff and Torridon not having any we happily headed to Britain’s last great wilderness the Cairngorms.

Welcome

2009-01-01T11:06:00.000-08:00

Hi and welcome to Four Points Adventure Blog. We will be using this blog to keep you up to date with what we are up to during the year. So keep checking back.
Look forward to see you again.