Belfast Lecture

I'm doing my Wild at Heart Show in Belfast this Friday evening as part of the Ulster University Mountaineering Clubs Intervarsity event. It's open to the public and takes place at the Holiday Inn Hotel in the Olympic Suite at 8pm. I'll be talking about my various trips to Alaska together with Adventures in Range West, Torridon and Austria.

Me revisiting my route Dark Angel (E5 6a) at Baggy Point in Devon. Photo David Pickford

For more info see www.irishclimbingintervarsities.com

Glasgow Lecture 25th Feb

This Saturday I'm off up to The Climbing Academy, Glasgow to do my new 'Wild at Heart' show. It had its first outing last weekend at TCA in Bristol and seemed to go down very well. I've a big section on my various trips to Alaska which included perhaps my most novel trips. 47 hour single push on one route, vertically pitched tents on another. Alongside that I've a look at where this adventurous streak came from and several films and tales from recent entertainment in Austria and of course the North West of Scotland.

Tickets and further info are available here http://www.tca-glasgow.com/

Keswick Lecture

I'm lecturing in Keswick next Tuesday (4th Oct). I'll be doing a few new things based on beautiful 'failures' plus a fresh look at Annapurna III. All for only £4!

Just to wet the appetite heres a few pics. 7.30 at the Queens Hall at Keswick school more details here www.keswicklecturesociety.co.uk/

Something to train for.

I've always needed goals, aims in life, little targets - all very un-zen I know. But I struggle for motivation and get a bit lost without something driving me on. Luckily I've two interesting possibilities on the horizon. The first hopefully a return to Chamonix and the Alps, and a chance to hook up with Jon Bracey, who I climbed the Grand Couloir on the Plan with in the Spring. The ticklist as ever is enormous, it would be great to make it one or two routes shorter.

The other trip is a maybe for January - ice climbing in Japan! Which if it comes off should be very exciting - adventurous as there is little info in the west. Markus Bendler and Albert Leichtfried made a trip a few years back which looked amazing - here's their short film.

As a result of those two goals I've got inspired to start training - and so in the last few days I've had my first White Goods (the Welsh border dry tooling crag) visit and dusted off the 'fig fours' for a spin at the wall. There were a couple of new lines at White Goods - three on the left side of the Apples and Pears area (we did the one just left of the big tree - nice starting moves then horrible - definitely not one to go back for). Much better was the new M8+ in the main area which typically for this crag is 'solid' for the grade. I didn't have the guns or the skills for the roof, but enjoyed working and linking the lower section - which flows superbly on big moves between deep positive hooks - definitely one to go back for.

Talking of getting inspired I'm doing a show at the Covent Garden Snow and Rock Shop on the 14th September. I'm going to be presenting some new images, films and stories - more info here: www.snowandrock.com/pws/UniqueProductKey.ice?ProductID=DUM002000

London Lecture

Next Thursday, the 26th May, I'm doing a show at the Castle Climbing Centre in London. As well as talking about some of my personal adventures in the Himalaya, Scotland and some of the looser cliffs in England, I'll talk a bit about climbing the Eiger with Sir Ranulph Fiennes and El Cap with Major Phil Packer who couldn't use his legs to climb. I'll also be offering a few thoughts and tips on photography in the mountains. Here's a link for more information http://www.castle-climbing.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=297&Itemid=1

Just to wet the appetite here's a few pics:
Annpurna III, Nepal
Storr on SkyeDover Chalk CliffsPatagonia

Solihull Lecture & SHAFF Arcteryx Adventure Shot

Couple of events coming up. I'll be lecturing on the 3rd March at the Old Edwardians Sport Club in Solihull, you can find more info here http://www.solihullmc.org.uk/I'm also judging at the Arcteryx Photo Comp on Saturday 5th March, part of the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival. This is a superb rowdy event here is a link for more info and further details about the competing photographers http://www.shaff.co.uk/content/16/arc-teryx-photo-comp

Sheffield Photography Lecture 28th Jan

I'm doing something a little different this coming Friday. Rather than lecture about my walking holidays I'm doing a show at The Showroom Cinema about climbing photography. It will be a mix of stories, images, video and tips. More info can be found here: http://shaff.co.uk/content/51/expert-nights

The show is part of 4 expert nights from different outdoor adventure activities over the next month leading up to the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival on the 4th to 6th March

Macclesfield Lecture

For anyone in the vicinity of Macclesfield, I'm doing a lecture for Camp Four at Macclesfield Rugby Club on Friday 14th Jan. Some details here http://campfour.blogspot.com/2010/11/when-north-wind-blows-ian-parnell.html

I'm working on a new mix of pretty pics...
... tall tales from the Himalaya...
... wonderful adventures from closer to home...... all in all a roller coaster ride through the mountain life.

Hopefully see you there.

Ratho Lecture this Saturday

A reminder that I'll be lecturing at the Climbing Centre at Ratho, Edinburgh as part of the Scottish Tooling Competition series. Amongst other things I'm hoping to have some new footage to show from when Ines Papert was over and we climbed Blood Sweat and Frozen Tears. I'm also excited to see some of the comp, dry tooling events tend to be a little more creative than your typical wall climbing event. For more details of the day see here http://www.scottishtoolingseries.co.uk/2010/10/ian-parnell-blood-sweat-and-frozen-tears/

Me on Dent du Requin - Es Tressider
Me on Bulgy in the Northern Corries
Me loving it
Me hating it?

