York Alpine Club

Orienteering
According to the British Orienteering Federation, "Orienteering is a challenging outdoor adventure sport that exercises both the mind and the body. The aim is to navigate in sequence between control points marked on a unique orienteering map and decide the best route to complete the course in the quickest time. It does not matter how young, old or fit you are, as you can run, walk or jog the course and progress at your own pace".

According to Rob, "Orienteering is a chance to run around getting all muddy and lost in the woods without being told off by your mum".

Several club members are also active orienteers, if you fancy giving it a go then you'll usually find someone to go along with and tell you what to do. For a list of forthcoming events, see the BOF fixtures list, or for a list limited to local events, Eborienteers.

Mountain Marathons
A bit like orienteering, but on a much bigger scale! Most mountain marathons involve two days in the hills, doing a long orienteering course each day and carrying tent, camping gear, and food for Saturday night. Don't be put off by the word 'marathon', although the Elite course are the same sort of length as a traditional marathon (on each day - together with several thousand feet of ascent and descent!), most events have several classes, usually including categories for novices and walkers. Running up hills and sleeping in a tent barely enough to fit one person in let alone two, are strictly optional!

The main events

Mountain Biking

There is a Mountain Bike Ride every Saturday morning, the venue is normally decided on the preceeding Saturday. These are cross country rides taking anything from 4 to 6 hours. They are not particularly technical, but a helmet is mandatory, and are not recommended for novices! Arrangements are usually made via an email list, contact Mike if you want to be added.

During the summer, there are Thursday evening rides meeting lasting 2-3 hours. There are generally fewer broken bones on these rides and they are normally suitable for novices.

Also, the YAC monthly trip meet usually includes a ride.

For more details about any of these, contact Andrew or Peter.

January	Dark Mountains	Overnight, in the middle of winter. Enough said.
April	The Highlander	Somewhere up near Inverness. Unusual in that at the overnight camp, instead of huddling in a tent eating dehydrated substances, there's a Ceilidh with food provided! Be prepared for foul weather, but it's usually sunny.
May	GL3D	Three long days, traditionally one of the hardest events of the year, but shorter options are now available
June	LAMM	"The connoisseur's mountain marathon". Somewhere in the Scottish Highlands.
July	Saunders	In the Lake District every year. Beer can be bought at the mid camp.
August	Marmot 24	New for 2014, a non-stop 24 hour event. 12 hour option available.
early September	Mourne	I don't know much about this other than it's in Northern Ireland!
late September	RAB	All classes are 'score' courses, ie you have a fixed time to visit as many checkpoints as possible.
end of October	OMM	The Original Mountain Marathon. 40 years old and still going strong despite the media hyperbole in 2008. A mixture of line and score courses.