Tiso Group acquire George Fisher
Issued on behalf of the Tiso Group
Tiso Group Ltd has acquired George Fisher Ltd, England’s leading independent outdoor shop based in Keswick. The business was put up for sale at the start of the year due to the owners looking to retire, during which period Tiso emerged as the preferred bidder amongst strong interest from within the industry.

In a deal worth over £3 million, Tiso Group, parent company of one of the UK’s most successful independent outdoor retailers, Graham Tiso Ltd, recognised that George Fisher had a natural synergy with its own business model and operating philosophy, which is driven by customer service and product integrity.

Chris Tiso, Chief Executive, said 'George Fisher provides a natural fit with Tiso and we are very excited at the prospect of taking the business forward under the George Fisher name. The primary focus and objective now will be to ensure that the integrity of the business is maintained and the offering continues to be in line with expectations of the existing core customer base. We have enormous respect for the business and recognise its position in both the local and national markets.’

Tiso will be relying heavily on the very experienced George Fisher team to work with them to take it forward, with the support of the senior management team at Tiso.
Michael Standring, of George Fisher, commented, 'George Fisher has evolved over the last 50 years to what it is today, one of the most respected independent outdoor retailers in the UK. It is essential that it is taken forward to the next level by someone who shares and understands our values and our customers’ expectations. George Fisher has led the way in the Lake District in terms of exceptional service, product integrity and retail innovation, and I believe that Tiso is best placed to ensure that this remains the case.
George Fisher will retain both its name and existing management team.

Good luck with the new project from all the Lodge family!

posted by glenmore @ 3:47 pm  0 comments

This is to let you know about Cliffhanger .... the UK's largest outdoor outdoor-pursuits festival, covering a footprint of 90,000 square metres in Sheffield's biggest green space. It's on July 14th and 15th.

British Bouldering Championships
This event will see around 200 of Britain's top boulderers battle it out to decide the national champions for 2007; seniors on Saturday, juniors on Sunday. Organised by the BMC

Alpine Beer Festival
German Oompah Music, Live Bands & DJ's
Traditional Beer Festival Games
Farmers / Arts & Craft Markets
Food and Drink Stalls, Cocktail / Café Bar Area
Kids Play Area
Organised by FolksFest

planetFear Ultra Sprint - free for Kids
The planetFear Ultra Sprint. This will be the most intense orienteering experience yet seen in the UK. Based on the Orient-Show concept developed in Russia and France the races will start and finish into an intricate 'labyrinth' in full view of the commentary team and spectators. Members of the public will also be able to take part on the course, kids enter free, £2 for adults.
Organised by planetFear & South Yorkshire Orienteers

Also
Free Film & Lecture Tent
Loads of Free Demonstrations (caving, kite surfing, mountain biking and more)
Free Open Air Market
Reverse Bungee & Other White Knuckle Rides
Free Physiotherapy
Free Audio Trail Downloads
Free Bike Maintenance (bring your bike)
Free Photo & Art Exhibition
Food, Drink & Music
Loads of Free Activities, including stuff for kids of all ages.
Free Pull Up Competition
And plenty more...
Check out www.cliff-hanger.co.uk for more detail or click on the links below.
£5 entry, free for accompanied kids under 14. Free programme and free parking.
10.30 to 18.30 each day.

posted by glenmore @ 12:11 pm  0 comments

News Release

Tuesday 12 June 2007 - for immediate release BMC launches new website for climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers

The British Mountaineering Council (BMC)'s brand new website goes live today (12 June 2007). The website www.thebmc.co.uk has been completely overhauled to make it much easier for climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers to find what they need at the click of a button.

The user-friendly design makes it easy to navigate to information on all aspects of the BMC's work, and all content is cross-linked with the latest news. All back issues of Summit magazine are available, making it the first fully online climbing magazine in the UK. There are free downloads of good practice information and chapters from BMC guidebooks. The new website incorporates the latest IT developments so you can now sign up for news feeds and watch video clips.

BMC patron Sir Chris Bonington said: "Great looking website - easy to navigate, stacks of interesting news and useful information - just what the climbing community needs."

