Back from the Lakes

Barney Stratford, Emma Henderson, Dobrota Pucherova, and Milan Ilnyckyj

The weekend in Lakeland was most enjoyable. We spent Saturday and Sunday walking, each time going around a horseshoe of peaks. Saturday, it was the Coniston horseshoe, starting with the Old Man. That day involved some enjoyable scrambling, a bit of actual rock climbing (for those who cared to try), and a brief nighttime rescue operation. Thankfully, those we set out to find met us on the road back from where we were heading to look for them. Sunday, we did the Kentmere Horseshoe, starting with Yoke.

The walking was atypical of the club for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I had never previously spent a day with them in which it did not rain significantly. Neither day of this trip involved any rain at all. Secondly, this was distinctly less strenuous than Snowdonia, which was distinctly less strenuous than Scotland. I rather enjoyed the drama of steep slopes and narrow, windy ridges during the previous two trips. Of course, there is something to be said for sheep-speckled tranquility as well.

In terms of company, this trip met the high expectations I had of the Walking Club. There is always a fascinating mixture of people from different fields – from theology to comparative literature to medicine – and they tend to get along in a very spontaneous way, even when they have not met before.

Photos and such to follow. For now, I need to get some sleep.

Author: Milan

In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. In the fall of 2005, I began reading for an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford. Outside school, I am very interested in photography, writing, and the outdoors. I am writing this blog to keep in touch with friends and family around the world, provide a more personal view of graduate student life in Oxford, and pass on some lessons I've learned here.

8 thoughts on “Back from the Lakes”

  1. A good solar idea for a change. Algae based petroleum for 50$ US a barrel.

  2. Tristan,

    Solar power is an excellent idea. All that we need to do is lower the cost per watt and deal with some storage issues. The fact that it has practical difficulties at the moment doesn’t detract from how it is the most intuitive system for energy generation. Barring fission, all our energy comes (indirectly) from the sun anyhow.

  3. You need to look at this paper. It’s solar oil. What storage issues are there with oil? It goes in a barrel. Easy. And what’s required? Sequestered Co2, algae, and sunlight. Projected cost as low as 50$ a barrel. Could replace US’ entire oil supply with 36 thousand square kilometre facility in desert.

  4. Tristan,

    I will have a look at it. If it is economical, I am sure the people who came up with the idea will end up doing very well indeed.

  5. GreenFuel went belly up, as described here.

    Apparently, they were the “highest-profile (and well-funded) company working on algal biodiesel.”

    According to Robert Rapier: “GreenFuel was the first high profile algal concern to go under, but they won’t be the last. I predict that none of them will be standing in just a few short years. Growing algae is trivial and can be done in water, and there is the allure. Turning into biodiesel is not technically very difficult. Doing it all economically is next to impossible. I have had one very prominent algae expert tell me that it will be at least 15 years before there are serious prospects for commercial viability – and that will require multiple large technical breakthroughs.”

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