Ax les Thermes Mountain Film Festival

The 6th Explos Mountain and Adventure film festival is being held in Ax les Thermes 6th - 12th May at the Casino d'Ax.

The best day looks like Thursday 9th May when the films are all about the Pyrenees. I am looking forward to Traversée des Pyrenees about crossing the chain from sea to ocean........on skis! The film about the Dodtour crossing the Pyrenees also looks great.

The Dodtour was completed by Lionel Daudet and involved him walking, paragliding and canoeing around the extremities of France - along the borders with other countries and the coastline.1 year, 5000km and 1000 summits!!

Here are Daudets photos of his journey along the Pyrenees and the French/Spanish border. 

Ibex (Re)Introduction

The Ibex is a large, stocky member of the goat family. The males are bigger than the females (weighing up to 90 kilos) and are recognisable by their impressive curved horns. 

Ibex

The Ibex is represented in ancient Pyrenean cave art.

Ibex cave painting Niaux Cave, Ariege, Eastern Pyrenees

Images of the Ibex can also be found  in the 14th century Book of the Hunt by Gaston Fébus.

Ibex hunt from the Book of the Hunt - Gaston Fébus (15th Century)

To see the animal for real in the Pyrenees in 2013 is impossible. The animal disappeared from the French side of the chain in 1910 and the Spanish side in 2000. This was in large part due to overhunting althought the final animal in the Spanish Ordesa National Park was killed by a falling tree.

A project does exist to reintroduce this magnificent animal. The French want to start with introducing 20 male and female Ibex in the Haute Pyrenees and as many in the Ariege region with a long term aim of 160 releases along the entire chain over the coming years. The French will buy the animals from Spain where breeding populations exist away from the Pyrenees.

The first phase of the reintroduction programme was meant to take place in the spring of 2013 but unfortunately it is taking longer than planned. Things are being held up by the Spanish Agricultural Minister who has failed to sign the agreement and give the official go ahead. The timing of the first releases have been put back to the autumn.

Whereas the reintroduction of the brown bear has divided the population in the Pyrenees, the return of the Ibex is generally well supported. There have been several successful reintroduction in the Pyrenees in the past including the marmot and mouflon.      

Top 10 John Ruskin Quotes

The Spirit of Adventure Foundation 'Pure Adventure' weekend recently took place at Brantwood House. Brantwood is spectacularly located overlooking Coniston Water with views towards Coniston village and the high fells above including The Old Man of Coniston. 

The View Across Coniston Water From Brantwood.

John Ruskin (1819 - 1900) lived at Brantwood House for the last 27 years of his life. Ruskin was a writer, painter, art critic, social reformer and philanthropist. His writing was hugely influential being an inspiration for the first Trade Union leaders, the Arts and Crafts Movement, the founding of the National Trust, and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. His ideas led to improvements in working conditions, housing, health care and the quality of the natural environment.

Ghandi read Ruskin's 'Unto This Last' and it changed his life.  

 " I translated it later into Gujarati entitling it ‘Sarvodaya’ (the welfare of all). I believe that I discovered some of my deepest convictions reflected in this great book of Ruskin and that is why it so captured me and made me transform my life.”
                                 - Mahatma Gandhi 

Many of Ruskin's thoughts on the problems of the Victorian era - like the negative empact of unbridled capitalism, remain current today.

Ruskin Self Portrait

 

1. Modern travelling is not travelling at all; it is merely being sent to a place, and very little different from becoming a parcel. 

2. The first test of a truly great man is in his humility.            

3. A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money. 

4. Every increased possession loads us with new weariness.                     

5. When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece. 

6. When a man is wrapped up in himself, he makes a pretty small package.

7. Let us reform our schools, and we shall find little reform needed in our prisons. 

8. Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather. 

9. There is no wealth but life.

10. Do not think of your faults, still less of other's faults; look for what is good and strong, and try to  imitate it. Your faults will drop off, like dead leaves, when their time comes. 

11. Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort.

Brantwood House 

Ruskin Library

 

On This Day 10th February 1939

General Franco seals the Spanish/French border in the Eastern Pyrenees to stop the escape of Republican soldiers and sympathisers in the aftermath of the fall of Barcelona.

