TravelStream™ news feed for member tommy on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/tommy en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 15 May 2007 08:09:26 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tommy/world-adventure/1170076080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tommy/world-adventure/1170076080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tommy/world-adventure/1170076080/tpod.html Tue, 15 May 2007 08:09:26 -0400 One year is a long time, but life is short

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Sydney, Australia

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La Spezia, Italy

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Gros Inlet, Saint Lucia

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Gouyave, Grenada

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Bala, United Kingdom

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Berlin, Germany

Travel is not travel if things don't go wrong sometimes! I jumped on the train up to Berlin on what should have been a nice easy 6hour trip. But the weather wasn't thinking the same thing as me, and as I travelled North I noticed the sky slowly darkening. Next came the light rain which quickly turned into torrential downpour with thunder, lightening and gale force winds. Not long after the train suddenly slowed and came to a complete stop. Not being a German speaker, the announcements didn't help too much, but the nervous laughs from the Germans around me said that something wasn't quite right. When I laugh nervously on a stopped train in England its because I know I'm in for a long wait. I asked an English speaking hostess and she explained that the storm had knocked out all power and they had no idea when it would be restored. After a nice relaxing 3 hour wait, we were back on our way. The first town we passed through showed the true force of the storm. Trees were down everywhere and people were running about cleaning up with chainsaws.

So I finally got into Berlin at about 12pm. I decoded the S-bahn (local train) map and got my way to the Generator Hostel in former East Berlin. Exhausted, I sampled a local kebab and went to bed.

Next day I found my way back into town for a free tour that was advertised at the hostel. First stop, Brandenburg gate which looked far too new (it had been completely restored after WW2). I met up with the tour group and we started walking. The tour guide was an aspiring Irish actor named Danny who had done the tour 2 months ago and decided he wanted to guide. His knowledge of Berlin and WW2 was minimal at that time, but he made up for it in his dramatic comedy style of presentation. Luckily by the time I got on the tour, he knew something about Berlin as well. We passed all the sites: Holocaust memorial, Site of Hitlers bunker, Checkpoint Charlie, Museum Island but most importantly (according to Danny) The Hotel balcony that Michael Jackson dangled his baby from (and yes, I too took a photo). He told us many stories and anecdotes and finished up with a dramatic one man play about the fall of the Berlin Wall.


Checkpoint Charlie

I headed back to the hostel, and got ready to go out for a pub crawl (yes I know) that night. I'd met a couple of Canadian guys in the Hostel bar who joined me as well. The pub crawl was good fun, but didn't live up to the quality of the Munich one. I think the crowd was a little younger and a bit more reserved. I found myself drinking with the organisers and Danny (the tour guide) who had come along as well. We got to our final destination which was a club playing 80s hard rock and I got talking to a German guy. He was telling me about a great little club which played chilled house music and had a really good crowd and did I want to go? I spent a second listening to the music in the background and agreed to come along. We jumped into a taxi which took us as far as the initial 3euros gets you (it starts getting expensive after that) and got out.... in the middle of an industrial no-where. My survival instincts started working. I'm in another country, in the middle of no-where with nothing around and I'm with a complete stranger who could me leading me anywhere. At least I'm bigger than him. I stopped him, compose my serious look and asked where we were going and calmly explained that there is nothing around and that is making me nervous. He tells me not to worry and says its just up ahead (all I can see is a decrepid old fence). He walks up and knocks on the said decrepid old fence which is opened by a large bouncer who ushers us in to this fantastic open-air riverside club with a little covered bar and dance floor in the corner. Apparently the place is a bit of a secret and is part of the underground dance scene in Berlin... And I've only been in Berlin 1 night! The place was full of people and was absolutely pumping! I apologised to my German mate profusely and we get to work! Everyone was amazingly friendly (esp as I was the only foreigner there) and I had a fantastic night dancing talking and just partying Berlin style. I made friends with a German girl Christiane who promised to take me on a bike ride the next day, so not so early in the morning, I headed home, got some sleep and met up with Christiane. She had a nice new mountain bike and I got her old bike which looked like an original WW2 model - Chipped brown paint, big old seat, fat tyres, Full sized dented mud-guards. It was fantastic! Terrible to ride, but I really looked the part. We visited some local parks and memorials, had a picnic lunch, saw some other sections of the Berlin Wall and ended up at a riverside beach bar where we chatted, had a few beers while watching the Sun go down over the Berlin skyline. A great day and nothing you would find in he lonely planet - I was just very lucky.


