Calum Sowden – Mountain Leader Assessment May 2022, Snowdonia, Wales
In May 2022 I attended my Mountain Leader Assessment in Snowdonia. This is a qualification which I have been working towards for the last couple of years, and I am incredibly appreciative of the support from the Jack Blood Fund.
The five-day assessment kicked off with a day in the Crimpiau area of Snowdonia. We spent a full day on the hill, completing micro-navigation legs and discussing emergency and extrication procedures for group leaders. This was a good warm-up for the rest of the week, and an indication that the hard work I’d put in over the preceding months was going to pay off. The next day saw some pretty miserable weather coming in. Not the kind of day to be stood around, but that’s exactly what we did as we had all the emergency rope work skills and steep ground management to demonstrate. Despite an early hiccup when spotting the assessor on steep ground (which I rectified later on through a second chance) the day went really smoothly. The assessor chose me to manage the whole group on the only section which we actually needed the rope, rather than in artificial circumstances, which I took as a major indication of his trust in my ability.
Over the next three days we undertook the ‘expedition’ – a three-day, two-night trip with wild camps both nights. On the first day, we took in Snowdon via the Ranger path before dropping down into Cwm Tregalan for the camp. Once the sun had set, we set out on the night-navigation element of the assessment. This is the part which candidates are often most nervous for, however the is the component which I spent the most time practicing and so it went very smoothly. We did have perfect conditions for it, with 50m visibility, so there were no real excuses! On the second day we looped around towards Moel Siabod before cutting back to Pen y Pas and camping in Cwm Glas. The second round of night-navigation went just as well and at this point I was confident that the week had gone well. I spent the night camped on a little island in Llyn Glas, but woke to the stepping-stones completely submerged after a night of heavy rain! The final day was short and sweet and we made it back down to Llanberis for a big fry up in Pete’s Eats by midday.
All in all, I was really pleased with how the week went, and delighted that I passed the assessment. Thank you so much again for all the support, it’s really appreciated!
Organisers of the Jack Bloor Races are delighted to announce continued support from three generous local businesses in Ilkley.
Please give them your support. Thank you.
Terry Lonergan of Complete Runner is a long-standing sponsor of the Jack Bloor Races and has been a generous donor to the Jack Bloor Fund. Complete Runner is a specialist running shop on Leeds Road in Ilkley with online trading at http://www.completerunner.co.uk
Outside the Box will be supporting our Junior Races. This is Ilkley’s incredibly popular and successful community café. Outside the Box has recently relocated to new premises in the Victorian Arcade accessed from South Hawksworth Street near Ilkley’s central carpark. More details at http://www.outsidetheboxcafe.com
The Flying Duck Pub will be sponsoring our Senior Race. The Flying Duck is a traditional Yorkshire Dales real ale and fine wine bar situated close to the centre of Ilkley. Located in one of Ilkley’s oldest premises the atmospheric pub can be found on Church Street a short distance west of the central A65 traffic lights. This Grade II listed building is also home to the Wharfedale Brewery that supplies pubs the length of the dale. Further details at http://www.flyingduck.org.uk and http://www.wharfedalebrewery.com
Junior age categories based on age on 31st December 2022
Senior age categories based on age on day of race (including for U23)
Parental consent is required for all U18s including those in the Senior Race
This is a navigational fell race consequently the use of any electronic device to aid route finding is prohibited
In view of daylight runners should be capable of completing the course within 100 minutes. If necessary, Checkpoint 3 (Cowper’s Cross) is a suitable point from which to retire with an easy descent north down Keighley Gate track to Wells Road and Race HQ.
All senior competitors and consenting parents or legal guardians of junior competitors must read and comply with:
12 lucky winners will receive one of these unique trophies at the 2022 Senior Race.
