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Last updated: 08 Feb 2010

Adventureworks is on Facebook! (8th Feb)
Adventureworks now has a Facebook page. You can keep up-to-date with all the latest news, as well as keeping in touch with friends on your expedition.

Click here and become a fan!

Pre Expedition Weekends 2010 (8th Feb)
We have started our Winter/ Spring Pre-expedition weekend season with 5 training weekends successfully completed already this year, and many more to come! The weekends have been held at Thornbridge Outdoor Centre in the Peak District or Longtown Outdoor Centre in the Black Mountains.

The weekend itineraries are designed specifically for each expedition but all include team building and a sponsored abseil. Other elements covered are health and hygiene and altitude presentations, expedition fitness, project management tasks, jungle workshops, equipment talks and mini expeditions amongst other things.

Adventureworks Sales and Marketing Coordinator (8th Feb)
Adventureworks is the youth division of Jagged Globe Ltd is the UK’s leading organiser of worldwide mountaineering expeditions, treks and courses. Adventureworks provides high quality educational expeditions for school groups.

We are seeking someone with flair, initiative and determination to be responsible for driving forward and developing our sales strategy.

This is an exciting opportunity for a confident, motivated graduate with experience of sales and marketing. We are looking for someone with enthusiasm and a flair for efficiency and multi-tasking. The post would suit someone with an interest in sports, the outdoors and travel. As well as experience of sales you must be an excellent written and verbal communicator, with good IT knowledge and telephone skills.

Reporting to the Adventureworks Manager, you will be responsible for growing our database of schools contacts, and making appointments with teachers. You will also be required to make presentations to parents and students in schools, as well as attending conferences and workshops nationwide.

The role will require you to edit news reports, write copy for the Adventureworks brochure, website, e-mail news, produce press releases and assist in the development of The Adventureworks Sales and Marketing Strategy.

This is a full-time post based in our Sheffield office. There is the opportunity to take part in overseas expeditions. Salary will be based on experience and abilities on a Scale of £15,000-£21,000.

Applicants are invited to send a CV and letter outlining how their experience relates to the job specification.

For more information email info@adventureworks.co.uk or ring 0845 345 8850.

Closing date for applications Friday 5 March 2010.

Interviews will take place during the week of 22 March 2010.

Adventureworks Bags for Scout Group (25th Jan)
Adventureworks is offering discounted kit bags to the 5th Billericay Scout Group on their trip to Kandersteg, Switzerland this summer. Follow www.5thbillericay.co.uk for more details.

Adventureworks Leaders in East Africa (25th Jan)
Mount Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian (5,199 metres ) Nelion (5,188 metres )and Point Lenana (4,985 metres). The summit of Neilion and Bation can only be reached by technical rock climbing whereas Point Lenana (4,985 metres ) is a fantastic trekking views with amazing views over the plains of Africa and to the other summits. Mount Kenya is located in central Kenya, just south of the equator, around 150 kilometres north-northeast of the capital Nairobi.

Adele Pennington has just returned from her Christmas holidays exploring the summits of Mt Kenya. Her journey took her through magnificent scenery and many changing ecosystems on the Naro Moro route to the Austrian Hut at 4800m. From here she made ascents of Point John, Neilion and Point Lenana before descending down the Sirimon route to the road head.

An ascent of Point Lenana would be an excellent objective for an Adventureworks trekking group, which could be climbed over the Christmas Holidays or in the summer. This together in combination with a community project, a visit to the beach, rafting, chimpanzee orphanage or even a safari would be an excellent expedition and cultural experience for a group of students from year 9 onwards.

Claire's New Year's Eve was spent celebrating at Baranco Camp looking up at the impressive Baranco wall and the beautiful Kibo beyond that.

A few days later the group summited Kilimanjaro - the highest mountain in Africa at 5895m.

Lemosho Glades is a fantastic route up Kilimanjaro starting in the depths of the rainforest, the path works its way through the different vegetation zones traversing around the mountain. The route is one of the less frequented and offers a great acclimatisation profile. A safari, project and time at the beach are also possibilities for Adventureworks groups.

Sheffield Adventure Film Festival 2010 - Youth Adventure Project (25th Jan)
Jagged Globe/Adventureworks is again one of the main sponsors of ShAFF which takes place at The Showroom on March 12-14th 2010. The film line-up is almost complete and will be uploaded to the website within the next few weeks.

This years programme includes the ShAFF Youth Adventure Project.

If you are a young person, parent, teacher or youth worker then check out the link above for more details. The aim of the project is to expand the film festival into schools and community groups, inspiring those who watch to then take part in a series of adventure activity days in The Peak District. It's all thanks to funding from The Peak District National Park Authority.

More details can be found here: www.shaff.co.uk/content/10/youth

Review of Dave Pickford's lecture at Clayesmore School (25th Jan)
Read the review below of a recent motivational Lecture given by Dave Pickford at Claymores School.

For more details, please ring 0845 345 8850 or e-mail info@adventureworks.co.uk.

David Pickford is a photographer and writer. He is also one of Britain’s most accomplished rock climbers. He gave a Sixth Form Lecture, lavishly illustrated with his own photographs and kept his audience spellbound by the energy and enthusiasm of his delivery.

David was tempting fate giving a lecture on “Risk and Uncertainty” on Friday 13th November, and on one of the most blustery nights of the year. But the very fact that he did fitted in with his philosophy. His starting point was the perils of a lack of risk, the danger of certainty, of confidence that nothing would happen, and of complacency. Vertiginous pictures of climbers clinging to impossible faces and overhangs were punctuated by the promotion of the “joy and wonder” of extraordinary experiences and also observations, many philosophical, about how we should approach life. “In half a day trying to do something really difficult (you) can learn more than you would by spending a whole year doing something easy”.

The title of this review comes from a sign which David took a picture of. It does also seem to summarise his own philosophy of the need to challenge risk to gain experience. The words “Risk assessment” did not cross his lips - I don’t believe that was because he did not assess risk but because he saw risk as something to be conquered, not by foolhardiness but by careful planning, absolute concentration and sheer energy. I am sure it will have inspired some of our students to think more about “embracing challenge”, whether on a GAP year or in their future life.

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