Back in the saddle

So, it's been a long hiatus away from writing on here, but things are now settling down to the point where I can devote some energy to this blog again. I've got a few great adventures in the pipeline to write up, as well as a few more that are still in the planning stage, so its going to be a fun year.

In the meantime though, I can strongly reccomend popping over to  Cyclist No. 1 to read the article about our trip mountain biking in Torridon last year. I may be biased because I wrote the article (and took the photos), but it's a fun write up of a really epic trip.

More to come soon, but here's a few photos to whet your appetite..

Tumbleweed...

Been a bit quiet around here of late, I know. The main reason for that is the arrival this year of our son. This has led to me taking a little time off work, but things are getting moving again.

Recently we had a great few days in Torridon, epic scenery all around!

Anglesey sea kayaking

Just had a great weekend attempting to circumnavigate Anglesey in a sea kayak.

The trip was great fun, even though we didn't manage the full loop. We started from Beaumaris to get the tide through the Menai Straits - nice and calm to start with..



Obligatory 'before' shot..



Quick stop for a snack at the other end of the Straits..



Then I had to put the camera away because we had some serious distance to cover. 10 hours of paddling later, we got to our bivvy stop, on some cliffs just over halfway round - 38 nautical miles from the start (just over 40 miles)..



Zee boats..



Lots of rugged coastline, including some mad tidal races. At one point we hit a patch of huge standing waves, just breaking on themselves in the middle of the ocean... Scary Mary! One of the other lads had a waterproof camera, so hopefully he'll have some decent 'action' shots - my camera unfortunately spent most of it's time in a dry bag..



Waking on the second day, we realised the weather had turned against us a bit, and due to a slight error in our tidal calculations, we would be fighting the flow for the first few hours.. (nothing to do with staying up too late drinking whisky on top of a cliff and missing our planned early start...oh no). The other lads (joined by a mate from Anglesey for the day) decided to have a crack anyway, but I decided discretion was the better part of valour (I was feeling rather beat up from the first day's exertions, but these guys have paddled across to France for the weekend before, so they're made of sterner stuff).

I shuttled the van to the other side of the island and went out along the coast to do some kayak fishing, but the waves had picked up too much to get the kit out without losing everything (and probably going for a swim) so I called it a day - just in time to meet the rest of the group who had also decided to pull out after battling the flow for 15 miles or so..  So the circumnavigation is not yet done, but we managed about 3/4s of the island in total. We'll just have to go back for another bash..



All images hosted by Flickr.com

Rock climbing and Via Ferrata in the Italian Dolomites

We recently spent two weeks rock climbing and playing on the via ferrata in the Italian Dolomites. While it is very easy to fly, we were taking a fair bit of kit, so opted to get the ferry and drive down over the course of two days. This also let us pop in to see some friends in Bavaria on the way home.

We stayed at Camping Olympia, just north of Cortina d’Ampezzo. The campsite is decent enough, and very well positioned for a wide range of mountain areas, with several via ferrata accessible by foot from the campsite itself.

Although some protected paths pre-date the First World War (being used to ease access to some of the higher climbing areas in the range) it was during and following the war that the iron ways became widely used. Many of the routes now equipped for sport started out as a means for troops to access precarious observation posts, and relics of barbed wire, trenches and dugouts are a regular feature of the mountain scenery even today. The other main relic of those terrible years is the large number of tunnels that remain, some dug through entire mountains (such as those in Kleine Lagazuoi, which can be navigated in their entirety from top to bottom even today).

The modern day Alpine Troops still train to navigate and fight at altitude, and they are responsible for building several very well equipped via ferrata in recent years.



The Dolomites of course are also home to some classic rock climbing, with perhaps one of the most recognisable massifs in the European alps, the mighty Tres Cime.



With a fair network of cable cars and ski-lifts that run during the summer months for the benefit of walkers and climbers, it is very easy to get up to proper altitude. Revealing stunning views in every direction



The via ferrata themselves obviously lend themselves to drama, with a great combination of stunning exposure, and (mostly) excellent protection.



The routes vary and are graded to reflect their differing nature. On the harder routes however you will find a combination of wire protection, stemples (large metal staples used as steps), wire bridges and ladders.



The Dolomites, as with most alpine areas, do have their greener side, with some very beautiful green meadows marking the lower slopes. In the background though, the peaks are never far away.



A full gallery of photos is available here in my Photoshelter archive. These images are all available for use on a rights managed basis (just choose add to basket for a quote), and I also work to commission if you have a specific project in mind.

Bristol Bikefest 2010

This month saw the 2010 Bristol Bikefest (http://bike-fest.com/). This is a two day event in the UK MTB calendar that gives mountain bikers of all abilities the chance to race around some of the excellent singletrack around Ashton Court just outside the city.

Although I’ve raced in the 12 hours singlespeed solo in previous years, this year at the last moment a friend had to drop out of a team place, so I stepped in to race as part of a four man team on the Saturday. After a few laps of the short but brutal course I was quite happy not to be facing another ten hours alone on a fully rigid mountain bike. Racing as one of four was still demanding, but much more sociable than going it alone.

