Mountain Minds International

Davut Dagi

2010-01-08T22:33:00.001Z

The day after our return from the mini Kackar Expedition we were were treated with some fine surprises! First, we were woken up by the sun beaming through the window and secondly, during our tour this day into the Davut Dagi range, which lies to the S/SE of Yaylalar, we had the most amazing experience of watching a massive bear climbing a big slope to the col in front of us! See video above. The second half is better and a bit closer. Watch how big its paws are, how fast it moves and how it turns its head around to look at us!

The whole week we were talking about the small possibility of encountering one and were hoping for some good luck after seeing so many tracks everywhere… big tracks! And then ..there it was, moving fast and turning his head around towards us.. it was obvious that the animal wanted to get away from us! Later when we got back from the trip, the hostel owner explained us that this bear crossed the street in the village and apparently does so on a regular basis. It moves between the mountains on the north side and the south side of the village. There are two, a couple, and sometimes 3, when there is a young. I think it has been my best wilderness experience I have had till so far.

The ranges on the south side of Yaylalar are used a lot for heli skiing and we could understand why!! Big open slopes, where you could cruise your little hard out. Nice gullies too! The mountains were still thick in snow but this time of the year (April) it is getting warm quickly and the snow tends to be heavy and wettish. For skiing powder the best time is February/March. Touring probably best in March. The mountains in Turkey are high, most higher than 3000. This time of the year, lower down, the mountains are really getting stripped of the snow which means that you have to do a bit of walking to reach the snowline in some areas.

To get into the Davut Dagi we followed the gorge of the Mahlen Deresi until we reach the snowline where we clambered on the steep left bank and continued our way up. The slopes are big and steep on either side of the Mahlen Deresi and hold a lot of snow and when avalanched leads into quite a man trap. An area to take care in.

We toured to just below the col to the right of Sarkinet Tepesi (3283m) but as the snow conditions weren’t good and views of very recent avalanches were surrounding us we stopped on a little platform at about 3000m. Andoni and Iker were persistent and continued to the col. We decided to slowly start our descent and when we all gathered together on the way down it turned out that Iker had broken his ski below the col and thus couldn’t descend skiing….apperently it was a very long walk down!!!!

As for us the descent was a delight…another sweet Turkish delight!!! A magnificent area, worth while a return!

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After returning to the Camyuva pension we gathered our kit together, had some lunch and bought some supplies from the local shop which also belonged to owners of the Camyuva and started our descent down the valley. The plan was to stop in Barhal on the way down and do a route the next day to Altiparmak (3501m). We certainly stopped in Barhal and we even got to go to Altiparmak….well some of us!!

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The route down the valley is rough, very rough and since our hire cars weren’t particularly suitable, very low and nothing near anything off- roady or 4 wheel drive, (but mostly unsuitable for rally driving), the route was quite an adventure. Especially when after only 10 minutes into the trip one of the cars was leaving a trail of thick oil behind. We flagged the other troop down to stop and basically it didn’t look good…not much help on these roads either... So we decided to tow the other car up and down the gorge…I say up and down as the problem here is that the route doesn’t properly descent and so we couldn’t just drive the car without motor in neutral down…we had to tow a lot of up, followed by a lot of down and sharp turns on a one way off-road track next to a raging river in a big gorge….. whoopee! Our towing system wasn’t of the best either… and so we added some extra damaged to the car, oepppss. What did they say again about insurance at the car hire?? Did anyone understand that part of the conversation…ehhh can anyone read the papers? Nooop, and nooop!

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We got as far as Barhal and thought that surely in Barhal we could find a mechanic to sort a ‘minor’ problem. No way man..instead we were so naive and thought that on of the young local shop keeper dudes was really helpful and was offering us (in Turkish) the help of his friend..who of course was a mechanic. But our friend didn’t know when he would arrive…tomorrow morning mechanic…no problem… and then he showed us his brothers teahouse!! So that is were we ended up and guess what…Next morning no mechanic and of course our little friend knew of nothing, well that is as far as our Turkish understanding goes, ha,ha. Well at least we did something beneficial for the local community!

Next up: Altiparmak

See you there!!! XXX Chris

Kackar

2010-01-04T22:08:00.001Z

The evening before our departure for our attempt on Kackar we spent preparing our plan of action, food and gear and trying the cooker. Just as well we did the latter as the bloody thing wasn’t working well and we ended up borrowing a gas stove of the owners of the Camyuva pension.

The next morning came nearly to early but once we were all up and away we started to wake up pronto! The weather was great, if anything, to warm, and we were hopeful of a good 3 days.

We started our trip from Yaylalar (1875m) in the direction of Olgunlar (2076m). This village is one of the many summer yaylas or pastures. The locals move here in the summer to let the cattle graze and it even has some refuges. In spring however it is full of other animals like wolves and bear…tracks everywhere and quite spooky. One of the old locals we passed tried to explain us to be careful… he was on his way with a pair of binoculars to spy wildlife!

We continued our way through the steep valley trampling over avalanche debris in the direction of Dilberduzu (2882), the mains summer campsite for trekkers. Our base camp was just above it at 3000m. The trek through the valley was stunning. We passed another big summer pasture, Hastaf, which in summer also provides a good campsite. In winter you have to be very careful in these places regards to avalanches.The valley climbs gradually, with big slopes on either side and long.

We gathered at Hastaf and had a snack, enjoying sunshine and breath taking scenery.

Arriving at our base camp felt great. It was such a beautiful spot. Digging our protection came first and after we had lunch followed by the start of an afternoon explore. We split in two groups. Patxi, Alberto, Unai and myself went into the direction of Soganh Dagi but we got as far as the saddle, Hevek Ceciti. The snow wasn’t great and kept breaking away underneath us but it was a nice way to finish the day especially as the skiing down was good.

Once back, we were all starving and cold..the weather was deteriorating quite fast! We brewed Chai and got cooking. We shared one pot between all and as one was eating the other was looking on in hope there would be enough left…especially Iker!!

