When I arrived back from Scotland this spring initially I was wiped out and the idea of running anywhere wasn’t even the slightest of considerations. After a few weeks of beers, Continue reading
So Long 2015, Hello 2016!
First off… Happy New Year and thank you for following this blog or even reading it from time to time. It means a lot to me that anyone at all cares what I have to say and this gives me reason to keep going!
2015 was a bumpy year with a rough start. With the loss of friends from skiing accidents and also my dearly beloved Grandfather who was a great inspiration to me, motivation for skiing and general mountain activities was low. Ordinarily I’d expect to ski off a mountain or two and have at least a handful of long days in the mountains with friends. Looking back I realise that I hardly had any stand out days last winter due to work commitments, lack of snow and lack of psyche.
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Weekend Bliss And Suffering.
I’m really digging having an extra day off a week. This weekend was a good mix between sublime autumnal adventures and purgatory suffering, topped off with great weather and alright company. I guess.
Friday
Psyche was high and the weather was good. The plan was to meet up with fellow Salomon athlete (ahem) Philipp Brugger for some easy mixed cragging on the Triangle du Tacul. I haven’t swung tools in what feels like a year so I was glad for an easy re-introduction into mixed climbing. We climbed most of the German gully then finished up the Cosmiques Arete.
Conclusions: Mixed climbing is in fact like riding a bike. Even if you never do it, you still remember how its done. Got cold toes and fingers but I remembered how to suffer. Drank 6 pints to try and forget the pain.
Saturday
Woke up with inevitable hangover as Midnight Express was shut and we couldn’t buy cheep burgers to absorb the beer. Drove to Italy (where the weather is always nicer) with Ally, Ross and Tom (who seemed less hungover than me (perhaps not Tom)). Flailed about on some rock climbs that I shouldn’t have been flailing on. Enjoyed the sunshine and amazing scenery of the Valgrisenche. Ate pizza, drove home.
Conclusions: Beer is bad, especially for my guts. 6b+ is hard. Italy is beautiful.
Sunday
When the alarm went off at 6.45 I thought it was a bad joke. Driving to the Midi my psyche was low but the can of red bull helped a lot. The plan was to climb the Eugster Direct on the North Face, again with Phillip. Stumbled over the moraine to the bottom and got to the Bergshrund in good time. Spin-drift hell was pouring down the gully and we decided it wasn’t for us. We ummed and arrred about what to do and took a look at another entry to the face to the right (about 150m to the right). It went and we were soon (but not that soon) in the gully. The crux pitches looked kinda dry and we didn’t want to sleep in the toilets (we have jobs don’t you know) so we bailed up the Diagonal instead. I was feeling the burn in the top half but we made alright time. Cheese burgers at Macky D’s afterwards.. Cus we are true athletes.
Conclusions: 4h 30m on the stair-master-3842 is tiring. Weekends are great. Water is overrated.
Chamonix By Irene Munguia
I had the pleasure of spending a week with Irene Munguia in Chamonix. We swam, climbed, ran and hiked and it was awesome. She made a short video of her trip. Enjoy!
[vimeo 133129257 w=700 h=481]
Long live the summer!
Although I’ve not blogged in a while, I’ve still been ticking over here in cham and I’ve really enjoying getting out on the rock and getting up high for the odd alpine mission. It’s been pretty hectic with work and a quick trip back to the UK to MOT my van, but I’ve managed to get out and about quite a bit in the last few weeks. Although I haven’t done anything major, this past while has given me time to reflect and time to think forward to the future.
About this time last year (or earlier actually) I was having a tough time deciding whether or not to put an application into the British Mountain Guides scheme. I decided against it in the end mostly because I didn’t feel ready, either financially or with motivation. It’s strange to read words that I wrote only a year ago and thinking how much has changed for me in that time.
A few weeks ago I submitted my application to the guides scheme and I’m currently waiting to hear if I can start or not. A couple of good friends are also applying this year which was one of the bigger factors in getting me psyched to apply too. I now know that I’m completely ready and fully psyched to start and I really hope they give me a chance! Fingers crossed!
The other big news for me is that I’ve recently been taken on by Salomon as a climbing and skiing ambassador. I couldn’t be happier about being given this opportunity and I just hope I can live up to what they expect and that the relationship can grow in the future. I genuinely love the kit they make and i’m super happy with everything I have at the moment. Thanks to those who helped me with this, you know who you are.
Looking forward to this summer my main goals aren’t necessarily specific routes or mountains. I mostly want to train hard, and try, at least to really push my fitness further and see what kind of gains I can make with a more focused approach. I’ve been running and rock climbing along side doing strength and core training session as a start this spring and I’m already starting to see the benefits. I also sure that I will get out and try some bigger objectives aswell and hopefully this summer is fruitful and long and I have the chance to experience some more of the mind blowing climbing Chamonix and the alps has to offer. I’d also love to take a trip to the Himalaya again soon and hopefully I can find a way to fund it!
I leave you for now with a few shots of some climbing fun from the past week! Thanks to Ben O’connor Croft for the bouldering shots and Dave Thexton for the alpine shots!