This years trophy is called the Broken Pitchfork, which can be found east of the Badger Stone (which is checkpoint one, so keep your 👀 open in the race), grid reference 1150 4604
The Small Trophies have been presented at the Jack Bloor Races since 1985. Pat Bloor initiated the idea of using a rock carving from Ilkley Moor for the overall winners trophies and for the small trophies, which have become a unique feature of the race.
Every year we select a different stone carving and produce a small trophy which is presented to each class leader to keep.
Thanks to James Fonquernie for making the trophies every year since 2007.
Thank you so much for the very generous Jack Bloor award towards my costs to attend the British Championships in Germany, I really appreciate it. That’s such a nice surprise to come home to. I am a member of the British Biathlon Development Squad, with ambitions of being part of the Junior Squad so l can train and work towards a place in the team for the Olympics 2030. I train at the Brownlee Centre in Leeds with my coach Martin Roscoe.
The British Championships were unfortunately cancelled due to covid, (the website is www.awsa.org.uk). However we did compete in a local race instead. I got a podium finish in 3rd place in my first race. It was a 8.8km race consisting of 8 times round a 1.1km lap. Thankfully I got my breath back on the downhill parts. We also did a time trial race the day after where I finished in 2nd place which I was really pleased with.
The event took place in a small town in southern Germany called Ruhpolding. I trained on the World Cup biathlon track, which is called the Chiemgau Arena. It was great to see some biathletes who are heading out to the 2022 Olympics.
I have attached a picture of me on the podium and a few other photos which may be of interest.
After a mixed bag of results in 2021 I was pleased to be selected for Euromeeting. I think the lack of quality competition throughout 2020 and early 2021 affected everyone differently but I certainly lost some consistency in my performances. Euromeeting is a competition that is typically held two years before the world championships in the host country. It provides an opportunity to race in relevant terrain and to experience some high-quality international competition. Great Britain took a large team consisting of some experienced seniors and some older juniors who had been unable to race at the Junior World Champs in red-listed Turkey.
Despite some apprehension my flight departed without a hiccup. Upon arrival I fumbled with entry forms and proof of vaccination but to my relief I was briskly ushered through security and into Switzerland. The train journey from Geneva airport to Brig is beautiful. Starved of international travel, I made my way to the top tier of the train and found a large window from which to admire views across Lake Geneva and toward snowcapped alpine peaks. I also marveled at the locals who seamlessly transitioned from speaking French to Swiss German at some undefined point along the journey. When I reached the small valley-bottom town of Mörel I boarded a gondola which took me up the mountain slopes to the picturesque ski village of Riederalp. After finding our chalet accommodation, I went for a jog to stretch my legs and to check out the model map. After navigating to a few controls, I headed up to the closest peak the Riederhorn. I caught my breath in the still mountain air and watched as the sunset bathed the surrounding peaks in a pink glow. With only a solitary pair of Chamois for company I looked across to the Matterhorn in one direction and the Aletsch glacier in the other. Only the gathering darkness forced me back to our accommodation where I prepared my kit for Saturdays middle distance race.
After a 4km jog to the event centre in Bettmeralp I enjoyed the unique chair-lift approach to the starting area. On the ride up the hill we were able to look down on competitors zig zagging across the open ski-slopes and diving into pockets of dense woodland. Despite the high starting point our course still had over 300 meters climb in 5km. At over 2000m altitude I knew this would be a physically demanding course. I began cautiously and took my time to identify the obvious features and take the safest route choices. With this careful approach I managed to stay mistake free until I got caught on the wrong side of a large crag in the steep forest loop, I realized what had happened quickly and didn’t lose too much time here. The final few controls took us out of the forest and across the hillside to the finish. It was the most physically demanding section of the course and in my haste to avoid any extra meters of climb I contoured a little too much and had to fight through some thick dark green vegetation costing me another few seconds. Despite the two small lapses in concentration, I was pleased with my performance on a new and challenging terrain. The results list was tightly packed in the men’s race with only 6 minutes separating the top 60 runners. Most of the British runners packed tightly with 7 runners in a two-minute window from Pete Molloy in 61st place down to me in 77th. Hector Haines was the best male performer of the day in 25th and Grace Molloy the top female in 20th for Great Britain.