The night was long and we didn’t sleep well as the weather was horrendous and we were worried the tent would snow in, blow away or a wolves/bear would come and sniff our food and eat us all! Quite a strange fear. We are so used to being safe in Europe..

The next morning we left early into the mist and coming snowstorm. Quite tensed at times since the map we had was poor and the visibility was so bad.

The weather got worse and the gale picked up. We had split into two groups and by the time we got back together passed and above the lake of Deniz Golu at about 3600m, the weather was so bad that we were not sure to continue. In front of us was a steep descent into nowhere, with on the left steep cliffs and on the right indefinable terrain. Andoni, Alberto and Iker said they wanted to give it a go and continue. Patxi, Unai and myself turned round and boy was I glad! The weather deteriorated more and on our GPS we made our way down into the soup to camp.

Once at camp the weather got even worse and we packed up half of the kit and left the other half as shelter for the rest of the team. We were worried about them but decisions were made and so we had to leave them to it.

The ski back down was tedious and involved a lot of pushing! How glad were we to see Yaylalar.

The rest of the team arrived safely home later that evening but they told us that they had quite an epic and were glad to be back safely. After their descend into nowhere it was quite uncertain where exactly they were and they decided to start to climb a steep rocky ridge. As the gales were growing in strength, it didn’t look to bright and they decided to turn back. A long way back!!! We were not the only ones happy to be back ….At Camyuva they were awaiting us locitos!

None of us made it to the summit this time but now we have another good reason to come back!!!!

Next up: Davut Dagi!

Cheerioooooooo Christel

Just a little view back to our encounter with the turkish army..the wild ride down! This was filmed in secrecy!

2009-10-13T01:25:00.003+01:00

Do you feel comfortable?.. do I look comfortable?...Me, oh me I am fine...eeehhhh they certainly take the direct line down, don't they?!

Que piensas? Frenas? Aqui? A la nieve?

Que? Yo nerviosa? Yo no, que dices, yo estoy muy, muy, comfortable aqui, no veas?

Halblamos, hablamos de Bolamendi, como se llama esta montana laguna? Kargapazari Daglari, ehh como? Kargapa... puedes decir otra vez un poco mas claro? Tenemos problemas con las orejas entiendes, no, no vas a entender porque no hablamos tu idioma, pero es egual tu dices otra vez mas, y muy, muy claro...Kargapazari Daglari...oso ondo, Eskerrik asko laguna estas al camera!!!!!

Ehhhhh, tu, amigo de Bolamendi, es no problema, puedes dejar nosotros aqui, aqui esta muy bien..esquiamos el reste, que dices? Porque non? Que dices? Gendarme????

Hey if I fall forward on top of you and head bud you it aint because I don't like you, really, it is just a bit of a bumpy ride?????

And another wee taster..when the sun was still shining!

2009-10-12T23:52:00.002+01:00

What a day...little did it resemble the day that followed....

Just a taster of the next part in the Turkish Delight Adventure.....

2009-10-12T23:19:00.003+01:00

Kackar Basecamp at Dilberduzu at 3000m

It was just a littlebit freezing my friend....

Just keep brewing pots of Chai...

Chai is good, Chai is your friend!!

Yusufeli, the friendly bull fight and the entry to Kackar

2009-10-11T22:50:00.001+01:00

Driving in the direction of Yusufeli after leaving our army adventure behind we passed some amazing scenery. We followed the Tortum river, which was flowing high and rapid with melt water. It passes through Tortum Lake, which was formed by a landslide a few centuries ago. North of the Lake you can visit the spectacular Tortum falls.The Tortum confluences with the Oltu river and the famous Coruh river. The Coruh is rated as one of the world’s top 10 rivers for rafting.It became famous by hosting the 4th World Watersports championship and then the international kayaking championships in 2005 and 2007. It is very consistent and the rapids follow each other in quick succession. One of the most famous rapids is King Kong in the Yusufeli gorge. Consistently grade 3 plus quite a few grade 4 to 5 rapids leave you with a rafting trip not to forget!

The valley of the Coruh river, especially between Ispir and Yusufeli, is bordered by dramatic heavily eroded sandstone rocks. They continue west from Yusufeli for about 30km. Our journey was to continue north of Yusufeli to the village of Altiparmak Barhal and then south west to Yaylalar, which was going to be our base to get in to the Kackar mountains.

We arrived in Yusufeli at night and since we weren’t sure whether there would be possibilities for sleeping higher up in the valley we decided to stop here for the night. We found some great accommodation at the Greenpiece camping where you have the choice between a tree house or rooms…since it was still pretty fresh out there we settled in the rooms.

As we had discovered earlier, there was some sort of festival going on in Town and we decided to go down to check it out. There was tremendous atmosphere out there and as we found out there was a national friendly bull fighting festival the next day just a little bit higher in the valley. The festival is held every year round the 25th-27th April and absolutely a must when you are going to be in the area.

Yusufeli

Yusufeli has got a real good feel to it. It is a village with a heart and there is always a buzz. Unfortunately Yusufeli and some other villages in the Coruh valley are planned to be flooded as part of dam construction for electricity. The inhabitants are going to be relocated in the mountains. This plan has been in the pipeline for about 20 years now and many say it won’t be long before it will be pulled through. In our eyes as visitors we saw it as an incredible sad prospect. The area will loose it’s heart and people. We spoke to quite a few locals and their views are actually really mixed. Some of them are very sad and see it as a destruction of their community. Others told us that since they have been messed around so much now over the last years, they just want to hear a clear decision so that they can plan their lives around it, whether that would mean moving or staying, it doesn’t matter, they just need a decision. Many young people would like to start a business involving tourism but they are afraid that once all set up they will have to leave so nobody is prepared to develop anymore or put money into the area. We hope the decision will mean that the Yusufeli community will stay alive as it is the main hub of the valley!