The Spanish Civil War was fought from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939 between the Republicans, who were loyal to the established Spanish republic, and the Nationalists, a rebel group led by General Francisco Franco who had links with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.

By late 1938 the Nationalists had the upper hand and they launched an offensive against Republican controlled Catalonia and its capital Barcelona.

Towards the end of January 1939 the Republican forces in Barcelona found themselves out numbered six to one, short of food (according to one estimate the daily ration down to to 100 grams of lentils) and subject to daily bombing raids by the Nationalist air force. The defence of the city was impossible and on 26th January 1939 the troops of General Franco occupied Barcelona.  

Nationalists Troops in Barcelona on 26 January 1939

The fall of Barcelona caused a massive exodus of people away from the encroaching Nationalist army of Franco towards the only safe haven available - France.  They were ill prepared for the wintry conditions and progress was also made hazardous by attacks from Nationalist aircraft. This migration has become known as the Retirada (from the Spanish for 'retreat'.)

Initially the French border remained closed, the French authorities fearing an influx of revolutioary communists. Thousands gathered at border checkpoints - there were no open borders then but armed guards at border crossing points to check papers. 

Refugees Waiting to Enter France at le Perhus

The border was finally opened by the French on 28 January 1939, but only for civilian refugees. Soldiers who had fought with the Republican army had to wait until 5th February to be allowed to enter into France.

It is estimated that from 28th January to 9th February, as many as 500,000 men, woman and children crossed the Pyrenees, eventually passing into France.

Freedom Trails

Some through regular border crossings, like le Perthus, where their entry would have been regulated and recorded, others across high mountain passes where there was no official control of movement. 500,000 leaving behind their homes, the majority of their possessions and their work.

On February 10th, Franco had the border shut reducing the number of refugees fleeing although those determined enough could still pass over the Pyrenees on the harder mountain paths.

Once the refugees had made the difficult journey and crossed the border, things did not immediately improve for the majority. The cold, hunger, uncertainty, fear and death remained. The French government had envisaged an influx of refugees but nothing on such a huge scale and found themselves overwhelmed and unable to cope. The stop gap solution consisted of internment of refugees in 'concentration' camps hastily built on the beaches at places like Argelès and Rivesaltes. Initially mostly barbed-wire enclosures on the sand, without basic shelter, sanitary or cooking facilities. Refugees slept on the sand and had to build the barracks that offered protection from the elements themselves. 

The Camp at Argeles sur Mer

The Camp at Argeles sur Mer

Conditions were very harsh. Lack of shelter, food, sanitation and clean drinking water led to many deaths. Some estimates put the number at 10,000. 

Memorial to Those Refugees Who Died at Argeles sur Mer

Despair and frustration at the conditions and their treatment from the French authorities led some refugees to choose to return to Franco’s New Spain rather than stay in France. For those who remained in exile – some 200,000 – there was the Second World War to deal with. Some  joined the French Resistance to fight the Nazi occupiers.  They hoped to hasten the defeat of Nazi Germany so that the post WWII democracies would overthrow the Franco regime. The Nazis were defeated but Franco remained in power until 1975.

Many foreigners fought in the Spanish Civil War on both the 'left' and 'right'. Laurie Lee, the author ('Cider With Rosie') fought for the Republicans and wrote about his experience in the book 'A Moment of War' (1991). To get to Spain involved crossing the Pyrenees which Lee accomplished in December 1937 during a snowstorm! George Orwell also fought in the war as did Ernest Hemingway.

Laurie Lee 'A Moment of War' (1991)
George Orwell 'Homage to Catalonia'
Museu Memorial de l'Exili, La Junquera. A museum devoted entirely to the Retirada
Robert Capa photographs of the Argelès Internment Camp
Documentary (in French) Many good photographs and footage

Pure Adventure Weekend

Plans are coming together for the Spirit of Adventure Foundation's Pure Adventure weekend. This will be held in and around Brantwood in Coniston, Cumbria, UK the weekend 9th -10th March 2013. From Brantwood on the shores of lake Coniston there are fine views towards the Lakeland Fells

The view from Brantwood House

Brantwood is the former home of John Ruskin. Ruskin (1819 - 1900) was a Victorian writer, thinker, artist, art critic, socialist and philanthropist.