Sunday’s long-distance race was held high above the village of Bettmeralp with most of the race taking place on a complex rocky ridge over-looking the Aletsch Glacier. With rain forecast we had discussed the possibility of cloud making navigation tricky. The day started bright but as I waited to race, cloud descended and soon visibility was reduced to just a few meters. The cloud failed to lift for the duration of my race, but I loved every minute. The grassy alpine meadows between the rock and contour formations typically make for rapid running. However, with reduced visibility I had to maintain contact with the map at all times, moving from feature to feature. No sooner had I crossed the finished line, than the cloud began to clear and before long the entire area was cloud free. I knew this would spoil any chance of a top result but despite that I had loved my run and was pleased to make the top 50, finishing in 49th place. I’d like to think I ran one of the fastest times amongst the athletes who ran during the total cloud cover! I then headed back to our accommodation where I ate and packed up before heading to the Gondola and beginning my long journey home.
I had such a wonderful weekend and have rekindled the fire and desire to compete on the international stage. I was pleased with two stable performances and solid results in a stacked field. I will now look ahead to my next goal; the European Champs being held in Estonia in 2022. I would like to thank the Jack Bloor fund for providing financial support which made this trip possible.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge everything the Jack Bloor Fund has done for me since 2010. As I reach the end of 25 years of Jack Bloor Fund eligibility, I have taken some time to reflect (and dive into the fund archive) on all the wonderful trips that have defined my youth. Beginning with the Lagganlia training camp in 2010, aged 14, and ending in 2021 with Euromeeting, the Jack Bloor Fund has supported me for 11 years with a total of 8 grants for 7 international races and 1 training camp. The competitions included World Schools, European Youths, Junior European Cups, Junior Worlds, the World University Championships and Euromeeting. I have travelled to Italy, France, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland and Finland. The friends I have made are still my best mates at home and abroad and the memories are some of my fondest. It has not always been a smooth ride with several post-race reports detailing navigational errors and disappointing performances, however Jack Bloor’s support has been constant. These competitions have taught me resilience and instilled in me a desire to try hard in all aspects of my life. I cannot begin to express my gratitude to the trustees and to Jack himself. I will always endeavor to make it back home for the annual race (and to one day win it!) and hope to support the fund and Yorkshire’s next generation of outdoor enthusiasts when I finally finish studying and get a job! It has been such a privilege. Thank you.
Lagganlia 2010, World Schools 2011, EYOC 2012, World Schools 2013, JEC 2016, JWOC 2016, WUOC 2018, Euromeeting 2021. Top performances: 2 x 4th Place at the World Schools champs. 16th Long Distance, 21st Sprint at the European Youth Champs, 7th in the Relay at the World University Champs.
The view from team GB accommodation!The training area, Riederalp and the Aletsch Glacier11 years of competition, supported by the Jack Bloor Fund!
The main focus of our expedition was to explore the High Atlas regions, set new routes and develop our personal climbing skills. This included learning and practicing basic mountaineering techniques, such as moving together, rope skills and mountain safety. In the later part of the expedition, we focused on climbing big walls (steep and over 300m per route). This was new to most of us, having mostly climbed UK based routes. This provided a great opportunity for big wall skills, such as hauling gear, making safe hanging belays and also learning to pace routes and exercise stamina.
Between climbing, we developed personal survival and medical skills to ensure safe living whilst moving around the mountains. We aimed to wild camp as much as possible and stayed at hostels or mountain huts in between. When climbing Toubkal and Angour, we stayed at the mountain refuges. These are owned by the Club Alpin Francais, with whom we agreed to climb with whilst staying in Oukaimeden. This was very beneficial to skill development, as one member of the team was a professional mountain guide.