Berlin Sunset

Next day I sadly bade farewell to Berlin and headed North to Copenhagen.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tommy/world-adventure/1119517200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tommy/world-adventure/1119517200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tommy/world-adventure/1119517200/tpod.html Fri, 09 Jun 2006 05:00:06 -0400 One year is a long time, but life is short

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Munich, Germany

The Germans on average drink 130 litres of beer each year. That includes children and the people outside Bavaria who don't drink quite that much. This leaves the Bavarians with the enormous challenge of maintaining the average; a challenge which by all appearances, they relish.

I arrived in Munich late at night after an 11hr journey from Geneva via Zurich. It didn't look that far on the map, but hey? I walked into the first hostel I saw called Wombat Hostel (and why not?). The couple in front of me were turned away - no beds in the inn - bugger! Still I tried, same response. "No, wait, I think I've stuffed up" the manager calls out as I skulk away. "Wait one minute, I've just got to shuffle some beds around.". Five minutes later, I was checking in. Sweet! I think Munich likes me.

I organised my bed in the immaculately clean dorm, got lost trying to find the shower (it was actually in the room - not some dodgy shared facility. How was I to know?). I headed down the bar for a quick pint before bed. The beer was fantastic (and the 1st one free) and the bar staff friendly and chatty. Got talking to some aussies in the bar and had a great but unexpected night. They also told me about a pub crawl happening the next night. Well I am in Munich.

Next day I headed into town. Lovely place with cool old buildings and churches. Sun was shining and I was enjoying myself. A quick trip across the river took me to the Deutsche Museum devoted to German technology. These guys really love their toys! They even had 3 rooms dedicated to machine tools (drills, lathes, mills) - not my thing, but impressive nonetheless. The first ever electicity generator is also displayed their - pretty significant to our modern society (I did an electroncs degree, so I allowed the inner geek to bask in the moment for a while before carefully stuffing it back in its box).

I stopped quickly for a bratwurst roll (about 40cm of bratwurst sausage in one of those little rolls they always give you at fancy restaraunts - I don't know why they even bother with the bread), before heading to the English garden which is a huge park - "even bigger than central park", the tourist map proudly proclaims. Inspecting the map, my eye is drawn to the surf pool. Surf pool???? I wander over and sure enough, there is a fast flowing river over an artificial reef creating a small but perfectly surfable wave. Wetsuited bavarian surfies line the shores waiting for there turn (strictly one at a time) and some of them were actually quite good!.



I wander further down the river and discover one of the pasttimes of young munichites? munichs? What do I call them? I'll just call them Munchkins! Anyway, this pasttime involves jumping in the fast flowing river and just letting the current carry you down for miles, before getting out, walking back and doing it all again. I want a go! But alas I'm not dressed for the occasion so I console myself by heading to the Chinese beer garden for a small after lunch beer. I walk up to the bar and eye up one of the half litre beers before my eye is drawn to the hefty steins next to them. I'm in Germany - Can I really go half a litre and live with myself afterwards? A stein it is. I pick it off the bar (they don't take orders, they just keep on pouring and you just select one off the bar), pay and find myself a nice table in the shade. Its a hot day, I've been walking all morning and I'm really looking forward to my first sip. I heft the heavy, oversized glass mug to my mouth and taste....

ITS A BLOODY SHANDY!!!!!!!!

Shattered, Destroyed and feeling somewhat effeminate I resign myself to finishing it. Given the hot day, it's actually quite enjoyable. I ask about and discover that its very popular to drink a "Beer with lemonade" on a hot day like this. The real beer can be found just round the corner from the shandies. Well - I know for next time.

