Fundraising tool almost ready

Over the holiday period (and to make myself feel less guilty about the lack of physical exercise) I've been constructing a papier-mâché Pen-y-Ghent which will sit on my desk at work collecting small change from now(ish) until the big day.

The shape and profile of the finished article will not stand up to a detailed scrutiny against the real thing (I know this because I've deviated from the OS version of things!) but if it raises £50 it will have done its job. Before my (artistic) brother adds the final (and perhaps most crucial finishing touch - the paint) here's a picture to whet the appetite :-)

South Downs Training

Over the holiday period James visited the South Downs (home of Oxfam's Trailwalker event - Trailtrekker's older yet less rugged sister!).

James reported that the terrain was "barely a string of mole hills" which probably makes sense of the awe in which Pen-y-Ghent seems to be regarded by the event organisers.

Anyway, enough of my babbling, here are some pics (including one of James).

Getting ready for the new year

I thought it was about time for an update.

The team's training has yet to gain momentum (or start!) but with the new year will come renewed fundraising enthusiasm and the mad panic to get fit.

The company's involvement in trailtrekker has been receiving good coverage in the local press - the Yorkshire Post to be precise. Follow the below link for a video of one of our teams promoting the event (and walking round in the driving rain)

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/video.aspx?VideoPath=YPOS/0089%20trailtrekker%20bin.01512k_stream.wmv&VideoID=29742&ArticleID=4824035

The Yorkshire Post have a designated trailtrekker area at the following link: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/custompages/CustomPage.aspx?pageID=76758

The Q Team are yet to feature but once the YP find the media gold that we can provide you won't get us off the front page :-)

On a creative front the office may soon be graced by a Papier-mâché Pen-y-ghent masquerading as a money box. If it's rubbish I can blame my daughter, if it's good I'll take all the plaudits.

More to follow in 2009 with hopefully more evidence of extreme training.

Route (version 1.0)

No sooner had I scribbled a route down than Oxfam release the more detailed version. I don't think I did a bad job!

• 'High level' route


• More detailed route

New logo/t-shirt design unveiled

The posts keep coming thick and fast! One of the team members, Ady Stokes, has put together a fantastic design which will probably make its way onto our team t-shirts. Also included in the post is the orginal 'walking boots' design that you will no doubt recognise from our justgiving site.

Ady's design helps to introduce our team - Adrian Stokes, James Robertson, Richard Smethurst and myself.

Route (draft, version 0.1)

As we prepare for our first proper training session I thought it might be worthwhile mapping out in more detail the route. For a rough (but official) guide visit the route on the Oxfam site.

My attempt is fairly crude but I hope in places it is more accurate (when it comes to following footpaths). You might even be able to make out the contours, but on second thoughts it's maybe not a good idea to focus on these.

In simple terms the route goes from Skipton along the canal to join the Pennine Way. We follow the Pennine Way up to Malham and then over to Fountains Fell and Pen-y-ghent. When the Pennine Way meets the Dalesway we follow the Dalesway and (eventually) return to Skipton down Wharfedale. Sounds simple really!

When the more detailed and official route is available I'll post a link on this site. In the meantime don't use this map for serious navigation - you'll only end up in a bog or falling off a cliff.

Ribblehead

This is more an excuse to show pictures of the beautiful Dales covered in snow rather than any pretence of training. I don't think a one mile crawl at snail's pace with the kids counts as serious training.

The serious stuff starts next weekend hopefully.

Pics show Ribblehead Viaduct, The Walking Party, and Ingleborough in the distance