Overall, the trip aimed to improve our independence and confidence whilst mountaineering, but also our ability to overcome issues whilst living in country. We developed personal resilience, problem solving and greater teamwork skills.
Locations
We started our trip in Marrakech for one night before moving into the mountains to a small village located high in the Atlas Range. This was called Oukaimeden and had limited infrastructure. The people living there are of Berber descent and reside in small wooden and stone huts, living a subsistence agricultural existence. Whilst here, we camped outside some villager’s homes and brought food from Marrakech to sustain us for the period that we were staying there. We used water purification tablets to access clean water. The mountains climbed here were Angour (3600m), Mount Oukiameden and a longer trek over several peaks that covered 25km. During our time here, we covered over 300km of terrain on foot.
After our week here, we moved location to a town called Imlil. Living here was less intense in terms of daily living, with us spending the week in a lodge due to camping restrictions. Whilst here, we named and cleaned new routes for sport climbing in the local gorge and spent two days climbing Mount Toubkal at 4200m in altitude. The mountaineering here was easier than in Oukiameden but did provide is with the experience of being at a substantial altitude.
Our final destination was located 6 hours from Marrakech in the middle Atlas Mountains. Our transport was through negotiation with local drivers and mule owners. Taghia was the small village located in this region. We stayed here for a week with a local family. Access to the village is a two hour walk on foot using mules to carry equipment. Here, we worked on big wall climbing and also went canyoning with the son of the family we were staying with.
Climbs and Mountaineering
A significant portion of our trip was spent mountaineering- climbing large peaks with sustained but less technical scrambles and climbs. The remainder was spent big wall climbing, which was more technical but for shorter durations.
Notable peaks were Toubkal and Angour- both around 4000m in altitude. Here we experienced mixed levels of altitude sickness, changes to conditions and weather, navigational challenges and a greater requirement on fitness and stamina. We covered large distances over around 12-13 hours of climbing a day. In between these large peaks, we did some local bouldering and also traditional climbing on some of the smaller cliff faces. We established new routes here which have been logged for future expeditions.
Angour summit . 3616m.Some of the routes we documented in Imlil.
Big wall climbs were all located in the Taghia region. As a team, we attempted three long routes- 6a+ and 6b in grade. This was a great new experience for all of us, and after experiencing initial nerves, we all managed to top out on at least one route.
100m up on Le Reve d’Aicha, 6a+.
Guidebook topo for Le Reve d’Aicha, 6a+.
We feel this greatly enhanced our rope work skills and ability to remain safe, especially through the intimidating heights of big wall cliffs. We even encountered a snake part way up one route! More routes would have been attempted in this region had the team not experienced bouts of Campylobacter and issues with dog bites and rabies scares! However, this was an overall very positive experience and fantasticfor skills development.
Incidents
Whilst the overall trip was successful and all aims were achieved, we did encounter some issues and incidents that required attention. Meeting a rattlesnake halfway up a route required safe assessment of risk- the options were to abseil over 200m or try to work around the route to avoid it. We concluded that due to heat and time; the safest option was to continue.
We also all experienced bouts of gastrointestinal illness at various times. This was mostly overcome through rest and fluids, but two members did require antibiotics, tapping into the supply that we brought with us. This was all assessed as a risk and therefore expected and accepted.
Of course the medic had the first injury!
Whilst walking into a climb, we also encountered a dog who became overly playful and bit and scratched two team members. One member had received two rabies vaccines so decided to remain in Taghia, whilst the other travelled back to Marrakech to receive PEP. Here, he was also placed on a drip as treatment for dehydration from Campylobacter and given antibiotics. He did not return to Taghia due to the time it takes to reach the mountain village.
