December '03 - Ian Parnell - The British Disease

December's shows will include a photo / music montage from around the world by Alex Messenger (editor of Summit Magazine), a similar short by the gnarl master John Arran, video footage of southern chalk antics and an excerpt from their latest offering, 'One Winter', by Slackjaw (makers of Hard Grit), and a short, but inspiring film from the Hotrock Global Challenge. Competitions are currently being sponsored by Snow & Rock to the tune of £600, Rockfax and Uncovered Rock.

Following all this, Ian Parnell, mountaineer, aid climber, photographer and journalist will talk about 'The British Disease'. From sea cliffs to gritstone, bouldering to expeditions, Ian will take his audience on a multi media tour of the British Climbers Year; the fear, the frustration, the run outs and cold bivis alongside the thrills, successes, friendships and summits. Through an innovative mix of stunning photos, inventive film and an eclectic soundtrack this will be an evening celebrating the climbing life.

January '04 - Ben Heason - Walking in a Dangerous Place

1st Half:

January's shows will kick off with a photo / music compilation by gifted, up-and-coming photographer Nick Boden on his recent expedition to Greenland. A short film from Dan Honnyman, with a thumping soundtrack and some incredible falls from grit routes you just shouldn't fall from, a photo / music piece detailing three short stories from the Africa leg of the Hot Rock Global Challenge, and an exclusive 9 minute mini-feature film by Slackjaw will precede the main feature. Competitions will be sponsored by Red Chilli, Beyond Hope, HB, Uncovered Rock and CLIMB ON.

2nd Half:

As a leading protagonist of the current generation of young traditional climbers, gritstone aficionado Ben Heason has helped usher good old British climbing into the new Millennium. An active childhood trekking in the Himalayas and tree climbing in North Wales, naturally developed into an appreciation for adventurous rock climbing. A decade later Ben has left a trail of significant ascents across four continents. Preferring to on-sight bold and technical routes, Ben’s more publicised ascents have naturally been on the holy rock that is “Gritstone”, but there’s a lot more to his story than that…

February '04 - Steve McClure - The Very Big and The Very Small

1st Half:

In February shows will include a 10 minute excerpt from the film Grey Hairs & Gravity by professional American film maker Dave Vaughn, a variety of stunning photographs set to music by Nick Boden, a short film by Mark Reeves (maker of Between The Rain) on last summer's Deep Water Soloing Meet in Dorset, and, in response to feedback received during Ian's December shows, a series of inspiring photographs set to music taken by women (as opposed to taken of women). Competitions will be sponsored by Fat Face (£500 worth of vouchers) and Petzl (10 chalk bags, 10 pocket knives & 30 quickdraw slings), and POD (10 limited edition poster prints).

2nd Half:

Steve McClure will then enlighten listeners on the secret of his success. Steve is one of the strongest and most committed climbers in the UK. Famous for pushing grades into new realms of difficulty he gives an insight into what it takes to succeed at the 9a grade and why the hell anyone would want to go to such extremes. First inspired by the Dawes slate masterpiece 'The Very Big and The Very Small', Steve's focus shifted from trad to the hardest rock routes possible. Having recently packed in his job, Steve discusses how his motivation has moved on from the very small, super hard redpoints in Britain to long onsights in Europe, and more recently to the very big trad walls of Greenland. Steve will use a combination of video, photographs, music, and his own mega-modest commentary to show us how he's got to where he is. His video will include stunning footage from his recent trip to Greenland and one of the world's only films of the first ascent of a F9a (Rainshadow at Malham).