Different generations in Yusufeli

After a kebab dinner we watched some of the local festivities, music and dance (it was broadcasted on the Telli too!) and went back to our doss for the night.

The next morning half of the team went off to go touring whilst Unai, Patxi and myself went to visit the local bull fight! It was absolutely amazing. We were the only foreigners…There were a lot of people, and I mean a lot!! All of them Turkish from all over! It was a privilege to witness such a gathering of people and such a festivity and feel of community spirit. The viewers had come from allover as early as possible to rig their own shelter and find the best position. Some of the constructions were frightening ( health and safety ain’t quite the same as over here!). But people seemed to be content and not in the least botherd. Young and old seem to be no different from each other if it comes down to bravery and agility to climb up and down the rocks! It was a display of color and culture that I have never really witnessed before.

Yusufeli Bull Wrestling

Since we were the only foreigners, we were an attraction in itself, especially as we were walking around with our cameras trying to capture as much of the spirit of the festival as possible.

We were interviewed by the Turkish news for television. Unfortunately we never got to see it but it was funny as anything. The interviewer and camera man didn’t speak English and we didn’t speak Turkish!

The bull fight was quite different too! Most spectators that were sitting around the arena, were in reality sitting more or less in the arena which added somewhat to he excitement. Now I am not a fan of bull fights but this was not a normal fight. The bulls actually don’t fight. They get left in the arena and the one that makes the first approach wins the fight. Immediately after the approach the owners catch the bulls and take them out of the arena, which possibly is the most exciting part. The owners don’t stimulate the bulls to fight. They just wait and capture. The public that sits around ,or, for that matter in the arena has got indeed a very exciting seat!

The Bulls, the owners, the arena

We spend the morning at the bull fight and then continued our journey to Yaylalar….an adventure in itself!!! It is a very long way along a very interesting ‘road’ especially with our cars!

Scenery

Absolute stunning scenery makes up for the intense drive. On numerous of occasions we were building a drive way to the rivers that crossed our way and the bridges that we crossed didn’t particularly feel any safer. On several occasions we had to stop the car as we hit a rock..and another one… and another one..or we heard strange noises etc. Our way back down from Yaylalar later in our trip proved to be even more exciting!

And our drive continued

We arrived in Yaylalar late afternoon and bumped into the other half of the group who were just coming down the hillside into the top of the village. The village looked like sleepy hollow…no one to be seen and as silent as the night! The guys told us that they had seen some sort of pension but our hopes weren’t that high that it would be open. Yaylalar is incredibly remote and the road leading into it not easy. Many times of the year the village is disconnected from the outside world like many of the villages in the branching valleys.However this adds to it’s beautiful character. It is situated in an absolute stunning place!! The views of the surrounding mountains the high alpine type pastures, the bear that trample through the village, it all gives you a sense of tremendous peace and wilderness.It has become one of my favourite places I have visited during my travels.

Once everyone was reunited we went to find the pension. It is called the Camyuva pension and the best place we stayed during our trip! We were the only ones that stayed there and was not really open when we arrived but there was no hesitation, we were welcomed immediately. The pension is owed by two brothers Ismail and Naim. They are wonderful. The fire was ignited for us, a fabulous extensive dinner was cooked for us and the breakfast was something else! No English was spoken but we didn’t need any specific language to communicate, it is so much fun and such an adventure to communicate with drawings, hand signals etc!

The pension has got super rooms. You can even choose between en suite, a normal room or a small bungalow. If you ever think about going this way, make sure you don’t miss out on this experience. For us it was luxury in remoteness before our 3 day expedition started. Also in Yaylalar there are a few shops. The only one that was open and probably the most extensive, was owed by Naim, one of the owners of the pension. The food is basic but if you want fresh things and you ask for it in advance, you can get fresh bread, vegetables, fruit, etc. Turkey is one of the few countries that lives pretty much of it’s own produce. The variety is enormous and all food really delicious. However in many places you do find yourself eating some form of Kebap and the meat dishes don’t offer a lot of variety. For me no problemo…quite like the kebap!

Yaylalar

The area round Yaylalar and the Kackar are quite famous now in summer for trekkers, but in the in the winter, despite there being some Heli skiing, you can’t find yourself pretty much alone. Most of the heli skiing is operated by Russian and German groups and they stay in the Camyuva. There is no such thing as mountain rescue here although Ismail and Naim are a contact base and they keep their eyes out for the people that go out in the mountains.

Self sufficiency out there is vital, compass and GPS are a must and the map that is available of the Kackar ( by Zsiga Gyorgy ) is, as far as Turkish mountain maps go, a good companion. Also be prepared for true wilderness as wolves and bear roam freely and in abundance!

More information on routes and trekking you can find in the book ‘The Kackar’ by Kate Clow. This book is really written for summer trekking but provides some excellent information and also gives you GPS points on the routes.

Stay tuned for the next part in the Turkish Delight adventure…. to follow soon: The Kackar expedition and our trip into the Davut Dagi

Turkish delight part two

2009-09-21T09:57:00.001+01:00

On our 2nd day we left Erzurum to travel in the direction of the Black Sea Mountains. The plan was to do a ski tour on our way up and after continue to Yusufeli, which lies just to the east of Kackar at the entry of the of the Coruh valley. As we drove we were absolutely blown away by the amount of big mountains surrounding us. Because we didn't have a decent map we just looked around for a mountain that appealed to the eye and any good skiing lines. Eventually we saw a mountain in the distance that caught everybody's attention and we tried to find a way to get as close as possible to the foot of it. Well aware that our hire cars weren't 4x4 we resorted to rally driving anyway!!! The track leading to our desired point was a certain mud bath that definitely wasn't designed for our vehicles but after all we came here for the adventure so we might as well have some! The going down didn't prove much of a problem for the cars..as we later found out, the going up did.

The mountain we decided to climb was in our view a mountain without a name. It did have one, but that we only found out after several hours in company of the Turkish Army on the same day....