Culture
Some of the key experiences within the expedition were those gained through cultural immersion with the Berber people. The contrasting livelihoods to those in the UK showed clearly that there are different ways to live your life- and still be happy, if not happier. Modern infrastructure was limited, especially in Taghia, yet this did not seem to reduce quality of life. If anything, greater emphasis and reliance was placed on community and networks of people that enabled survival.
Haggling – who would win: Cambridge economist or Jemaa el Fna hawker?
Through sharing of resources, skills and time, the Berber people created systems that allowed for greater equality and ensured that individual suffering was limited. With limited technology, poor privacy within the home and low security, the mountain village appeared to forge greater friendships and had enhanced communication between people, when compared to that of UK. Friendships were also more diverse and intergenerational- it was rare to see a child alone or excluded, and this seemed to carry into adulthood. Children also seemed to be more lively, animated, and interested in their surroundings and in other people. Without research one could not be sure, but mental health appeared to be much better in these communities.
Of course, issues did exist, and this way of life is not perfect. Disease due to poor sanitation was more prevalent and would spread more easily due to the social nature of these communities. Housing quality was also poor in some places, and we could imagine that winters would be hard and encounter some losses from health issues. Diversity within nutrition was also limited and this would impact ability to overcome health issues. However, as a whole the communities seemed to be thriving in many aspects such fitness, ability to overcome adverse situations, resilience, and an overall sense of belonging.
In conclusion, a major lesson learnt on the expedition was that community and increased social belonging seemed to improve the overall happiness and mental well-being of residents. Material wealth didn’t hold as much weight here when compared to these aspects of life. We believe this is a lesson that could also carry importance in our lives back in the UK.
Acknowledgements
Thanks must go to Cambridge University Expeditions Committee and the Expedition Society for their approval and support throughout the planning process. Also to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge for provision of grants to Eve Seymour- entirely enabling her access to this expedition.
Other thanks go to grants from the RDC to Joe McDermott and Gabriel Gentile, who also enabled their attendance on this expedition. Further grants were given from the British Mountaineering Council and the Jack Bloor Fund. We greatly thank you for this support.
Finally, thank you to our families at home for the encouragement, support and uk based assistance.
Initially supposed to take place in Stockholm, the tour was a weeklong orienteering camp aimed to give MW17/18 year olds experience on quality terrain, with highly experienced coaches. The week started with the beautiful sand dune areas of Roseisle and Culbin. Both had complex contours (something I really enjoyed). The focus for these days was on direction and picturing, with some head to head races. Keeping on compass was sometimes difficult, especially with the vast amounts of cobwebs in between trees.
Throughout the first few days, we also had the opportunity to organise an event for other age-group tours and local clubs. This was a great chance to learn how to use orienteering planning software, as well as understanding how much goes on behind the running of an event.
Mid-week, we drove quite a way to Glen Affric. The area was used for the Orienteering World Championship in 2015, so I knew it was going to be an excellent area. The focus was on long legs and how to break them up into more manageable chunks. It was really tough underfoot, but I’d not really experienced anything like it so really enjoyed it. The start was very remote, requiring kayaks and a decent walk to get to.
As we neared the second half of the week, we began to focus more on racing, using the skills we had built up over the first few days. The middle distance race was on an area called Darnaway. The course and area were amazing (probably my favourite of the week), although I did make a fairly large mistake. In the evenings of races we did some race analysis.
Next was the sprint race in Forres. The course we ran was an adaptation of the World Championships course. This made it all the more fun, getting to compare yourself to the very best. We also got to do a night mass start race, which was the highlight of the week for me. We returned to Roseisle meaning it was very quick, and the layout of the race meant those who were behind could skip controls, keeping everyone in contention the whole time.
Aside from the racing, the social side of the camp was also great. To balance out all the running, we also had free time for the beach, river jumping and kayaking. It was nice to meet and get to know other juniors of similar ability.
So, even though the training camp had to be moved to Scotland due to COVID, the tour was still an unforgettable week, with amazing areas, races and people.
Jack Bloor Race & Fund 