MCofS and Glenmore Lodge have got together to offer MCofS members who introduce a new member to the MCofS the chance to win one of four FREE introductory mountaineering skills courses worth up to £270. The courses are all based at Glenmore Lodge and include accommodation and meals.



The lucky winner will chose from six different courses - Winter Navigation Skills, Summer Navigation Skills, Winter Skills, Rock Climbing, Scrambling and Winter Mountaineering.



How to win? The competition is open to members of the MCofS and members of MCofS Clubs who are registered with MCofS. Commencing with the February issue, the next four issues of Scottish Mountaineer will contain an entry form on the reverse of the large address label.



To enter simply recruit a new member for the MCofS, and get them to complete and return the entry form to the MCofS office by the date shown on the form. The winner will then be drawn from the entries received for that issue on the stated due date. New members must join MCofS direct – the competition does not apply to new members joining an MCofS club.

posted by glenmore @ 12:45 pm  0 comments

On Saturday we celebrated Burns night with a fine evening of traditional Scottish food and music...along with a few drams! Our regular piper; Jordan, was unable to pipe the haggis in this year so instead we made do with a cd player! Phil Sanderson addressed the Haggis and Andy Forester from Balvenie gave a brief whiskey tasting.

posted by glenmore @ 10:08 am  0 comments

Get yourself geared up for paddling this year with Tisos fantastic watersports sale which starts on Wednesday 3rd February! Visit your nearest Tiso store for more details.

posted by glenmore @ 10:20 am  0 comments

Next Saturday sees the start of the Alpine Bikes Winter Series races. This three round event will be held over 3 different courses on the hills of Innerleithen’s excellent downhill tracks. After a couple of weeks of mild concern that the weather would spoil it, I’m pleased to announce that the snow is melting and with the mild week predicted we’re all good to go.

The winter races always attract a great crowd of riders, ranging from first time triers, through to some world class athletes, and this year is no exception. If you look at the entry list, you’ll notice you can pit yourself against Marc Beaumont, local talent Ruaridh Cunningham and Lewis Buchanan and our very own Alpine Bikes Rider, Joe Connell.

Full entry list is at:

http://www.borderline-events.co.uk/pdfs/Alpine_Winter_Series_Round_1_Entries.pdf

As always they’ll be a variety of trade stands there, on site technical expertise from our very own Matt Morris, and back up from our shop just up the road. We’ll be running special offers over the weekend, including a very tasty deal on Session 88 frames (2009) on the Saturday – so bring your cards with you.

For those entered there will be race sign on in the shop from Friday afternoon till 6pm.

Look forward to seeing you all there

Rob
Alpine Bikes
Innerleithen

posted by glenmore @ 10:01 am  0 comments

Alpine Bikes are offering you the opportunity to win a Trek Fuel EX9 bike over the winter. We know it is good as it is the bike one of our instructors has used on courses this year.

All you have to do is visit the Lodge on a course, as a guest or day tripper and ask for an application form from behind the desk. You can enter by posting the form in the comptetiion box on the bike board here at Glenmore Lodge.

The winner will be announced in April 2010

posted by glenmore @ 4:02 pm  0 comments

Take the opportunity to win a pair of Scarpa Mont Blanc Mountain Boots just by coming to Glenmore Lodge.

Scarpa have decided to promote our strong partnership by offering a competition to anybody who is on a course or visits Glenmore Lodge this winter. You simply ask for an application form from the front desk and post your entry in the box on the Scarpa boot stand here at Glenmore Lodge.

The winner will be drawn in April

We look forward to seeing you!

posted by glenmore @ 3:04 pm  0 comments

MLTA wants your views about its proposals for Continuing Personal and Professional Development.
MLTA is the membership organisation for people working and volunteering in the outdoors.
The proposals are for a 5 yearly currency check as a prerequisite of membership; members will be required to demonstrate their ongoing personal and leadership activity and to undertake additional training. An “online log book” type system is also proposed for recording experience and training activity.
The survey is currently live online: please contribute to the debate by completing the questionnaire using this link http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TWMN8B9
The survey closes on 31st March 2010.

posted by glenmore @ 4:32 pm  0 comments

Lets face it it doesn't get better than this! The team have all been out ski touring in the hills whie in perfect conditions.

Get up here and onto a course to learn to enjoy the white stuff safely and with skills to make it fun.

Look forward to seeing you up here!

posted by glenmore @ 11:09 am  0 comments

Most of you reading this will have noticed how much snow we have at present in the UK, and while some will hide their bike away in the garage wrap it up warm until the first signs of springs, there are still those who go out riding. The key to winter riding is being in the right clothing and understanding layering.