Ruskin as a young man

The venue is well chosen because Ruskin and The Spirit of Adventure Foundation share common ground in terms of their beliefs about wilderness and wild places.

'Every increased possession loads us with new weariness'

Booking essential - Places are limited and will be on a first come first serve basis

Click here for Booking Form

PRICES:
Saturday 9th March - £20 pp incl. simple evening meal
Sunday 10th March - £20 adults. £10 child (16yr and under). Family (Up to 2 Adult & 3 Child) = £50

Saturday 9th March:
10.30am            Introduction - Connecting with Nature - Outdoor practical
                          (activity optional)
PROGRAMME
1.30pm             Registration. Tea and coffee
2.00pm             Introduction to Brantwood - Howard Hull Director of Brantwood Trust
2.10pm            The Spirit of Adventure Foundation & Concept of Pure Adventure - Colin Mortlock
2.40pm            Pure Adventure - taking theory into practice - Richard Little / Andy Ligema
3.10pm            Tea and coffee break
3.25pm            Examples of Pure Adventure
3.35pm            Workshops -
                        e.g.      Technology in wild Nature - friend or menace?
                                    The Search for Truth -‘Truth is a Pathless Land’ (Krishnamurti)
                                    Family Expeditions - ideas and inspiration
                                    Environmental Awareness
                                    The Journey Inwards
                                    Virtues, Vices and Wisdoms
4.20pm            Report back from workshops
5.00pm            Tea and coffee break
5.15pm            Solo Experiences and self reliant journeys for young people - Colin Mortlock
6.00pm            AGM - The Spirit of Adventure Foundation
6.30pm            Dinner
8pm                 Steve Scott - Kendal Mountain Festival Director's selection of best films

Sunday:
10am               Meet
10.30               Pure Adventure Courses - practical experience in the outdoors
                        in partnership with Impact International and Real Adventure
4pm                 Final Remarks ‘Uniting the Fragments.’      
4.30pm            End

Cruel Crossing

In November 2011 BBC Radio 4 broadcast a programme (in 2 parts) called The Freedom Trail. In it we follow Edward Stourton as he makes the crossing from France into Spain following the route of an old WW II escape route called Le Chemin de la Liberté or Freedom Trail.

The programme, narrated by Edward Stourton, is an account of his 4 day journey as he walks the most dangerous WWII escape route over the Pyrenees. As well as a travelogue of his own crossing, Stourton uses this a jumping off point and broadens the picture to include escape routes over the whole of the Pyrenees. There are the remarkable stories of those who escaped to freedom but also of those who risked their lives to help those attempting to escape Nazi occupied France.

Edward Stourton has now turned the radio programme into a book which will appear in April 2013. It is called Cruel Crossing: Escaping Hitler Across the Pyrenees.

The book is based on his own experiences of crossing the Pyrenees and first hand accounts from those who made the journey during  WW II. As well as interviews with survivors from the time, Stourton also had access to diaries and journals. Relatives were also a precious source of information.

It is obvious from the book that tremendous courage and determination was shown by those attempting to escape and all those in the support network that helped so many to succeed. Exhaustion, malnutrition and sickness had to be contended with and there was the constant fear of capture, torture and death. Many of those in the Allied forces who successfully crossed into Spain, later returned to fight or to gather intelligence and work with the French. 

We also learn that  it was not only forces personel who wanted to escape. A large number of Jews and communists made the crossing to escape persecution and the Death Camps. Young French also crossed to escape the STO (Service du travail obligatoire) or Compulsory Work Service/Forced Labour.

Bear Naming

 

The 3 bear cubs born in the Pyrenees in 2011 have just been named. Over 20 000 suggestions were made to the organisers of the naming operation Pay de l'Ours - Adet. Pay de l'Ours - Adet is an orgaisation campaigning for a viable brown bear population in the Pyrenees.

The names chosen were Callisto et Soulane for the 2 females and Pépite for the 3rd bear cub whose sex is not yet known.

Callisto :
A Nymphe in Greek mythology, Callisto on her death was transformed into the constellation The Big Bear by Zeus.

Soulane :
The name in the Pyrenees given to the sunny side of a valley

Pépite :
Nugget as in nugget of gold.Pyrénées : Les oursons de 2011 ont un nom et un parrain