As we headed out into the unknown we were all enjoying the magnificent views and the good weather. The snow was ok albeit it being somewhat moist. However slowly the weather started changing and by the time we hit the summit slope the weather had completely closed in and the visibility was virtually none. As best as we could we tried to find our way but there is definitely something discomforting about traveling into the unknown without a map. I had brought my GPS but that really only helped us for our way down...which we never took by skis as it turned out.

By the time we hit the summit rim we were all quite spaced out and I could only see Unai. As I was heading up I thought I saw one of the other guys standing on the summit rim and I was happily waving my hand and shouting hey Andoni.. But it wasn't Andoni!!! As reached closer I saw that the guy I had been waving at was a man in a army suit with a big gun and not a pair of skis in his hands!! The guy was distressed and was shouting at me and Unai. It was hands up for us and the only words that could come out of our mouths was friends and peace. He wasn't the only guy with a big gun! As I got to the summit plateau proper I could see something like a round weather balloon and a small tower. Our friends were already on their way to the tower. When we arrived we got pointed to leave our skis outside and enter the tower. It was like an old war film!! In the tower was only space for one person, below my feet was a latch and on the wall a telephone. The soldier phoned and exchanged a few words in Turkish. I was hopeful that the other guys would turn up but instead he opened the latch and pointed down with his gun for me to enter. It was the creepiest thing, believe me, I was truly scared!! I looked at Unai and as we tried to smile friendly at the soldier and trying to explain we would rather take our skies and go down, the guy just got a more serious and stressed look and we thought we better follow his orders. There we went into a tunnel...a very, very long, narrow concrete tunnel with a lot of doors going of in different directions with big skulls drawn on them. I was having visions of never leaving the underground world again and to vanish of the face of the earth. Eventually we reached a door where we were handed over to another soldier who took us further into the tunnel system.

Our new 'guide' took us into a room that looked like the head quarters where we were reunited with our friends who probably looked as dumbfounded as we did. In the room were several soldiers and one guy that looked like the main man. He was making several phone calls and asked us for passports and mentioned the GPS. I don't know what must have gone through their heads but initially they maybe thought we were spies or something similar. It must have been the weirdest thing seeing 5 chicos y una rubia on skis turn up on their secret base. The word America fell several times but since that was the only thing we understood I have know idea what else they talked about. Several soldiers were taking photos with their mobile phones and as time went on the atmosphere seemed to relax a little. We pointed at our food and our mouths to indicate that we would like to eat something. Hours had gone by and we were starving. We also pointed at the soldiers to indicate they would be welcome to share. They shook their heads but instead they asked us if we would like some Chai. This was the turning point. When they invite you for Chai it must be ok we thought! We drank our Chai and chatted amongst us speculating what would happen. Then the general or whatever his title would have been handed us back our passports and he indicated that we would be leaving. Hurray we thought, this is good and we tried to act out that we needed our skis and that we would ski down. There was no way they would let us ski down. The guy made another phone call and the word Gendarme fell. Nobody quite knew what was going on. We tried some English and the general actually responded in some broken words. I tried to ask him where we were and why there wasn't access to any maps for the mountains. I knew there were some as I found a web site belonging to the Turkish army that mentioned them but they weren't allowed to the public. He wrote down the name of the mountain, Kog Dagi (2980m) in the Kargapazari Daglari, and tried to explain me that this was a secret base and therefore maps were not accessible but he also told me for as far as I could understand that he thought that this was stupid and he he didn't mind disclosing the name because the Americans could follow everyone anytime anywhere anyway with Google Earth, so secrecy was obviously not that important!!

We were ushered outside into the mist under the watchful eyes and many mobile phones. In front of us was a small snow cat with our skis already in it. We were signed to enter. We were so disappointed that we weren't allowed to ski but once we were on our way down into the mist in the small vehicle sliding steeply down the slopes our disappointment soon made place for a big sense of adventure! The descent down was definitely more exhilarating in the snow cat than that it would have been on the skis!! We just pretty much went straight down the mountain and at times we were virtually on our side or the vehicle started sliding before the driver gained control again. Some of us had to brace firmly against the seats on the opposite side to prevent us from head butting the guys on the other side. It was actually brilliant. When we reached the snow line we thought they would let us out and walk the rest but we had to stay in place under guard of two soldiers. Since they had taken photos of us with their mobile phones and the atmosphere had eased we pointed at our camera to see whether it would be ok to take a picture. The soldiers laughed and were more than keen to get their snaps taken.

After about 10 minutes a police vehicle 4x4 turned up with 4 men in it. One came out and definitely looked like someone important who you didn't want to mess with!! At that point we were allowed to leave the snow cat catch our skis and put them in the back of the 4x4. We had to enter as well. The soldiers turned round and disappeared back into the thick mist. We were now left with some very unfriendly and distressed looking men. We couldn't crack smile instead just got irritated witch us trying to be friendly to them. From where the snow cat has dropped us off it was only 10 min walk to the cars...the police dropped us off after 5 minutes in next to the vehicles and then drove off in hurry without any words or a smile. It was the weirdest thing, we stood there looking the 4x4 carting off wondering what just had happened. We could only suggest that we were on such dangerous terrain that we weren't allowed to descend on our own until we would be completely off the mountain. It was the most surreal thing, we felt like as we just stepped off the set of a movie... As sudden as it had started it finished! Startled we stood there, our minds racing about what just had happened to us! Relieved we were, that for sure...and the movie of Turkish delight had only just started at that point!!

Turkish delight part 3,Yusufeli, the friendly Bull fighting festival and the drive up to Yaylalar, will soon follow, stay tuned!

Cheerio,

Christel

Turkish Delight

2009-08-22T22:52:00.001+01:00

After some time finally here the Turkish Ski mountaineering adventures in written format.

Last April/ May a group of 6 adventurers in search of the wild and the white in Eastern Turkey, Anatolia. Alberto, Andoni, Iker, Patxi, Unai and myself flew into to Istanbul and continued in the early hours of the morning with a flight into Erzurum.

