The dreams ahead

Yeah! Even though I'm sitting typing this with a swollen knee that has kept me up most of the night, it's a big relief to have had my knee finally operated on. A further relief (as illustrated in the surgeons pics above) is that there was no arthritis and it was a simple meniscus cartilage tear. Obviously the recuperation required after operating is a big knock-down in terms of fitness but at least I can now get stuck into the process of building back up towards my climbing dreams.

Talking of which, like most climbers I always have dream/fantasy routes in the back of my mind, most of which of course I never end up going anywhere near. For the last few months I've found it too frustrating to think much about climbing but now with the imagination unleashed my latest obsession is a short little route on the other side of the globe.

Photo by Wiktor Skupinski/ http://www.latitudephotography.com/

Victoria's Secret Deviation was the shortest of the five new routes or variations Raphael Slawinski established on the Stanley Headwall in Canada in the winter of 07/08. He graded it M7++, although I think the story goes that the second ascensionist felt M9 closer to the mark. Or perhaps being entirely trad protected Scottish X might be more appropriate? Whatever, the photo above and write up at the time really burnt into the memory, and whether I get a chance to head out to Canada or not this route will be my motivation over the next few months of physio and rehab. (Here's a report on Raphael's adventures at that time http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web07-08w/newswire-slawinski-stanley-headwall )

The other big excitement at the moment is my new job as Associate Editor of Climb Magazine alongside Dave Pickford the new Chief Editor. This has been my first official week in the post but Dave and I have been grafting away over the past month or so putting in the background work. This shot of a "skyped" business meeting while Dave was in Spain (redpointing some amazing sounding 8b+s) is a nice little vignette I think, with Dave's mad hair summing up the creative side that makes him such an inspirational person to work with.

We've got massive plans for the magazine with many changes and a long term ideal where we hope to make each month's Climb as anticipated as much as each issue of Mountain was or Alpinist is today.

Big Sale

Inspired by my camera gear sale a while back (all sold now) I've decided to sell my house. Well maybe that isn't quite the right story but if anyone is looking for a 3 bed semi in Sheffield (5 minutes drive from Burbage) you couldn't get a better bargain. Here's the Rightmove link http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-30177953.html?premiumA=true

We can rebuild...

Apologies for the gap in blogging. There are a variety of reasons but the main thing is my left knee, which blew up in April and I've been able to do nothing climbing-wise since. After a 10 week wait I finally got it medically examined and the surgeon has booked me in for surgery within a week. It's looking like a tear in the meniscus cartilage something I had surgery on 11 years ago. The good news is that, that time I recovered within 6 weeks to travel out to Alaska on my first trip there and climb an amazing new route on Mount Hunter.

The challenge is obviously going to be the physio afterwards and this pic shows a little of what needs to be done. Even though Ive had perfectly reasonable movement you can see the amount of muscle wastage in my left thigh compared with my right (both are tensed in this pic). Just this morning I read a little sports history piece in the Times which illustrates how battling with injuries is such a large part of so many sports performers lives. It covered the 1992 Olympics of the British 400m runner Derek Redmond. Redmond had had to pull out of the previous Olympics just 90 seconds before the start of his heat due to an Achilles injury. In 1991 Redmond was part of the British team that beat the "unbeatable" Americans in the 4 x 400m relay in the World Championships. A real medal contender in 1992 Redmond was the fastest first round qualifier but in the semi final his hamstring pulled and he dropped to the floor in the back straight. His final 250m where he forced himself to finish with the help of his father is one of those famous moments of Olympic spirit (The film is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-MRoIDXeuY&feature=related ).

What I didn't know was leading up to the 1992 Olympics Redmond had had eight different operations on his various injuries. The mind boggles at the perseverance and dedication to keep getting up from those set-backs and explains why he was so distraught in 1992 when it all fell apart. In my case I'm obviously hoping for a happier ending!

Photo kit for sale

I'm selling a big bunch of Nikon and Voigtlander photographic gear. All of it is used, some of it more than others. Heres a quick list of the items for sale

Voigtlander Bessa T 35mm Film Rangefinder Camera SOLD
Voigtlander 12mm f5.6 inc viewfinder SOLD
Voigtlander 15mm f4.5 inc viewfinder SOLD
Voigtlander 21mm f4 inc viewfinder SOLD
Nikon 17-35mm AFS f 2.8D SOLD
Nikon 35-70mm f2.8D SOLD
Nikon Nikkor 28-80mm f3.5-5.6D
Nikon Coolpix 8400 digital camera SOLD


Below are detailed descriptions of the items plus plenty of pics (click on them for high res versions to check condition of the items). All the items have a guide price that doesn't include postage (you pay) but I will take offers. Particularly if you are buying more than one item. If you are unsatisfied with the item I will refund your money (excluding any postage costs) if you return it to me (and it isn't damaged) within 10 days.