Dave Turnbull, BMC Chief Executive Officer said: "It's been a long time coming but definitely worth the wait. This is just the first stage of the website upgrade so look out for more new facilities coming soon."

Coming soon:
Members' log-in: BMC members will be able to update their details and renew their subscriptions online.
Thanks to the redesigned BMC Regional Access Database (RAD), you'll soon be able to receive latest access information straight to your mobile device
Sign up to the regular BMC email newsletter

Many more new features will become available over the summer and you can have your say too. The best 10 suggestions for new content or improvements will win a copy of the brand new Stanage guidebook. Please send your entries to Alex Messenger by the end of July: alex@thebmc.co.uk / 0161 438 3308.

posted by glenmore @ 4:27 pm  0 comments

Giles has been training for the 70 Wild Miles Race and making us all feel unfit and lazy for months now. It was worth all the effort as he managed to stun a few regular competitors by coming 3rd overall......who needs to be an international competitor when you can just walk in and steal the show.

Sounded like an amazing event, well attended and well organised.

Well done Giles! Bridget probably deserves a medal too for living with a finely tuned athlete during a training programme.

posted by glenmore @ 12:14 pm  0 comments

Alpine Bikes Ltd, Scotland’s leading independent bicycle retailer, is pleased to announce the acquisition of ProBikeSport in Innerleithen.
A well known and respected bike shop within what is not only the main mountain biking centre in Scotland but also the UK, ProBikeSport is an exciting addition to the Alpine Bikes portfolio. The shop, a 2000sq ft converted church, lies at the foot of the downhill course in Innerliethen just 5 minutes from Glentress.

Bryan Shedden, General Manager of Alpine Bikes, said: “This is an exciting move for Alpine Bikes and there is significant potential for us to build on the foundations of this very established business. Some of our plans include offering a bike hire service as well as a “try before you buy” centre; come down and try a wide range of bikes on a SDA approved course and we will give you a free ticket for the new proposed uplift. No other shop in the UK has this facility”.

Alpine Bikes are keen to make this their ‘technical centre of excellence’ catering for the dedicated mountain biker at every level, as well as ensuring a comprehensive offering of road bikes, and an extensive range of clothing and accessories from leading brands.

Over 300,000 riders per year go to the Glentress/ Innerleithen area, both of which have many different grades of downhill and cross country making it much more accessible to recreational riders and those wanting to learn or try it out.

Alpine Bikes will start trading at the new premises as of 1st June 2007.

www.alpinebikes.com

posted by glenmore @ 1:59 pm  0 comments

Dave Macleod has succeeded in establishing Metalcore 20m 8c+ , Scotland's hardest sport route.
Start up Bodyswerve, but follow the faint crackline all the way to the peak of the Anvil roof, joining Body Blow for its redpoint crux.
Full route report and photos at: davemacleod.blogspot.com, where you can also find out more about the Anvil a huge (30m high) schist boulder in the woods on a remote peninsula on the east bank of Loch Goil (Argyll and Bute).

Dave is sponsored by Scarpa. Check out thier website for updates on all thier athletes www.scarpa.co.uk

posted by glenmore @ 1:29 pm  0 comments

The UK's wall and climbing competition expert, Graeme Alderson just called from the IFSC Climbing Worldcup being held at the tiny island of La Reunion this weekend with some exciting news. (La Reunion is situated in the Indian Ocean north of Madagascar.)
Northumberland's Andy Earl has just won this round, with Gaz Parry achieving a very commendable seventh place. This is the first time a Brit has won a world cup bouldering event since Mark Croxall won the bouldering world cup at Birmingham in 2005 ( Mark came 17th in the La Reunion competition).
Earl beat some very strong competition.
2nd: Jérôme Meyer (FRA)
3rd: Daniel Dulac (FRA)
4th: Kilian Fischhuber (AUT)
5th: Lucas Preti (IT)
6th: Christian Core (IT)
Andy has been in the news quite recently with his ascent of the highball, The Magician, Font 8a, at Ravensheugh Crag in Northumberland, read about it, here.
In the womens competition, French woman, 25 year old Juliette Danion took the top spot on the podium and is currently ranked number one in the IFSC Climbing Worldcup 2007. Chloé Graftiaux (BEL) came second and Silvie Rajfova (CZE) came third.
You can view the full results here at the IFSC website: www.ifsc-climbing.org
Graeme signed off by saying he had to rush off to a celebration.
Andy Earl is supported by Scarpa and E9.
IFSC = International Federation of Sport Climbing