The adventure started already long before we left. We did a lot of research before we departed on this trip but there is very little information available on the eastern part of Turkey. English written info is a hardship and maps are pretty much for main roads only. The only areas that are well known and provide you with some form of mountain map are the Kackar and Ararat. The Kackar guidebook by Kate Clow was most helpful and it contains a reasonable map by Zsiga Gyorgy. For Ararat there is a vague map but to climb Ararat you need a permit and use a local 'guide'. Two out of our team tried the 'local guide approach on the day thing' but got done and decided to attempt it themselves which turned into a bit of an epic. Two Russian guys that we met in Dogubayazit told us they had just come back and used a local guide and porters last minute but..a quarter of the way up the guide and his man decided it was to exhausting for them to make trail (as the snow was waist deep powder) and made base and wouldn't go any higher!!

Overall though during our trip we discovered that the Turkish/Kurds are incredible friendly people and everywhere we went we were welcomed with a warm hard. It was the first time since many years that I traveled to a country where I couldn't speak in their language nor any other language I know. This made the adventure even bigger and more fun as everything was done in sign language or making drawings etc. It also provided us with some scary moments though!! The people live their lives still very much like many hundreds and hundreds of years ago.

Our first port of call was Erzurum which is in the center of Anatolia and host the biggest Turkish ski resort Palandoken. We realised that it was famous to the Turkish but not really to foreigners. In Erzurum our first challenge was to hire two vehicles suitable for the mountains. How do you explain that in Turkish? Nobody, but nobody spoke any foreign language and there were only two car hires which were situated next to each other and probably brothers!!! We spend about two hours at the car hire requesting two off road type vehicles or a some sort of minibus but no success the only cars they had were a Skoda and a Suzuki. Asking them about the insurance was a complete mystery to them and in the end we had no idea whether we were insured or not. They got a friend to come round and we had to wait until he was there because apparently he spoke English....and he did one, two, three words. But he was so proud and it was cool! The whole scenario was hilarious because every one out the street came round to look what was going on. All our luggage, mountaineering and ski equipment on the pavement. When we set ourselves down in front of the car hire we were joint by a few locals!!

When we finally got our cars the next challenge was to find somewhere to stay in Erzurum for a night. We thought it a good idea to visit the tourist office as Erzurum had a ski resort so sure it would have a good tourist office?? Well there is but I realized that I needed to start learning Turkish for next time! Another funny experience. The town is a bit of a chaos and to find your way round is a bit of a puzzle in the beginning. We did find the tourist info eventually but when we got there we saw two men drinking Chai and about five desks un occupied. A the desk where the two men were sitting there were lot's of brochures but when we spoke to the men,they just looked at us and then started talking Turkish to us. We understood to have a seat when the one of the men pointed at it and thought that maybe someone was coming to speak to us and so we waited but no one came instead we were offered numerous cups of Chai and so we just flicked through the brochures for a little while to check out the pictures until we realized that it could take a very long time before anyone would come and speak to us... So we left to continue our mission. We flicked through the lonely planet for recommendations on accommodation. We found a sound place to kip, the Yeni Ornek. Basic but cheap, clean and spacious rooms and nice staff (no English either!). They do a fine Turkish breakfast with lot's of choice and opposite the Hekimoglu does great kebaps!!!

In the afternoon we decided to go for a bit of an explore. Patxi and Andoni went for a ski tour to Palandoken whilst Unai, Alberto and myself went for a drive around. Erzurum isn't the prettiest of places on the eye and has big contrasts. A lot of poverty around but look through this and you will find some jewels. The old town, the beautiful mosques, the amazing views of mountains and mountains all about 3000m plus and of course the people. They will be quite wary at first because they don't see many tourists but once they no it is all good they couldn't be more friendly and helpful. Before you know it you will be drinking Chai everywhere!

Our next stage, the travel to Kackar, our captivity by the Turkish army whilst climbing one of the peaks on the way will follow next week. Keep watching this space!

XX Christel

Euskalleria here I come!!!

2009-08-20T12:53:00.001+01:00

Woopie it is all definite now! I have decided to move to Bilbao as per the 1st November. I am starting my own wee adventure travel business there with Unaitxu. I cant' wait to be together finally!

The Basque country is so beautiful and full of opportunities, I feel excited and good about it. I will miss my friends and after 10 years in Scotland I must admit it aint easy!! But I will continue to work together with all of you over here (so don't scrap me out of your books please!!) and hopefully get the Scots and the Brits to come and enjoy the Basque country for some of their outdoor adventures and to promote Scotland here in Bilbao and the rest of Easkalleria to get the Basque and Spanish over to bonny Scotland!!

More to come soon!!

Una neska oso, oso alaia!!!

Chamonix - Morzine - Holland - Bilbao - Bareges/ Mongie - Val D'Aran - Andorra - Baquera - Picos d'Europa - Scotland

2009-08-09T18:39:00.001+01:00

Hyper stressed I was when I left Scotland in January to prepare for my BASI ISIA tech and do my assessment in Morzine. Mums condition was worsening, 2 days before I left the country my bedroom flooded, we discovered my water was seriously contaminated and getting more and more worried about the financial situation as I wouldn't be working for at least a month, all together not a good cocktail and it got worse as in the end I didn't return to Scotland until the middle of April. My mum died on the 10th February after seven years of battle against 3 tumors in the brain, I ended up not working all winter after having also worked very little during the summer, my house flooded twice in the time I was abroad, I got pretty seriously ill and I failed my BASI teach assessment.. Despite all of this there were still very good moments they just didn't feel like that at the time. But let's write about those good things!!!!