First layer, base layers.

A good wicking base layer will make all the difference between feeling sweaty and miserable and cold on the hill, or enjoying yourself. £28 will buy you a very decent bas layer these days, specifically designed for outdoor sport use

http://www.alpinebikes.com/shop/clothing/bike-clothing/craft/

The great thing about Craft is it has an antimicrobial treatment so that the base layer won’t smell your house out.

Second layer, something warm.

This layers all about managing your temperature and is probably the most crucial layer as so many people get it wrong. What you need here is something that will keep you warm while your riding, nothing more. There is a tendency to overdo this layer and wear too much causing you to sweat excessively so think before you put on that jumper you wear in the pub and huddle against the fire – it’s possibly a bit excessive. For this layer I reckon the go to range is Gore Bike Wear

http://www.alpinebikes.com/shop/clothing/bike-clothing/gore-bike-wear/

Jerseys like

http://www.alpinebikes.com/shop/clothing/bike-clothing/gore-bike-wear/cross-country/path-long-jersey/

Are specifically designed for this type of thing, and by having the ¼ zip at the front allows a bit of thermal management if you get too hot.

Third Layer, waterproof / windproof.

Much the same as above, possibly the best manufacturer for this type of gear is Gore. I ride with an Alp x II

http://www.alpinebikes.com/shop/clothing/bike-clothing/gore-bike-wear/cross-country/alp-x-ii/

This Jacket is fantastic; it packs up small enough into my bag yet is possibly one of the most durable jackets I own. I’ve crashed in it heavily enough to break my collarbone and not done any damage to it, and have followed the care instructions and it’s remained utterly waterproof.

I know some people argue that Gore bike Wear is expensive, but it does the job so well you don’t mind paying that wee bit more for it. The best bit, Alpine Bikes currently have certain Gore Bike Wear items on sale with up to 35% off some of it, so it’s actually not that expensive at all.

If you still can’t bear the thought of going out on you bike in this much snow then I can recommend the following gloves for snowball fights, cleaning the car and holding metal objects (like bikes)

http://www.alpinebikes.com/shop/clothing/bike-clothing/gloves/gore-bike-wear/cross-ii-gtx-glove/

And with 25% off they’re a bargain.

Full Gore Sale list at Alpine can be found at:

http://www.alpinebikes.com/shop/sale/gore-bike-wear/

Labels: Alpine Bikes, Gore Bike Wear

posted by glenmore @ 11:36 am  0 comments

The 2010 Fuel Ex-8 has been with us a couple of months now, and this years model has really stepped up the game for bikes in this category. With its new stiffer front end, and the addition of the DRCV shock it really is becoming the only bike you need if you pedal around trail centres in the UK. The DRCV shock is fantastic, I’ve had one on my bike for the last year, and the difference in feel over a standard air canister is night and day. The absolute proof of how good this shock performs is that the staff members at our shop ride the demo bike with the DRCV when they want a cheeky ride at lunchtime. We should be getting our new demo bikes soon, and once we’ve finalised what we’re getting we’ll let you all know.

The Trek mountain bike range has changed quite a bit this year, with the EX-8 getting a bit beefier (but not gaining any weight) and the new remedy also loosing a bit of travel, down to 150mm. The big news in the Remedy range is there’s going to be two carbon versions, the 9.8 and 9.9

http://www.trekbikes.com/uk/en/bikes/mountain_full_suspension/remedy/

On the 9.9 you’ll notice it comes with a Crank Brothers Joplin height adjustable seat post, really setting this bike out as an all out racing machine.

You may be asking, why lower the travel on such a capable machine? Well, there’s a new model, the Scratch

http://www.trekbikes.com/uk/en/bikes/mountain_full_suspension/#scratch

You may have seen spy shots of this bike last year calling it the Remedy SS (Slope style). What you’re here is a more laid back riding position to make the bike more stable downhill, but with the ability to climb, utilising a twin ring at the front. This could well be all the bike anyone would ever need if you tend towards more aggressive downhill and are not worried about your time riding up the hill. The bike further sets out its intentions by having two coil spring models and two air models, so you can select which model better suits your riding. I’m genuinely excited about a bike like this, especially living in Innerleithen, as pushing up big rigs is a tiring affair, and I get a bit of a kick out of cycling uphill as well.

Staff at the shop have got a ride camp coming up soon (Early February), so soon we’ll be able to assess what we think of all these new models for ourselves.

Rob
Alpine Bikes Innerleithen

Labels: Mountain Bike, Trek

posted by glenmore @ 11:32 am  0 comments