I headed back to the hostel, showered, changed and got myself down to the hostel bar. The aussies I'd met from last night sitting with.... Tash!!! One of the girls I travelling in Ios and Athens with. Its a small world (Sorry, but sometimes cliches are appropriate. I promise I'll try to use them sparingly). We sat down had some drinks and caught up, then headed out to the pub crawl. The deal was 15euros gets you 4 pubs, and beer and shots in between. We started at a big inner city beer garden (the biggest in the world in fact). Pretty cool to walk in to 5000 people drinking and chatting away. The place is so huge that they use a small flat trayed truck to collect the empties - I'm in awe. Our guide told us that this place sold the best beer in Bavaria (as considered by the locals) so I figured that this was the place to perfect my stein ordering skills. Carefully I approached the bar, inspected the beers and identified the shandy imposters. I found the real stuff being poured directly from the barrel, checked with the pourer, took a beer, turned back and double checked with the pourer who patiently reassured me, paid and headed for the table. I sat down and with mounting excitement took my first sip...


GOAL!!!!

This is the real thing and it is fan-bloody-tastic! Flavoursome, but smooth (a little too smooth - I'll have to be careful). The other punters were chatting and wearing the same happy expression as me - As the steins emptied, the chatting got louder and the expressions happier. But then it was time to go. I know its a pub crawl, but can't we please stay?

Next stop was the famous Lowenbrau brewery with a great pub on the corner. Beer, as always was excellent, but I only had a half this time - the night was still young! The group was mingling more and a definite sense of comradery had formed. We headed to the next pub where the specialty was white beer - it too was delicious. I don't know where the time went, but after finishing the beer, it was closing time. The plan was to head to a hostel bar that was playing some music, but some of us, including a German bloke we'd acquired headed to the atomic cafe and finshed the night dancing badly to some classic cheesy music. I headed home happy and tired and woke the next morning, completely hangover free and headed up to Berlin.

NB: Hangovers are rare drinking German beer in Germany. This is because its against the law to put anything but Barley, Hops, Malt and water into the beer - no preservatives, colour or any other nasties. What's even better is how this became law - Long ago Bavaria was a separate country and one of the kings decreed that the beer must be pure (Great vision - where are those types of leaders today). Back in the 1700s (I think) Bavaria and the rest of Germany decided to unite as one state. One of Bavaria's conditions of joining the union was that this law be extended to the entire state. It's never been touched since. You've got to admire the passion.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tommy/world-adventure/1118332920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tommy/world-adventure/1118332920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tommy/world-adventure/1118332920/tpod.html Thu, 08 Jun 2006 12:10:14 -0400 One year is a long time, but life is short

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Chamonix, France

It was a late start from Ebbw Vale. Steve was working till 3:30pm so we didn't leave till 4pm. We were driving in Steves van all the way to Chamonix via Dover for the ferry across the channel. And of course there was an accident on the M4 which close the whole Motorway and left us stranded for an hour before we were diverted. Luckily the ferry was also running late and we got there there in time.

The rest of the night was spent driving through France, arriving at Chamonix at 11am the next morning. First impressions? Wow!!!! nestled in a spectacular mountain valley under the shadow of Mont Blanc (4800m - highest in Europe), the place just oozes adventure! The plan for the next 2 weeks is to get as much climbing, mountain biking, hiking, and anything else in as we can. Of course, there is a lively (and exorbitantly priced) nightlife which must be sampled as well.

Day 1:

We are all busting to get climbing so its off to the local crag called Les Gaillands to do some warm up climbs. Nothing too stressful, but I managed 5 climbs of grades 4b-5c including my first multipitch climb (climbing in more than 1 stage on longer climbs). I finished on a cool overhung 5c:



We then headed back to camp, got cleaned up and hit the town with our team mascot Scooby Doo in tow. Some of the fellas had been in Chamonix the year before, so we had a clue of where to head, but being early season, alot of these were closed. We ended up having a few drinks at a local Irish pub before heading to a surf themed pub called bar'd up where scooby-doo managed to get his photo taken with everyone in the pub thanks to the antics of Woollie and myself. I think scooby is a bit like old Grabby - outgoing and a complete flirt!!! We also got to know the bar manager Chris and the owner Graham - both English blokes who'd given up the quiet life in England and now live full-time in France.

