The Highlands

10 Under the Ben, takes place up in the Nevis Range this weekend.

The 10 hour mountain bike marathon from No Fuss Events will treat riders to an awesome course incorporating sections of the World Championships cross country course, as well as some stunning sections of singletrack and fire roads in the shadow of the North Face of the countries highest mountain Ben Nevis.

This exciting event is certain to pull a large and committed crowd, and we’re hoping everyone has a good, safe, fast run.

We’re looking forward to some SMS updates over the weekend from Edinburgh team ‘The Cron Jobs’. Shez (pictured), is our man on the hill.

Fri 30th May, 20:44:

‘Many, many shifts! Tom’s first at 9am ‘ish, then I’ll probably be on 1.5 hours after, and so on till 7pm ‘ish!

Props go out to John, Ben, Ross, Stu and Si as well!

Commiserations to Magnus, he has a photo of the drugs the doctor gave him to beat off the chest infection. Tom and I are going to take up the slack with a two man, rather than three man team at the last minute. Wish us luck, it’s going to be tough.’

Sat 31st May, 08:43:

‘Sun’s out!

The Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival is seeking film and photo entries for the 2008 festival, which will run 17-19 October 2008. They are also running a new literary competition in association with the Mountaineering Council of Scotland.

The literary competition has prizes for both prose and poetry. There are cash prizes totalling almost £500 and the winners in each category will also receive a pair of weekend passes for this year’s EMFF. The closing date for entries is 31 August. Full details.

The categories for the 2008 photography competition are:

1. A Winter Adventure
2. Pushing My Limits

Open to everyone, professional or amatuer alike the prizes include cash, membership of the MCoS and a Harvey’s map of the Cairngorms. And, of course, there is the thrill of seeing your photo in a public exhibition! Closing date for entries is 31 July 2008. Full details.

The film competition will consider any film with a focus on adventure - be that climbing, kayaking, skiing, mountain biking or whatever. Short films and ‘mockumentaries’ will also be considered! Closing date for entries is 30 June 2008. Full details.

The site ‘Live for the Outdoors’ has launched a homemade movie competition offering people a chance to share their mountain films. Monthly prizes are on offer as well as an overall prize of a paid assignment to Everest Base Camp. Winners will also be shown at the Kendal Mountain Film Festival later this year.

They are looking for homemade videos on any outdoor subject – from a capella monologues on why you love your boots, to the glorious sunrise seen from your tent doors or your attempt to conquer Scafell Pike. Your video must be under 3 minutes long, feature all-original material and have a clear focus (eg ‘Our day on Tryfan’, ‘My Favourite Wild Camp’ or ‘Why I Love Glen Coe’).

For more information see the Homemade Mountain Film Awards.

To help folk a long they have also created a couple of tutorials which offer basic advice on how to get the best out of your kit.

• Basic shots
• Basic angles

Amateur and professional photographers are invited to submit their mountain-themed photographs to the Banff Centre of Mountain Culture photography competition.

• Full details on the Banff Mountain Photography Competition

Entry deadline: April 30, 2008

Alpine Exposures are running a Mountain Landscape and climbing Photography competition, a chance for you to show off your best images and have a chance at winning a A3+ fine art print of it.

It’s open to all types of images as long as they are to do with the mountain environment. Every month we will pick our favorite top 5 images that have been submitted over that period and allow you to vote for them over the next week, with the winner receiving an A3+ print of their image through the post.

• 28 March-27 April Entries: Theme- Action

Every 6 months all the entries will be put into a draw with the winner receiving an A2 limited edition print.