French Vercor Caving

Expedition 2008

Dates
Course starts 9am 16th August 2008
Closes evening of 23rd August 2008
Depart accommodation morning 24th 2008

Cost: £400 per person

Who is it for?
This trip is aimed at people already proficient in vertical caving, who have undertaken a good few classic SRT trips in the UK.
Essentially they need to be totally self sufficient in personal S.R.T. and be able to work as a team transporting rigging tackle undergound. Ideally they should also have a working knowledge of rigging and have simple SRT rescue skills.
If people feel that they would like a little refresher training in SRT rigging or SRT rescue, they should just get in touch as we can arrange this for you at reduced rates for expedition members.

What is it?
This is an exciting introduction to classic French caving.
Six days of caving focused more on expedition skills, teamwork and getting lots and lots of caving done, rather than a formalized skill based course.
It’s not only an ideal starter for people wanting to get into some fantastic foreign caves with expert advice nearby, but suitable for cavers looking to cave abroad with friendly, like minded people.

Where is it?
The Vercors is an amazing French Karst massif, south of Grenoble.
It is one of the finest areas in Europe to get a feel for Alpine style caving.
Don’t be put off by ideas of multi day epics tackling deep holes at remote locations; the Vercors also has a range of varied day trips. From roadside pots, to multi day trips in mountain locations; it has it all.
The area is covered with forest gorges and idyllic villages giving lots of other recreational opportunities if you decide have rest days.
Many of the best quality trips can be done in a “long caving day” with perhaps 4 to 10 hours underground, leaving time for a celebratory drink in the bar afterwards.

Prior to the expedition, a 2-day familiarisation and training session will be offered in the Yorkshire Dales. This will be a chance to meet expedition members, polish skills on a few trips underground and finalize the trip details. This will be arranged to fit into people busy schedules.

More infomation here (Vercors Flyer PDF 120k)

Who you will be caving with:

Headed up by Nigel Ball C.I.C.
Nigel’s caving experience is vast, with 35 years of technical caving, 15 seasons caving in the Vercors. Nigel is a qualified Cave Instructor Trainer and Assessor and currently the chair of the C.I.C. Panel.
His experience will allow you to choose suitable trips.

Adam Evans C.I.C.
Adam is one of the UK’s most active cave instructors, providing courses and expertise nationally and internationally. He’s a member of the Local cave mine leader panel for Derbyshire. He’s also advised exploratory trips in Jordan with the British Institute for Archeology, trained the Police Search and Rescue Unit for Northern Ireland in cave skills and runs a web based business, found at www.OutdoorInstruction.co.uk

What’s included
1) French Gite’ Style Accommodation
2) Group Equipment i.e. ropes anchors etc (we are taking over 1000m of rope)
3) Guide books and surveys
4) On hand expert advice and instruction.

What’s not included
1) Personal cave gear SRT. A full kit list that is required is available from Adam. Email: adam@outdoorinstruction.co.uk
2) Travel, as this leaves you the choice of flying, ferries, Chunnel, car hire or sharing the journey to reduce personal travel costs.
3) Insurance: this is essential and available at reasonable rates from http://www.snowcard.co.uk
4) Food. We will be staying in a Gite, leaving us the options of eating out, personal self-catering or group cooking.
This helps people choose their personal costs and eases catering for people with specialist diets.
Booking
To secure your place on the Vercors 2008 trip please complete and return the booking form Caving Booking Form (655k PDF)
found here http://www.outdoorinstruction.co.uk/downloads/
with a deposit of £100.00
The balance will be due 30 days before departure to France.

Climbing Courses:

MLTE “Single Pitch Award”

The Single Pitch Award is a nationally recognised climbing instructor / supervisor award offered by the MLTUK Mountain Leader Training UK.
Course Costs per person: £110 (not including accomodation or food)
Course dates:
Training: 22nd & 23rd March 2008
Training: 5th & 6th April 2008
Assessment: 3rd & 4th May
For information on SPA training and assessments with www.outdoorinstruction.co.uk Email us at info@outdoorinstruction.co.uk or call 07900 927400 or 01433 639242

Multi-pitch skills in Snowdonia

Two nights bed and breakfast with rack and ropes provided.
Personal climbing harness, helmet and boots supplied only with prior arrangment
Instruction by Leon Zablocki M.I.C.
Based on two sharing at the award winning and idyllic “Bryn Elltyd” Eco friendly guest House www.accommodation-snowdonia.com the foot of the Moelwyns.
With turf roofs, saunas, solar panels, pine interior and walks and crags from the door.
Course starts at 19:30 hrs Friday night with an intro to gear and techniques.
Finishes 17:00 hrs Sunday.

Course fees and accommodation for 2 Sharing = £370
Course fees and accommodation for 1 person only = £340

Dates:
7th 8th June 2008
28th 29th June 2008
Other dates can be made by prior arrangement.
For information on Climbing courses with www.outdoorinstruction.co.uk Email us at info@outdoorinstruction.co.uk or call 07900 927400 or 01433 639242

Scrambling for 2 in Snowdonia

Two nights bed and breakfast with all specialist scramble gear provided. Guiding and instruction by Leon Zablocki M.I.C.
Based on two sharing at the award winning and idyllic “Bryn Elltyd” Eco friendly guest House “www.accommodation-snowdonia.com“ at the foot of the Moelwyns.
With turf roofs, saunas, solar panels, pine interior and walks and crags from the door.
Course starts at 19:30 hrs Friday night with an intro to gear and techniques.
Finishes 17:00 hrs Sunday.

Course fees and accommodation for 2 Sharing = £370
Course fees and accommodation for 1 person only = £340

Dates:
19th 20th April 2008
24th 25th May 2008
For information Scrambling courses with www.outdoorinstruction.co.uk Email us at info@outdoorinstruction.co.uk or call 07900 927400 or 01433 639242