Day 2:

Feeling a little bit tired and emotional, we headed back to Les Gaillands to climb more of this huge crag. After the warm-up yesterday we went for some harder climbs - Steve started on a 5c and I tried my hand at a 6a, or at least that`s what we thought. Due to a small map reading error (which was belatedly pointed out by Mary who seems the only one in the group able to read a climbing guide) Steve was actually on a 6a+ and I was on a 6b. No wonder it was so bloody hard. I didn`t complete the climb (no-one else did either), but I did manage to completely exhaust every ounce of my upper body strength while trying. I then tried my hand at the 6a+ which Steve had now successfully lead. Bad idea - there was a tricky and very pumpy (requires upper body strength) move in the middle and my poor arms and back were just not up to it. The move was positioned about 2m above the last clip-in point and it was the sort of move you just had to go for - there was no turning back! So there I was, weak as a kitten, 2m above my last point of protection which was holding me to the rock and committimg myself to a move I could not turn back from. In hindsight,maybe I was being a bit ambitious. So heres what happened:

I positioned myself, took the move which had ok handholds but no footholds and found myself unable to pull my weight up for the next holds. The little strength I had was quickly ebbing away and all I could do was desperately hang there hoping for some magic hold to appear out of nowhere. It happened so quickly, I didn`t even know until I was already airborne! My hands let go without warning and I was falling. Now as I was 2m above the last point of protection, I had 4m to fall (2m above and below the last clip in). That's 4 metres straight down before the slightly elastic rope I was using finally took my weight leaving me shaking and wide eyed hanging in mid air! What a rush! That was my first major fall and although I wouldn't like to do it again, it was an exhilerating feeling falling that far.... and surviving! Poor Scotty who was belaying me isn't a big guy and when I hit the bottom of the rope, he found himself yanked 1m straight up from where he was sitting.

So day 2 ended with me not having completed 1 single climb! Despite the thrill of the fall, I went home feeling a little bit depressed. I hate failing.

Day 3: Bouldering

We had a late start that day due to being exhausted from the last 2 days climbing and also having had a few commiseration drinks last night over my abject climbing performance. We haeded up to a small town at the top of the valley called Argentiere and then to a cool bouldering area. Bouldering is a form of climbing done on boulders close to the ground which doesn't require ropes (as you don't have far to fall). Usually bouldering climbs are much more technical than crag climbs as that's where the fun is. Some people love it - lots of cool moves, lots of technical difficulty and a great way to show off. I'm not that fussed but it is good practice for the real thing. It was a good day and Scotty and Steve got a good chance to show off.



Day 4: Lets get these bikes out!

The Welsh guys all have Mountain bikes - Woollie is a bit of a fanatic and has a agro looking dual suspension jobbie, so we took them with us to explore some of the trails. Mary and I headed into town in the Morning and hired our own. The hire shop bloke pointed us to some trails which went all the way up the valley and back down again. It was a little ambitious as it covered a total of 40km with 1000m in ascent (it had 1000m in descent as well but I didn't mind that bit). Little did we know that Chamonix doesn't have mountain biking trails as such, it has walking trails which can be used with mountain bikes. Some of these are well suited to biking and some (namely most of the ones we went on) are just not. We constantly found ourselves on steep, uneven slopes which were difficult enough to walk up let alone cycle up. We spent a lot of the morning pushing bikes up hills. Not fun! Mind you, the surroundings were beatiful and the exercise was top quality! We finally got to a small town right at the top of the valley called Le tour and caught a gondola up 300m to the top of a ski resort. Climbed another 200m and sped down the other side of the valley on a proper downhill track! That was REAL fun!!! We even managed to stop into switzerland (about 5m inside the border, but we went to switzerland). We then had another 300m gradual climb on road back into the Chamonix valley. My legs were like lead, but I was determined not to get off and push. It took ages and I had to just sit there and keep peddling through the aching pain in my thighs, but I did it! I finally got there. From there on it was downhill all the way back to the campsite which we did in about a 20th of the time it took to get up there.

I slept very very very well that night!