As I’ve always been a rather better photographer than racer, I’m more than happy with our team result of 98th (closer to the bottom of our category than the top), but it was good to see some friends from the Welsh mountain bike scene taking some of the top honours, such as endurance specialist Dave Buchanan (http://www.davebuchanan.co.uk/) taking 3rd in the 12 hour solo event, despite riding with a nasty chest infection, and Mark and Andrew from the Bike Mechanic team (http://www.thebikemechanic.co.uk/) taking top spot in the singlespeed pairs. Sunday’s race equally saw a good fight from the Welsh contingent, with Jo and Kate taking top spot in the female pairs. Rich and Dom from the Bikeshed Wales (http://www.bikeshedwales.com/) team sadly lost out on a podium place following a protracted puncture problem.

As usual for the Bikefest I spent Sunday wandering around taking a few photos, although not as many as previous years. I like the challenge of creating innovative images at an event like this, although it can be hard to break the mould.



On that note I spotted that the event photographers this year were not only using a tripod mounted camera with remote release (as in previous years) but they had actually invested in a light beam trigger, ensuring identical shots of every single rider to pass their position... I’m sure it’s very efficient for their purposes, but seems to have more in common with photocopying than photography!



A few more photos of the event (along with a lot of other mountain biking pictures) are available here (http://mcope.photoshelter.com/gallery/MTB-inc-Bikefest-2010/G0000Lhnoa1rgxIE) in my Photoshelter archive. These images are all available for personal use downloads, or commercial use on a rights managed basis - and I also work to commission if you have a specific project in mind. You can see more of my work or contact me through my adventure sports photography website mattcope.co.uk

Scilly kayaking in the sea Isles

Around 30 miles off the tip of Lands End, the Scilly Isles are a strange cross between the outer Hebrides, and the English home counties. The islands have a rugged look to them, huddled together against the forces of the Atlantic, but when you get closer you see cricket pitches, delicate wild flowers and pubs serving St Austell’s excellent ales.



Before travelling to the islands by ferry we arranged hire of a double sea kayak through the guys at Kayak Scilly. Our plan was to spend the first and last day or so on St Mary’s (the most populated island, and home to the ferry from the mainland) and to spend the rest of the week paddling from island to island, camping as we went.



Everything went to plan with a pleasant few hours aboard the Scillonian III from Penzance seeing us landed on the dockside at St Mary’s (don’t ask what happened to the Scillonian I and II – this is shipwreck country). After picking up the boat (a nice modern Perception double) and some other bits of kit, we headed out up the coast of St Mary’s to Bar Point. From this northerly patch of coast it was just a short crossing to St Martin’s, the first of the ‘off islands’ in the archipelago.



From St Martin’s we headed out to the ‘Eastern Islands’, a string of rocks and islets now completely uninhabited by man. As the islands are now devoid of human activity they are a haven for seabirds (as are many of the rocks around Scilly) but also for Atlantic Fur Seals which popped up in force to investigate our kayak, and who followed us around for an hour or so while we explored the islands.



Next on our itinerary was paddling around the northern side of Tresco, to the campsite on Bryher (Tresco is the only inhabited island without a campsite, and wild camping is not allowed anywhere on the Scillys). Once we had dropped the kit off on Bryher, we paddled off for an explore of the Norrad Rocks, and also to Tresco itself which boasts a very impressive sub-tropical garden, including all sorts of exotic plants and sculptures.



The next leg of our explorations took us down to St Agnes. This is the longest open water crossing required when paddling round the islands, and is the most exposed to the tide and weather. So much so that we ended up staying an extra day on St Agnes until the sea was calm enough to make the return journey. As it happens, St Agnes is home to a farm that makes its own excellent ice cream, and the Turk’s Head pub, so it’s not too much of a hardship to be marooned there for a short while.



With the final leg completed, and an excellent meal at the Boat Shed we returned to Penzance the same way we had come. One day I quite fancy paddling there from Lands End (you can just see it on a clear day) but I think that will have to wait until I’m a bit fitter.



A full gallery of photos is available here in my Photoshelter archive. These images are all available for use on a rights managed basis, and I also work to commission if you have a specific project in mind. Check out mattcope.co.uk for contact details and more information about the type of adventure photography I specialise in.

Upcoming events..

Got a busy few weeks coming up. A friend's wedding next weekend (leaving the camera at home for this one), then It's off to the Scilly Isles sea kayaking for a week. The weather is looking good, so we should get some good shots..

After that it's back to mountain biking for a while. Dave Buchanan is repeating his Welsh offroad end to end, but this time doubling it up to go there and back! Madness for sure, but gives more me more time to document the challenge.. Should be doing a few promo shots for Dave over the next couple of weeks as well..




A few weeks after all that, it's off to the Dolomites for a couple of weeks. Looking forward to shooting some crazy via Ferrara, should be stunning!

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Children and bubbles

I've been taking quite a few iPhone photos recently. While the quailty of the files is pretty shocking, the ability to apply processing effects in the phone more than makes up for it.. The shot of the Gower below was an iPhone snap, and so is this shot of my niece blowing huge bubbles..



..and this one of the kids 'in' the bubbles..



It may be a crappy phone camera, but it's fun!

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Ash clouds and weddings

It's been a busy few weeks. First our planned climbing trip to Spain got scuppered by the ash, leading to a week split between the Gower (pictured) and north Devon. Then it was back to north Devon a week later to shoot the fabulous wedding of our friends Ollie and Clare, joined by loads of friends from university days, it was a great bash!





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