Mark Clifford Mountaineering Grant & Obituary. 
Born 27th February 1972 Mark Clifford died in 2006 of Lung Cancer, aged only 34. A climber, a mountaineer, a skier, a runner, an orienteer a pilot and a top level rugby player. Mark was a gifted sportsman and outdoor enthusiast who worked in the Outdoor Trade for Rohan, then Field & Trek and finally Mountain Equip-ment as Marketing Manager. He spent 10 very happy years with Zoe – now the production manager at Mountain Equipment – They were married in September 2004. Why Mark Clifford Mountaineering Grant? ?To Encourage & Support Young Mountaineers to go to exciting new places!? As Marketing Manager of Mountain Equipment Mark was in charge of giving out sponsorship – many times he was approached by young teams with bold plans, yet he was out of commercial budget. Now we can change this, with the help of the board of trustees Mark Clifford?s help to mountaineers, lives on. Preference will be given to young mountaineers in new climbing areas that take the pressure off ?Honey-pot? regions, ambitious first ascents, educational or scientific new projects or wild remote explorations – especially in the interna-tional ranges. Every year Mark?s friends and family will contribute to the charitable Trust fund, every year Mountain Equipment – Marks employer – will underwrite and donate to ensure the continuity of the grant. The grant is up to £2,000 in any one application, and intended to assist small teams – two people teams preferred – with high ambitions in the mountains but small pockets!For full details see www.markclifford.co.uk For information on other grants availble in the outdoors check out this article written by Matt Heason for planetFear in 2006.