Beginning of January I left for Chamonix to meet up with Unai, Patxi and Jokin. I spend two days giving them some coaching on the slopes and after went off for some touring. The weather was stunning and although there wasn't as much snow as last year it was still pretty good for that time of the year. I took the boys to do Crochues-Berard. We had great weather, with stunning views. The day after we went to Morzine to check the slopes out for my assessment the following week. We skied without stopping and covered more snow than I have ever done before! The following day I didn't feel great and had a rest day whilst Unai and Patxi went over to ski Le Tour glacier and Jokin went of to Grand Montet.

The 2 weeks that followed I did my BASI ISIA tech assessment. Despite having a few days of torrential rain(!!!) the assessment was great. Tough but fun and inspiring. The most difficult thing was that my mum was so ill and I didn't knew whether I should be home or not. The day I past my assessment I phoned home to tell my mum and dad. Mum burst out in tears and told me it was time to come home now.

I went straight home and spend the next two weeks at my mum's side together with the rest of the family. Unai came over straight away and it was so good having him around. He played the guitar for my mum when she was restless and it calmed her down immediately even when she was in coma it was incredible the effect it had on her. She died on the 10th of February. The funeral was a celebration of her life and her strength right until the last day she was conscious was inspired us all and gave us strength and helped us through the time that followed.Despite the special last moments together the two weeks before her dead and the time that followed after were incredibly difficult for us all. My mum had decided not to continue with the medication she received to keep the fluid in the brain down. This would mean that the fluid would slowly build up around her brain and compress the brain which would lead her to go in a coma. Entirely sure about how things would go nobody knew exactly. It was very brave of her to decide to stop. To all of us it looked daunting and scary not to know what would happen and how her body would react.

She was very tired and her body was eaten by the Dexamethason. Over the course of this past year she slowly had to give up all her independence and witnessed how her own body became a foreigner to her. It was painful for us but especially for her and my father. Because she was not mentally affected she experienced everything that happened to her without being able to help herself. It was hard, bloody dam hard! How she remained so positive until the end and so calm I do not understand. I think slowly she gave herself over and focused on the little things she could still enjoy like food, the grandchildren, the birds in the garden. My mum was a very independent person who loved gardening. As time went on she could do less and less until in the end she couldn't go to the toilet anymore on her own, neither walk. She went to all processes of grief you could imagine. From anger to frustration, lonelyness, intense sadness and in the end acceptance and relaxation. She was very calm the weeks before she died and she often smiled and said to us that all would be all right, we didn't have to worry, she wasn't scared of dying anymore, she was happy and loved us all and she kept on reassuring that all would be ok with us too. She would always be with us. She asked us the day she stopped her medication to get all her brothers and sisters round the next day to say by to them all and to celebrate life. So there we were the next day my mother in the middle...it was like a biggg birthday!! Everybody was drinking wine, crying, laughing, eating cake and when time came for them to go, she spoke to all individually. Then she waved all goodbye from her bed through the window as they walked passed. Two days later she started to drift away but on the third morning I had a dream that she was calling me and when I went downstairs there she was awake. she kept asking for us all to come down, my father, my brothers, Unai, it was incredible. She laughed and kept telling us she loved us. This lasted until midday and then she drifted into a permanent coma. For us this was the most difficult period because we were so helpless. The thought that she would get dehydrated and slowly her organs would shut down was shit and you could see that she suffered. You could see and hear it when she was in pain or when she had difficulty breathing and you could do nothing. It was scary at times. She also was aware of everything that went on around her. On the morning she died the home care told us it wouldn't be long and they said we should go and sit next to her bed. She lived for another ten minutes and we were all right by her side when she died. It wasn't scary, it was a privilege. My mum had organised her own funeral completely before she died. She had chosen her own coffin, she told us what the service needed to be like and the clothes she wanted to wear in her coffin had been hanging ready for nearly 6 months. She had asked me if I wanted to wash and dress her after she had died. And there I was, I just did it without feeling scared. I think I just felt love and respect for my mum, for her courage. It all happened over time but still so quick. It wasn't until weeks after that everything started to come to me. I keep having moments that I think about the moment just after she died and I had to wash her almost immediately. It went all like a rapid and only now time stops and I reflect and feel.

Her funeral was beautiful if you could call a funeral happy, then certainly hers was! It was white, and full of energy and love. People left crying and laughing and celebrating a life. There were many people speaking touching words. My older brother read out poem of a poet she loved, my younger told a joke...the only joke my mum knew and she kept telling you every time you saw her...and she could never finish it because she would be laughing so much. I did a reflection, a reflection on love. I didn't realize until after how appropriate it was as she was buried on Valentines day!!

I got really ill and felt very depressed and things only started to get better when I returned to Scotland. Also my dad got ill and both my brothers went through their own moments. And the truth is these moments keep coming.. in fact I found it more difficult at times now to deal with her dead than just before and after her funeral. Maybe because now it is all sinking in and it is only now I really have time to think about all that has happened properly.

After my mum's funeral I went to Bilbao with my dad and Angelique. We spend a week trying to relax and find time for ourselves. The weather was great and it was wonderful to be back with Unai. We laughed, cried, spoke about the beautiful times with my mum, about the difficult times of my mum.

Time came for Dad to go home and I was heading off to the Pyrenees to do some prep for my BASI ISIA teach.

In the Pyrenees I did some coaching for Unai's friends as bit of training for my up and coming assessment followed by a week touring in the Val d' Aran. unfortunately everything was just to much. I was so run down after all the emotions and difficulties of the past year that I just couldn't enjoy it and on top of it I got very ill with an infection during our touring in the Val D'Aran. I ended up in the hospital in Vielha. Then went straight back to Bilbao to try and recover and be ok for my assessment that was only a week later. I didn't get better. Instead I got more ill and my assessment was a nightmare. I ended up with an allergic reaction to the antibiotics and was back in the hospital on the Saturday after my assessment. I didn't pass but it didn't really matter as I was feeling so rubbish it was nothing I suppose in comparison with everything else that had happened during the year. Still it hurt... that's the honest truth.