All enquiries to ianparnellphotography@yahoo.co.uk

Voigtlander Bessa T camera Offers around £100
£200 new (although I think no longer made?) £120 used

Completely manual 35mm film rangefinder camera. If you think that Leica's cost several thousand pounds then this camera is a bargain entry into the Rangefinder world. The Voigtlander set up with the wide angle lenses offered for sale below is still my favourite camera, better in many ways than the Nikon SLRs I use now. Reason for sale is that I now shoot entirely digital.

Condition: Good, minor wear on main body, scratches on flash shoe on top plate and circular wear marks under wind on lever. Comes with front body cap.

Link for spec info http://www.cameraquest.com/VCBT.htm

Voigtlander Bessa T Camera

Voigtlander 12mm f5.6 lens inc viewfinder offers around £250
£710 new £400-500 used (prices www.ffordes.com)
A truly gob smacking lens. 12mm has to be seen to be believed. Includes viewfinder, front and rear lens caps.

Condition: Good, Clear optics, black paint finish is beginning to wear off exposing brass underneath on body and rings. Blob of superglue on front of lens cap from my "bungy cord safety strap".

Voigtlander 12mmVoigtlander 15mm f4.5 lens inc viewfinder Offers around £150
£410 new £270-300 used (prices http://www.ffordes.com/)
Something of a legendary lens, amongst the very best I've ever used. Includes viewfinder, rear cap but NOT front lens cap.

Condition: Good, wear on body but smooth movements and clean optics.

Voigtlander 15mm
Voigtlander 21mm f4 lens inc viewfinder Offers around £150

£370 new £250 used (prices http://www.ffordes.com/

Another beautiful lens. Includes viewfinder and front and rear caps.
Condition: Good, wear on body but smooth movements and clear optics.

Voigtlander 21mm and viewfinderNikon 17-35mm AF-S f2.8D lens Offers around £400
£1500 new £700-900 used

A legendary lens, every Nikon Pro has one. “The 17-35mm is a spectacular lens which outperforms all of Nikon's previous fixed wide angles”. Constant f2.8 aperture, AFS super fast focussing, largely metal body – bombproof. Reason for sale is that I now have to 14-24mm lens and feel like I’m doubling up.

Condition; Good, clean optics, wear on body of lens, scrapes around front filter ring. Lens hood is cracked and a bit battered, includes front (Cosina make – sorry!) and rear lens caps. Review and spec http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/1735.htmNikon 17-35mm f2.8

Nikon 35-70mm f2.8D lens Offers around £75
No longer available new but I think it was about £500, around £300 used

Professional quality autofocus push-pull style mid range zoom. Constant f2.8 aperture, macro focussing at 35mm. Very robustly built. Superb lens used for a lot of my best shots. Reason for sale scratches on front element which whilst not affecting the vast majority of shots (see examples below) does create flare when shooting into the sun. Hence the ridiculously low asking price.

Condition: Scratches on front element, some marks and wear on lens body.
Includes front and rear lens caps.Review and spec

Nikon 35-70mm f2.8Shot to show lack of distortion or marks created by front element scratch, detail below. Detail of above shot (no sharpening)
Whilst not directly into sun, this shot was pointing in that direction, again no distortion.

Nikon Nikkor 28-80mm f3.5-5.6D lens Offers around £30
No longer available but around £60-70 used

Lightweight and compact autofocus mid range zoom famous for the quality of its performance compared with many cheap zooms. To quote Ken Rockwell “…this is the best example I've seen of a lens that stupider people will dismiss without even trying it, whereas in fact it is among the best midrange zooms I've used!” http://www.kenrockwell.com/

Very good condition, Nikon front and rear lens caps.Review and spec http://kenrockwell.com/nikon/2880.htm

Nikon 28-80mm

Nikon Coolpix 8400 digital camera Offers around £120
Including charger, two batteries, lens cap, camera bag and instruction booklet.
24-85mm super wide angle zoom
8 mega-pixels
Shoots in RAW mode
Uses Compact Flash cards.
Many auto modes as well as complete manual control
Macro focussing to 3cm
640x480 30fps video
Swivel out screen – good to avoid sun-glare and for self portraits.
Pop up flash as well as hotshoe

This type of camera used to be called a “prosumer” i.e. halfway between a professional and a consumers model. The wide angle 24-85mm zoom is a big attraction, as is the ability to shoot RAW images. Reason for sale is that I bought it as a backup for my SLR then ended up getting a second SLR, which is now the new backup.

