When the call for the Kendal Mountain Festival came, I was up my backside in builders. Dust had found its way into every crevice and my lungs were a no go area. My office was piled high with boxes, but somewhere in the morass, I found my computer and typed that dangerous word – Yes. Of course I was coming…Read More »The Kendal Mountain Festival 2017 – Films, Floods and Flying Around…
The end of 2015 brought miserable weather to much of the UK. A time of supposed frosts, snow and ice had produced nothing but rain, and I was concerned about conditions on the mountains of the NW Highlands. As it turned out, they were as challenging as ever…
Read More »Trying to Tip Toe in Torridon – The Sixth Frostbite Report…
The warm and wet autumn brought the risk of severe flooding in Kendal. Not good for the festival I thought, although it would bring the adventurous aspect of the weekend close to home..!
The Kendal Mountain Festival has been a stalwart of the adventure calendar for many years. It takes place late in November, when dark and cloudy skies usually cover Britain. So it was quite a change to see ’KMF On The Edge’ launched for the middle of summer. The event took place in the beautiful surroundings of Langdale in the Lake District under (mainly) sunlit skies…
The Kendal Mountain festival has traditionally been held in November, when nights are dark and the weather (usually) wet. Things are changing, and a new festival ‘Kendal Mountain Festival On the Edge‘ has been launched for the weekend of July 25 – 27th 2014.
The run up to the 2013 Kendal Mountain Festival was filled with the usual barrage of emails, packed with ever-changing pdf’s and spreadsheets. This I could cope with. It was the last-minute call on the Thursday from Andy Perkins, regarding the Kendal for Kids session on the following morning that took me by surprise. Things had changed and I was suddenly asked to perform live before 150 Primary School children, after the last film was done. Thankfully as a presenter I always carry my kit with me and my mind is filled with plenty of ideas to fit any session. I love enthusing an audience about mountaineering and adventure..!
Read More »The Kendal Mountain Festival 2013 – Life’s great balancing act…
The Kendal Mountain Festival is the highlight of the climbing calendar in the UK, but for me it wasn’t always that way. I had visited the festival years back and even had my Discovery Channel documentary “Nightmare at 20,000ft” premiered there, but I always felt a little lost. Was it because I was on my own? Or the fact that I didn’t know a soul? Who knows, but it all changed one day on the Hornli Ridge.
Last Friday I joined climbing legends Niall Grimes and Andy Kirkpatrick on stage for “Word of Mouth” at Alpkit’s The Big Shakeout at Thornbridge Hall in Derbyshire.