Gavarnie and Val d'Aran touring

After my epic time on our way back we visited friends of Unai in Baqueira. Unai had to do a skiing entry assessment and he passed which was great. After a few days we went back to Bilbao. We spent a very short time at the house before heading on to the Picos for some final touring together. I felt a bit better and we had a great couple of days.

Some final days with Unaitxu and Haitz touring in the Picos

Time came to go back to Scotland. I was looking forward to it but had mixed feelings. Looked forward to see my friends, visit my house that hadn't seen for over 4 months, back to work etc but it also meant another goodbye. It get's harder all the time. I am looking forward now to move to Bizkaia. Still a few months away but it will be so much better to be together, work on our projects together and not having to travel back and forward all the time and having to say bye.

Some other pictures of the end of the winter in Bizkaia.

Christel

A reflection

2009-06-23T13:38:00.001+01:00

I don't quite know where to start or better said I don't know wether I should start at all. As this year has been so turbulent, sad and stressful I can't get myself overly motivated to write about it. However despite all the bad moments there were also many good ones even though I didn't experience them as such at the time as I really couldn't care less where I was or what I was doing towards the end of last summer and during the past winter. Many people have said to me how lucky I have been to be away so much in different countries, on different adventures etc but the only place I wanted to be really deep in my heart was at home with my family or working so that I felt I did something useful. I didn't work at all last winter and I probably should have spend more time with my family instead of being so stupidly driven to do more training, more assessments etc. I couldn't get myself to think that all my trips away weren't a holiday but were part of training and experience towards my assessments etc. I only was thinking of guilt all the time and never really knew for sure whether I had made the right decision or not at that particular time. One of my assessments I didn't even pass after all the training and effort. I got very ill on the lead up to it and during the assessment I got worse. I was in hospital twice. Probably completely run down and washed out after my mums funeral. On top of that I experienced the worst assessor and subsequently assessment I have ever done. But never mind, it is just an assessment and not the end of the world, true but it is a big cut in the good old finances of which I didn't really gain any positive experience. I always thought I was so positive and strong but this year I broke big style. Any little disturbance in my life this year felt like the biggest wall I would ever climb in my life and every wall no matter big or small I felt I would never be able to climb. Now nowhere near the top of many of my walls I am climbing though and that is a good thing!!

The family 4 months before mum died

I will write some positiveness on this blog, don't let me worry you or drag you down in my own doom and gloom but I have also realized that there is no such thing as always positive and always happy and so there is not point in pretending I am currently in that frame of mind. Probably so far the worst year out of my life. Well you might say there are many people that are a lo worse of than you, True again but I am not all these other worst people, I am Me and I have so my own problems. I found it hugely sad that I have done such amazing things this year, been to so many nice places, met the nicest bloke in the world but I didn't experience many sensations of joy. No matter how hard I tried I just felt depressed and wanted to do nothing but nothing at all. My first time this year I started to feel some moments of enjoyment again has been when I came back to the UK and started working again, probably as I started to feel useful and was starting to earn some pennies again, being able to spend time in my own environment again, being in my own doss between my own things and seeing my own friends again. Also my recent trip to Turkey I lived some good, enjoyable moments although I am know where near the positive, happy, smiley girl I used to be. I have been trying so bad to get back that sensation of really living and experiencing everything I do but for some reason most things I do these days feel more like an yet another day away without serious meaning. There is, well how will I describe it, maybe it is like no fulfillment.

The references in my life

Many people would call me ungrateful but I am not ungrateful of the things I have done this year and the things others have done for me, in fact it is more a feeling of guild towards all the people that are trying so hard to make me feel better and yet I am still so far away from being better, it is more like an up and down all the time. I you will continue reading, you will read about all those amazing adventures and about the illness and last precious moments of my mum and how lucky we were as a family to be together when my mum died. Everything full of love and support and yet still I feel without energy and quite depressed. I look at photos of a year and a half back and I am seriously wondering wether that's really me I am looking at. That smiley girl with a glow on her face and an expression of excitement and energy. I constantly feel on edge, I snap at the people I love most over the minutest things, I shout at people in on the road whilst I am the one that is driving like a maniac and so on. I often wonder myself whether this is normal or not. The only thing for myself I can say is that this wasn't the me that was a year and ago. Maybe not necessarily abnormal but a different, more serious me. There is not much to do other than accept the current situation and go with it, hopefully more positive and returning to that happy, cheery, energetic person that once was.

Mother and daughter

The Trip of Powder and Pack: Cantabric Coast to Bareges/Mongie to Andorra to Tignes to La Grave back to Pyrenees Mont Agut!!

2008-12-20T23:42:00.001Z

The crossing of the couloir below the summit slope of Castro Valnera

For anyone that looks for undiscovered and untouched mountains to ski in, the Cantabric coast is the sweet spot to be. I knew that these mountains are great for mountaineering, climbing and walking but to see these mountains under white fluff with views to the sea added another dimension!

Mountains like Gorbea, Zalama, Pico de la Miel, Castro Valnera, Anboto are all classics that offer something to every level of ski mountaineer. Whether you want to ski rounded wide slopes or technical couloirs you can have it!

Cantabric Coast - The Basque country

On my first day in Pais Basque we went for a warm up tour to Gorbea (1475m) although there was little chance of heat as it was a bitter day especially on the summit which had a fierce wind blowing! Gorbea is the main mountain in the province of Bizkai. In a direct line from the summit there are less than 40km to the sea. So if you fancy a surf you climb the mountain first and than go for a plunge in afternoon! It very much has a Scottish feel to it due to exposure.

The summit cross of Gorbea

Fixing my bindings

...

There are many routes to climb this mountain but the following route is the best for a ski tour and describes the north east ascent. We drove from Bilbao to Zeanuri and took the mountain road up to Lanbreabe. We parked the car near the dam in the forest at 800m. You follow the tarmac track until you see the huts on the meadows of Aldaminapa. This area is often occupied by shepherds that look after their goats, sheep, horses and cows. The refuges belong to different mountain clubs and unfortunately are only open to members but you can camp if you are keen!