Hope Valley College Film Festival

I'm doing a show tomorrow 7.30 Saturday as part of the Hope Valley Film Festival. John Beatty is introducing me which is something of a privilege as he's a photographer I admire a lot see his work here http://www.wild-vision.com/

Here's a couple more pics from last week to give an idea of what's in store.
Sunrise on the summit plateau of Beinn Eighe

The Northern Corries at Dusk

Chesterfield Lecture Wednesday 24th Feb

Just a quick reminder that I'm lecturing at the Winding Wheel Theatre tomorrow night at 7.30. It's only just over a fiver more info here http://www.speakersfromtheedge.com/events/ian-parnell-chesterfield-24th-february-2010

A couple of pics to wet the appetite.

The Fitzroy Peaks, PatagoniaOur Lifesaver bivi Cave day 7 on Annapurna III, Nepal

Final 2009 Show - Abergavenny

Peregrine Falcon on El Capitan, Yosemite

I'm working away on some new stuff for my final show of 2009. As well as talking about my climb with Major Phil Packer and his spinal injury up El Capitan, I'll have a detailed look at the dramas and motivations behind my new route last season on Beinn Eighe. That took 3 attempts and there were quite a few "incidents" along the way. I'm also putting together some new film clips and photo sequences. Looking forward to it and now I'm finally seeing off my illness of the last few weeks hoping to "give it all I've got".

More details here http://www.boroughtheatreabergavenny.co.uk/event.php?eid=475

Sheffield Show

Tomorrow night at the Sheffield Foundry (The University not the wall) Andy Kirkpatrick and I are doing a one off double header. Andy is very good at making people laugh. This pic shows us with Rich Cross sitting out a storm beneath the Gabarrou Silvy. There's also quite a good view up my blood spattered nose although Ive forgotten the story behind that.

Anyway should be a good night. More info here http://www.speakersfromtheedge.com/events/evening-with-andy-kirkpatrick-and-ian-parnell-thurs-26-november-sheffield

London Lecture

Here's the poster for my lecture for the charity Porters' Progress at the RGS in LondonIt's on at 7pm on 24th November and you can get details and tickets at http://www.worldexpeditions.co.uk/index.php?section=adventure_travel_presentations&location or by phoning 02085459030

Special Sheffield Gig

I'm doing a few lectures in November and December, the first of which is something a little different. A double Header with Andy Kirkpatrick. Andy and I know each other far too well having shared many adventures, so it will be interesting to see how this one goes. Andy is getting more "unstable" in his latter years so I've no idea what exactly he has in store - I doubt he has much idea either, but you can bank on it being side splittingly funny. I'll probably dish the dirt first on our epic attempt to repeat the Lafaille route on the Dru, and then talk a bit about our climb on El Cap with paraplegic Phil Packer which helped him raise a Million quid for Help for Heroes.

The title of the show is Freezing Nuts, its on Thursday 26 Nov at The Foundry (not the climbing wall) at Sheffield University Union. Doors open 7:30pm and tickets are £9 (£6 NUS) and can be got from the Union Box Office 0114 222 8777 as well as the Sheffield City Hall, the Sheffield Arena and most Sheffield Theatres.

Kendal show tomorrow night

Evening mist halfway up El Capitan

A quick reminder, I'll be doing a new version of my "British Style" show tomorrow Wednesday night at the Brewery Arts Centre in Kendal. Starting at 8pm I'll be talking about new routes in the India Garwhal Himalaya, surviving the North Face of the Eiger with 62 year old (at the time) Sir Ranulph Fiennes and my adventures on El Capitan in Yosemite. More info here http://www.breweryarts.co.uk/event-detail.cfm?id=268&type=10

Kendal Lecture and Dru video

I arrived yesterday in the Alps as ever full of anticipation but having to temper that by remembering that these mountains are usually a land of broken dreams. I guess I've been out 20 times and even though I've had a few successes, the aborted attempts, epic turn-arounds and just plain failures have outweighed summits reached by 5 to 1. Still I find as soon as you get close to these legendary peaks you can't help feel the heart beginning to race.

I'm here for the week but its looking like there might be a weather window on Monday and Tuesday. Not perfect conditions but a window of some kind. So the plan is to head up with Nick and Andy to try to find a way up the Aiguille Sans Nom, the superb 1000m mixed face just left of the Dru. To whet the appetite here's a clip from the DVD Cold Haul (a film I made with Karen Barber and Andy Kirkpatrick and on sale here http://www.snowandrock.com/SearchResult/Climbing/Accessories/Climbing+Movies/Cold+Haul+FRS0001.htm

Its of the last route I got properly involved with in that area, the Lafaille route on the Dru.

For those within travelling distance in the Lakes a date for the diary is June 3rd when I will be lecturing at the Brewery Arts Centre in Kendal. There are more details here http://www.breweryarts.co.uk/event-detail.cfm?id=268&type=10

Newcastle Lecture

Ibex in the Gangotri, India

A date for the diary if you're based in the North East. I'm lecturing at the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle on the 20th March at 7.30 pm to raise money for their World Challenge Expedition to Honduras. Its brilliant to see youngsters have a chance to explore the planet, become more self reliant and be introduced to the amazing world of adventure that has given me so many rewards in my life. There's more info here (scroll down) http://www.speakersfromtheedge.com/index.htm