posted by glenmore @ 1:28 pm  0 comments

Lucy Creamer, 36, had a good 2006 despite a finger injury, with ascents of the route Boot Boys Fr8a+ and the bouldering testpiece Ben's Roof Font 7c+, both at Raven Tor in the UK, and her second Fr 8b redpoint with Abregnief at St. Leger du Ventoux, France.
This winter gone she was back to France to the Mount Ventoux area and St. Leger where she made quick redpoints of three Fr 8a's. Lucy describes St. Leger du Ventoux, " In my opinion St. Leger is world class and the numerous foreign visitors seems to back that up. This crag is made up of tufa lines which are really compelling. It was very dry for most of the winter months."
Lucy and her partner the photographer Tim Glasby were renting a gite off Ollie and Jess Ryall (http://www.climbfrance.com/) and using their local knowledge Lucy found out about a nearby bouldering area where she grabbed a first ascent of a very hard traverse.
"I was quite psyched for some bouldering as I knew my strength and power was down so it was a good way to work on that and have some fun. I normally do a lot of gym work over the winter but being out in the sticks here that wasn’t an option."
The traverse is a monster.
"There were seemingly blank sections that initially didn’t seem possible to climb. At times I thought I was just going to have to end it in the middle of nowhere but after a lot of searching and fiddling around with minging little crimps and bobbly open handed things, I managed to extend it until it finished naturally on slab and good holds- very satisfying. I could only chalk my hands once each on the whole thing"
Lucy continues,
"It’s a power endurance epic as you can’t shake out on it, so you just have to push on doing lots of 6b moves (and the odd 6c) without a break. It ended up being 36 moves long, feeling like an 8b+ if it was a route, quite similar to Ben’s roof- Raven Tor but not quite as bicepy. So I’ve given it font 7c+. I’ve decide to call it ‘Trente-six’. Because it was 36 moves for me and bizarrely I did it on my 36th birthday"
Lucy is sponsored by Scarpa, Grivel, Marmot, Petzl and Beal.

posted by glenmore @ 1:25 pm  0 comments

I thought something was different this morning in the Lakes, the sun was shining a bit brighter. All was answered a few hours later. There is nothing quite like a Dave Birkett in full flow. Sheer poetry. Many people love climbing, but often it is like a tired relationship: you do your duty and put up with the status quo but it lacks sparkle. Dave Birkett's relationship with climbing is like a torrid love affair in bloom; always fresh, always exciting, always something to look forward to. Always has been and always will be.
Acting on a tip from that great British rock explorer, Tom Walkington, who incidently was one of Dave Birkett's early climbing inspirations, Team Birkett: Dave and Bill (prodigious author), Alan Steele (Inglesport man) and cinematographer and photographer, Alastair Lee headed up to Skye and a remote rock wall beyond the Dubhs Ridge and Loch Coruisk.
Dave has just climbed what he describes to us as, "the most awesome wall of rock in the UK, a real plum line" and in the very heart of the Cuillin. Weighing in about E7/E8, three pitches long: 30m, 30m, 60m. It didn't fall easily although Dave did, several times. Alastair Lee told us that "He actually cursed when he fell, never heard him do that before. I think he was proper scared." Maybe it was the hard climbing, the virgin gabbro and the poor Rock one that freaked him: plus the remoteness of this wall that requires either a 5 hour walk in or a ferry ride. Alan Steele, 53, followed the route.
If you click on streapadair's photo on the left and look beyond Loch Coruisk, Dave's new route takes a line up the barrell buttress on the left with the diagonal white mark on it low down.

Dave is sponsored by Scarpa. You can view media renaissance man, Alastair Lee's work, including the trailer to "Set in Stone, the portrait of Dave Birkett at www.posingproductions.com

posted by glenmore @ 1:19 pm  0 comments