Day 5: Rest day

We were buggered. Having gone hard for 4 days straight, our muscles and bones were whowing the signs, so when Steve suggested we take a road trip into Italy we all jumped at it. So we all bundled into the van and headed through the tunnel that links Chamonix and the Italian Aosta region; destination: Turin. It was only a 2hour drive and spent the day wandering around, eating some amazing pizza and playing frisbee in the park. But the higlight really had to be the gelati! Genuine home-made Italian Gelati! Is there anything that beats it? The other 4 hadn't been to Italy before and it was just so cool to see them eat their first spoonfuls and watch the look of sheer esctacy wash over their faces. And then would they shut up about it?



Great day and a welcome break from the activities, but not for long....

Day 6: The glory climb - L'Aguilette D'Argentiere

Leafing through the climbing guide a couple of days back I spied this great pillar of rock standing by itself amongst the cliffs overlooking Argentiere. It is about 25m high and Narrows to a small 1mx1m platform at the very top. Simply put, it's spectacular and we can climb it. Also, it is on one of the big tourist tracks so there are always a lot of on-climbers walking by amazed that people are climbing (it's not actually a very hard climb - the hardest route is 5c, but they don't know that). I decided then and there that I had to climb it. It looks cool, it is a fun climb and I just love showing off!



Day 7: Gutentag Switzerland

Mary and Steve were doing their first real Mountain climb today with an overnight stay in a refuge up in the mountains so we dropped them off at their starting point and then headed with the bikes up to a dam in Switzerland where we'd been told there was some good riding. The crossing into Switzerland was straight forward and immediately we noticed a change in terrain. On the france end of the valley the valley floor is nice and flat so al lot of development has gone on there. Once we got into Switzerland it was obvious that the valley floor had dissappeared and there was just dramatic gorges with little hamlets clinging tentatively to the sides of the valley. The dam we were headed to is formed of two walls and lakes and is called Lac D'Emmosson. The scenery as always was spectacular and the ride was nice and flat.... until we got to the second dam where it suddenly got evil on us - nice path, straight up. Yet again I was resigned to pushing my bike up hill. The upper lake at 2000m was surrounded by snow and still had a lot of unthawed snow in the lake itself. I'd suggested that once we get to the lake we take a quick dip, but on arriving we saw that the lake was full of snow and ice and our resolve to take a cold swim quickly vanished. We had a look around and then headed back to town to party!!!



Day 8: So that's what chairlifts are for!

I got a text from Mary saying they were back at the drop off point so we put the bikes on the van and headed up. The drop off point was the ski resort Le Tour and they have a nice downhill bike track and chairlifts so we thought we would give it a spin. We got up, put the bikes on the lift and headed straight up, and then straight down at a somewhat more hectic place. I was on Steves bike which doesn't have as good brakes as the one I hired, so I had to take it easy to save me falling off some precipitous drop which was constantly a worry. I made good time down the bottom but blew my back tire on the last stretch so had to walk the bike back in. Do you get the feeling that I've been pushing bikes more than riding them this trip? Yeh me too. We picked up Mary and Steve who were exhausted from a hard walk and a sleepless night in a refuge jam-packed with snoring smelly climbers, and headed home for a quiet night in.

Day 9:

All completely exhausted, did absolutely nothing until that night which turned into a rather large affair - or so I was thinking as I wandered home bleary eyed at 9:30am.

Day 10: Back into the climbing

We headed to Les Gaillands again to try some more routes. A good days climbing except for 1 climb which I could not nail. I resolved to come back as I would not be defeated this time. In fact I was going to try again that day, but as I was chilling at the base of the wall with Steve and Woollie on climbs, there was an almight crack of lightning and thunder . As exposed cliffs are not the best place to be in a thunderstorm, Steve (the most experienced climber) quickly got off the wall. Woolie (a somewhat less experienced climber - sorry mate) wanted to finish his climb and took some convincing that perhaps it was best to just come down. Safe at the bottom, the skies opened up. I haven't seen this sort of rain for a long time and the cliff we were climing quickly turned into a collection of waterfalls. Unfortunately, we were lead climbing so all our ropes and equipment were still attached to the cliff. So we stood in the pouring rain and waited it out, all the while getting absolutely drenched. The rain finally stopped, we got our gear and then headed back like 5 drowned rats to the car. Afternoon thunderstorms are common in the Alps in Summer which must be considered when climbing the higher mountains as it is not very wise to get caught in one when you are clinging to some unlikely snow trail with a 1000m drop next door.

