On one of the hottest days of the year so far 13 Ellis Brigham staff and colleagues gathered for the Ellis Brigham Spring Ice Climbing Event.

The aim of the day was fun and trying something new and with this is mind the anxious group gathered at noon for some pre-competition warm ups and coaching provided by Brian Molyneux (Liverpool Shop Manager).

The event got under way at 2.00pm with the Beginners / Intermediates Route Climb event. The aim of this event was for competitors to climb a set route in the fastest time possible, additional points were awarded out of ten for style in order to overcome any time disputes at the end.

Simon (Bristol) was to lead the event with a quick time of 1 minute 45 seconds and scored 6 for style. Next up was David (Castlefield) who achieved a time of 2:04 and scored 5.  Mike 'Spiderman' Williamson (Mail Order) did a fast scramble managing to cut his trousers and nearly remove the eye of nearby Brian Molyneux, his scramble earned him a 5 out of 10 and a time of 1:54.  The eventual winner was Brian (Kensington High St) with a time of 1:33.  Not far behind was complete novice Jenni (Marketing Dept) who achieved 5 points in a commendable time of 1:47s.

The Beginners & Intermediates were then sent away to warm up! The 'Advanced' team were then ushered in to be meet by a more technical and demanding course for their Route Specific event.  The course was marked by five boxes rising the length of the wall and approximately 1 metre apart, each competitor began on 20 points and had to keep all parts of the Axe inside these boxes, failure to do so would mean instant deduction of one point for each error.

Key moments in this event were provided by Chris (Liverpool) who made only two errors and finished in 2:57.  Tom (Tower House - London) achieved a record score of 1:45 and finished with 14 points still intact. Other notable moments were provided by Nick (Generation 2 ) who managed the longest climb and Ellen who was the only competing female in a group dominated by Males who finished with 10 points and a respectable time of 4:54.

After a short break the 'Beginners / Intermediates' put their crampons back on for the final opportunity of the day and began the speed event. Simply put this was the quickest time up the Ice Wall's face, anything goes in the quest to get to the top in the quickest time. The Quickest was Brian (Kensington High St) climbing 10 metres in 1:03. Not far behind was Dave with a highly respectable time of 1:07 followed by Simon, Mike and Jenni.

After two energy zapping events the 'beginners/intermediates' went to have a well earned rest and the 'advanced' ice climbers got ready to participate in their Speed Event.  Again the rules went out the window as this group were presented with a challenge to climb the highest point of the ice wall, about 16 metres, in the quickest time.  The wall took a hammering with ice chips flying everywhere as these guys fought their way to the top.  Whilst the standard of all competitors was exceptionally high, special mention should go to Chris (Liverpool) who managed the 16 metres of Ice in 23 seconds.  All competitors climbed the height in less than 1 minute with the majority under 50 seconds - which was quick!  Sadly the record of 17 seconds still remains - better luck next time!

Thanks must go to the individuals who helped organise and run the event - Brian Molyneux, Mark Jacobs & Sam.

MB