 Poster: A snowHead
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Well, this has become a bit of a tradition now. Welcome to this upcoming season's Van Kleist Treasure Hunt!
A little background: A few years ago, after something I did at work made its way to a confession on Simon Mayo's radio programme, I made up a spoof artist, Van Kleist. Pre-pandemic I did a treasure hunt for a laugh, The Hunt For The Golden FOKERs (Friend Of Kleist, Evocative Recogniser). The hunt prizes were medals, on gold ribbons, put in small black plastic boxes and hidden around the UK. Cost me a couple of quid to put together, and some time to drive to wherever to hide them, but it was well worth it. Six Golden FOKERs were hidden, and by working out a fiendishly clever and complicated clue, they could be found (think geocaching, but you keep what you find). It was totally free, no subscriptions, no personal details needed, nothing. Just find it, and it was yours. It got really popular, and then.... pandemic.
So, with that in mind, a couple of years ago I got back into skiing, and thought that for poops and giggles Van Kleist would set up a new treasure hunt, The Hunt For The Wild FOKERs. More spoof medals, put in plastic boxes with labels on, hidden around Saalbach/Hinterglemm in Austria. I'd ski to somewhere interesting, attach the box to a post, or tree, or something, with a big zip tie, get a ‘what3words’ reference, and a photo of the location and put it online. It was something different for people to do than just ski, get on a lift, get off, ski to the next lift, get on, get off, ski... rinse and repeat. It was the same as before: free of charge, no names, details, or data to be harvested. You find it, it's all yours to be taken off the mountain. It turned out to be as popular as the ones in the UK. I put four out, and each one was found pretty quickly.
Last season's hunt, 'Well That Takes The Biscuit!' was in Söll, Austria, and again, was really popular. This time, however, the last one wasn't found until the end of April, by someone on a hiking holiday. They had to dodge traffic and mountain bikers on the mountain tracks by then, but they were rewarded with the 'Custard Cream of Excellence' medal!
Without further ado, this coming season I'm going to do three hunts, four medals for each one, at three different resorts, and this season's hunt name is 'Time For Some Thrilling Heroics'. 10 points if you recognise what that's from. I think the medals look pretty cool, and just like Dave Allen and his missing finger, the idea is that if someone asks, you've got to make up a story of how you got awarded it, a different one every time. That's why they're called the Super Hero Improbable Tales of Excellence medals. I'm already looking forward to hiding them on the slopes, and seeing how fast they get found. Again, the boxes will be attached using reusable zip ties, so when found please take everything with you. Just remember to post that it’s been found, with a picture, using the QR code supplied to find the Van Kleist FB page. Wear your Van Kleist with pride at apres ski and elsewhere, and you never know, Van Kleist might make a personal appearance, although I doubt they'll be hanging around till snowsports season turns into hiking/MBT season!
And if you want to listen to the original confession:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p062v235
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Following
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Not mundane at all. Truly evocative
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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The Artist must be congratulated on His forthcoming heroic endeavours.
"Art’s ability to facilitate collective empowerment makes it a powerful tool for creating radical transformation."
So true.....
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