Day 11: Gonna nail that climb

The climb which had defeated me yesterday was still there when we got back - dammit!
I steeled myself for it and tried once again - in vain. There was this one tricky move which required some good smeary foot work and my shoes just didn't want to hang on. Mary had a go and of course she nailed it the first time. Steve tried - nailed it. Scotty tried - nailed it. Man Scotty was climbing well that day - there was nothing that could defeat him! I decided a different approach - I top-roped the climb first (where the rope is set up from the top so there is no danger of falling 4m because you are attached from above - This takes the pressure off and makes the climbing significantly easier, but also allows you to work out the moves for when you do it for real). Climbed it fine with the top rope. Went back to lead and finally nailed it - That felt good! We estimated the climb to be at a 6a+ which means its my hardest climb so far. Also managed somehow to comlpetely rip the pad off one of my fingers and give myself a huge blood blister on the other. Its strange how you can give yourself an injury which would normally hurt and make you stop what you are doing, but when you are in an intense (and andrenalin fueled) situation, you are completely oblivious to it and don't even notice until its all over.

A few days before, Steve had discussed the idea of doing another big mountain climb wit hme along this time. We had looked at a fairly short beginers route to cater for my big-mountain inexperience, but due to being a bit unsatified with his previous route was he was leaning towards a 4248m peak called Mt Blanc Du Tacal. Why not? I always love being thrown in the deep end and chalking up a 4000m as my first climb sounded pretty cool. The escape routes were pretty good so if there were any probs we could easily pull out. but thats for the next entry.....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tommy/world-adventure/1118739420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tommy/world-adventure/1118739420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tommy/world-adventure/1118739420/tpod.html Thu, 08 Jun 2006 12:06:06 -0400 One year is a long time, but life is short

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Chamonix, France

I think this was the 1st early morning I had during our whole stay - we were usually fairly relaxed in the morning, but when there is a big ascent to do, its important to get there early to avoid being on the mountain when the afternoon storms come in.

We had carefully packed everything the night before and even though it was just a day trip we had to pack a fair bit - Crampons, Ice Axe, Rope, Rescue equipment, food, sleeping bag, survival kit, etc.

The plan was to take the Gondola to L'Aguille du midi (3800m), descend to the Col at 3500m and then climb Mt Blanc Du Tacal (4258m) before turning back and going home.

We got to the Gondola for the first lift at 8:10am, but there was such a huge crowd of people waiting to get up the mountain, it wasn't until 9:30 that we were heading up. If you are ever in the area, I recommend just taking the Gondola for its own sake; the feeling of being flung up the mountain is fantastic and the scenery is amazing.

On getting to the top, the first thing I noticed was that it was really hard to breath. The air was thin and I really had to use full lungfuls just to get the oxygen and that was before I had even started walking!!! We got out bearings and headed to the climbers exit where we stopped before stepping outside to put on our crampons, rope ourselves togehter and do some last minute checks. We stepped outside onto a small fenced snow platform with a gate at the far end. The meaning was clear - Step past this gate and your on your own!!!!! (Not really - Chamonix has one of the best and busiest mountains rescue services in the world and what's better is that during summer months its free! Often when sitting at the camp site we would hear helicopters flying all over the valley helping poor hapless souls that had got into trouble - hopefully that wouldn't be us). So we stepped through the gate and I got the feel for the first time of what it was like to walk with crampons. It's not easy - There are spikes pointing all over the place which just love to get caught on anything - shoelaces, trousers, snow, straps, anything they can find. This makes it important to walk very carefully because the last thing you need is to trip in a precarious situation. It takes a bit of practice to get it right.



Unfortunately for me the first part of the route was tricky. We were walking along the top of a razor thin ridge which dropped off steeply on both sides. On the left side you would pretty much land 2500m below in Chamonix (bit of an exageration, but it was at least 500m and you would definately die) and on the right side it was a steep 300m down to the Col which if you were lucky, you would survive. I remember thinking "If I fall - fall right". I found the best technique was to just look at my feet and the step in front of me - that did the trick. So we edged our way down the ridge until we got to the Col and had a chance to relax and take in my surroundings. It was just the coolest feeling being there. All around was massive mountains, snow, ice, glaciers and seracs - hostile yet beautiful at the same time. The air was thin, but crisp and clear and the sky flawlessly blue. I felt pretty lucky to be up there.