Condition: Excellent, hardly used. Camera Bag is a bit old but I’ve thrown that in anyway.

Only price I can find online is $899 on Amazon, and chatroom’s talking about over $1000!
http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-Coolpix-8400-Digital-Optical/dp/B00061RXO4 Nikon Coolpix 8400 digital camera

Ship of Fools

After a month or more of reading about everyone else having fun up in Scotland I finally managed to get up there myself. A great day out with young hotshot Greg Boswell, and nice to end the season on a high note rather than watch the season fade away.

We knew we'd need to head high for conditions, and it doesn't get higher than Indicator Wall. I had my eye on Ship of Fools a route established by Iain Small and Simon Richardson in 2007. Greg starting up Pitch 1

I'd been intrigued by this route ever since I read Simon's exciting account of their first ascent in the new Ben Nevis history book "...his monopoints only half penetrate the ice before they hit rock; his tools barely reach their first notch. There are no gear placements in sight. Iain commits to a meticulous dance. Every placement, each step, has to be perfectly executed the first time;a second kick, or another swing, and the delicate skein of ice will shatter....The ice sheet vibrates as he makes his second placement, but it holds his weight as he manoeuvres himself over the roof and levers his right crampon onto a finger-width, sloping notch. Four moves later and he reaches the foot of a narrow ice ribbon. It is solid, ten centimetres thick... I breathe a sigh of relief. I've just witnessed one of the finest leads in Scottish ice history."

With a write up like that I couldn't wait to find out what Ship of Fools had in store.
Me on pitch 2, contrast with the shot below of Iain on the first ascentIt turned out that the route was in different condition than on the first ascent. Whilst whiter the crucial ice patches were often not weight bearing and so I climbed a little to the right of Iain's line. Not as elegant but still highly exciting. The quality of the white stuff made sure that all 3 of the top pitches needed our full attention. All in all a superb route and great to pull over the top and belay on the summit trig point of the Ben. Finally on ice that didn't fall off as soon as it was touched.
Greg Boswell, a name to watch in future seasons (Greg blogs about his adventures here http://gregboswell.blogspot.com/).

Final Highland Fling

This time of year I often feel the onset up schizophrenia. There are so many options it can make the head spin. I was rock climbing on lat week, fell running the weekend just gone and now it looks like I'll be back on the Ben winter climbing this weekend. This will be my last chance of anything wintery this season and i haven't been able to get up for the last month so even though it feels odd beginning to get excited about the cold stuff again. Here's a few pics from Hans Hornberger from my last trip up on Beinn Eighe. Blood sweat and frozen tears pics Hans Hornberger

Skyline Survival

With blue sky visibility and no snow this should have been a pleasant introduction to the legendary fell race the Edale Skyline. Veterans will know that there's really no such thing, but my oh my....! What a total nightmare I had today.
At 2 miles I was probably in about 50-60th place and consciously trying to slow down
At about 6 miles I was letting numerous speedy descenders (not my strongest suit) zoom past assuming I would catch them up on the ascents as I have done in shorter races.
At the 12 mile Mam Nick I was pleased with my 2 hour time and beginning to imagine a top 100 placing perhaps around 3.45hrs.
At 12.2 miles having stopped for a big drinks and gel refuel, I began to realise everything wasn't tip top; it felt like someone had left the cap off my fuel tank, and with almost 9 miles to go I suddenly felt dangerously close to the red.
At 15 miles I was well into survival mode, any ideas of a decent time had been dropped and just completing the thing would be a victory.
At 17 miles my right leg refused to work locking up in agonising cramps. At one point I wondered how long I would have to lie there before I was eventually airlifted to the human skip in the sky.
At 19 miles my whole upper body began to go numb with the only feeling one of pins and needles.
At 20 miles the cramps which had been appearing intermittently completely took over both legs.
At 20 1/2 miles I still thought I might not finish and was particularly worried about passing out in front of everyone on the final field.

Well I did finish in 4 hours 13 minutes and 146th place. I was pretty embarrassed by my performance - Ive had difficult times in the mountains before but I've never had the wheels come off so severely before. My guess is that there were two issues, firstly I think I got very dehydrated - despite drinking 3/4 litre it was surprisingly wind free and hot and I overdressed. The main one though was that I was under-prepared, the longest run I'd done was 1hr 50mins and that was on nice trails, what I needed was 3 or 4 3hr bog-missions. All in all it's been a very big learning process and with my second half marathon only 5 weeks away Ive got to knuckle down if I don't want to get punished.