The next job was a 2km level walk across the col to the base of the first pitch. It was reasonably hard because of trudging through the snow which was already getting soft, but we made good time and were at the base about 30mins later.


At the base of Mt Blanc Du Tacul

We stopped for a quick rest and then ploughed on up the slope which was very steep. About 5mins into it, we were exhausted, our lungs and hearts and legs just couldn't maintain the climbing so we stopped to see how far we had come.... about 50 metres.... Damn!!! The climb varied in steepness so sometimes it was fairly reasonable going and sometimes we just had to zigzag up because we couldn't go straight. The steeper sections were somehow better though because we gained altitude more quickly. After a good 2hours, we got out onto the top ridge of the mountain which then gently led us up to the peak.



On the way we saw some paragliders getting ready to jump of the mountain. I was impressed as I was pretty tired at this point from just walking up, but these guys had climbed most of the mountain with a parachute and chair on their backs - Mind you, they had a much easier descent than we did. We trudged on and finally got to the final spire which after a bit of a scramble was the top. We did it! We climbed 4258m. I was absolutely chuffed. We called each other "tu" which is a French climbing tradition - The idea is that up above 4000m you have proven yourself, so there is no longer any status or gender or anything, which is you call each other "tu" or "you" (I think).



We stood a little while to take in the majestic scenery and take some happy snaps then quickly headed back down as there was some clouds forming near Mt Blanc which were looking a bit ugly. The walk down was easy along the ridge, but after we got to the steep section things got tough. I've always found it a bit harder to walk downhill, but this was pure hell! We stopped a lot of times to reast on the way down and by the end my legs were like jelly. The walk back along the col was a bit easier, but by the time we got back to the climb back up to the Gondola, I was shattered. I didn't want to be there, I just wanted to go home, but I steeled myself and just got on with with it - no point in complaining.


Exhausted and happy back at L'Aguille du Midi

And I had it easy - Steve had been feeling a bit off colour during the day, but now was coming down with what looked like a definite case of altitude sickness - dizzyness, headaches, lack of concentration and nausea. At one point he was seeing double. In an act of pure heroism, he dragged himself back up to the Aguile du midi and we got him back down to the bottom. He had some sleep and a couple of aspirins back in the camp and quickly returned to normal. So much so that he got up and went drinking with us at the street party being held in town that night. Respect!


A couple of drinks to round the day off

My last day in Chamonix, my very first big mountain climb (and a 4000m peak that at) and an awesome 2 weeks of climbing, biking and partying. I was one happy camper.

Thanks Mary, Steve, Woollie and Scotty for a top couple of weeks.
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Cotswolds, United Kingdom

After the hectic weekend in Belfast, I was a bit worse for wear and coming down with a bad cold, so I spent the week inside and headed to the Cotsolds for the weekend to visit my mate Isi. She is working there and has, as part of her job, her own 3 bedroom cottage in a cool little village near Stow on the Wold. Sarah and Sean came down from Wakefield for the weekend as well. It's a perfect place to spend a relaxing weekend with heaps of walks and cool little places to see - Every house is made of stone and looks like they've been there a very long time. We visited a middle ages church which had been kept in great condition, even down to the markings in the stone bech out the front which were made by archers sharpening their arrows.

We paid a brief visit to an organic farm shop which is frequented by Prince Charlie himself. In fact the owners, who made their wealth from the JCB tractor empire, started the organic farm shop for the sole purpose of getting into Prince Charles social circle (or so the story goes....). As you might imagine, it was very expensive, but the whole area seems to have the money to sustain these sorts of places.

So relaxed, replenished and feeling a lot better, I headed down to Ebbw Vale in the Valleys in Wales where my sister has just bought a house, before heading to Chamonix in the French Alps for 2 weeks of climbing, biking and general being really fit and healthy with my sister Mary, her fiance Steve and friends Woollie and Scotty.
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