From the meadows of Aldaminapa you ascent the col of Aldamin (1250m) and continue to the summit. You have to be careful in bad weather because there are many hollows typical in mountains formed by limestone and in bad visibility it is very easy to end up in one! Take particular care on the 2nd part of the ascent to the col and to the summit as there is a big hollow on your left that has got some serious drop offs, cornices and very steep walls...take much care on descent..stay left away from edge. The descent follows the same way as ascent but there are other options. If you like info send me an email.

On my second day we drove over the pass of El Cabrio to the village of San Peleyo. About 1 hr south west from Bilbao and about an 1.5 hr east of the Picos. We choose to climb a mountain named Zalama which lies on the border between the Provinces of Burgos and Bizkai. A rounded mountain, in a very wild area, covered in trees with beautiful views to the Sierra Salvada range.

The lower slopes of Zalama with the Sierra Salvada range in background

Views to the Sierra Salvada range

We started from the village of San Peleyo, a place that hasn't changed to 21st century life yet. The local shop functions as the local bar and is a gathering point for the locals. The village is very old and only has few habitants. Our ascent went onto the south flank through a forest of birch. Once on the open hillside we thought we saw a wolf which later was confirmed by the locals as they told us that over the last few months they had sighted 3 and 21 lambs were killed by wolf recently. The whole ascent is very gradual. The total ascent didn't take more then 2.5hrs and as the snow and skiing was so good that we descended into the forest, went back up again and descended back to the village. The descents on the south side are easy angled and open hillside plus forest. However you can descent on the north side which has some challenging couloirs. If you feel up for more continue touring to west over the whole range.

The summit of Zalama

Haitz ...our very own mascot and nose for the best snow!!!

Asier, Ekaitz, Jokin and me....half of the team

Unaitxu maitea

Patxi

Christeltxu

In the evening we drove to Espinosa the los Monteros, an ancient village that is the entrance to Lunada range where there is an old now unused ski station. Just before we got to Lunada we stopped the cars on the left at the entrance of a valley called Bernatxo. Under a starry sky we were clearing the entrance of the track to park the cars. Then we skinned for an hour or so under a clear starry sky to Andoni's hut, Valnera, which was covered under a good pack of fresh fluff.. I was here last year in October to climb some of the mountains in the region. This time it was even more beautiful.

Valnera

After a good catch up, log fire and food we headed off to bed to wake up to the most amazing day! Andoni had got up early to pick up Peli, another girl that joint us. Finally.. The first girl I have met that has come out on the hills with these guys! They keep telling me I need to bring over mountain girls from my part of the world! So girls you all have an invitation.

The team: Aitor, Andoni, Peli, Christel, Unai, Patxi

Our objective for the day was Castro Valnera (1718m) and Pico de la Miel but we only did Castro Valnera in the end enjoying absolutely amazing conditions and stunning views. The views from the sea to the north and the limestone cliffs are amazing!

We skinned up from the cabana to the summit and followed the ridge connecting to Pico de La Miel until we were above the descend couloir. A wicked descend of the couloir followed ..... a lot of smiling faces! Once back to the cabana we had lunch and skied back out to the cars! what a great start of winter for the Basque mountain community!

The sea and limestone cliffs in the background from the summit of Castro Valnera

The Pyrenees

The next day we had arranged to meet up with more friends to head over to the Pyrenees. We all met in Luz St Saveur in the evening and made plans for the next day. There were tons of snow and the forecast was to be for a clear morning followed by more snow later in the day.... We woke up to winter wonder powder land!!! Drove over to Bareges and once in the car park discovered another lot of Basque friends that had driven over in their camper vans to rip it up. We ended up with a bunch of 10 people in the end riding in an empty area of powder and fluff and more powder ..trailing fresh lines every run!!

The day after it snowed and it snowed until it cleared and we did just more and more sweet local secret off-piste in snow till our waste!!

Andorra

After our trip in the Pyrenees it was time to get serious and get training. We headed over to Andorra to ski the piste and get into fast, carvy and hardpack mode. a little strange after all the free ride. Andorra also was loaded with snow and after a snowy morning all cleared and we skied on empty pistes generating miles and miles!

Tignes

Matilda..the camper van was going fairly strong until we continued our journey to Tignes to do a weeks GS training with R21. We arrived with temperatures of minus 17 and Matilda froze...the water, the gas, the battery, the calification, she just wasn't happy. Despite all we managed to stay warm and kept our selves coffeed up and fed with a mini camping gas.

We had snow to die for in Tignes.... 3 days of blue sky followed by 2 days of snow to finish of with sunshine and powder on the last day. By this time I was pretty washed out..my knees were done in, my body craved for a normal bed and a warm house and just a bit of sleep! At the end of the week Unai and I watched our performance on video and I was terribly embarrassed...I have got a very long way to go before I will ever look like a professional on the front of racing.

All in all it was good as ever with Dougie and Giles of R21. Highly recommended if you are looking for GS, slalom or bumps.

La Grave

After Tignes we thought it would be a shame to drive back to the Basque country whit the conditions we had in the Alps so we drove to La Grave instead...and which amazing day we had!! We had heard that there was a lot of snow that way and as we arrived in the middle of the night we already got the feel...Trees covered with a thick blanket of white..cars completely buried along side the road and a night view of The Meije under a starry sky! We woke up in the morning with blue sky and cream! The avalanche risk was at red alert and the telepherique wasn't open yet...La Grave and surrounding villages were like goast towns but for us it was perfect. We spend the morning driving around buying maps and taking pictures. In the afternoon we went up to the village of Ventelon parked the car with views to the Meije and skinned up pas the petit village of les Clots to a little peak called la Cote Rouge. This area on the other side of the valley of la Meije is absolutely brilliant for ski touring and we definitely will be back here. The views from the summit were indescribable!

We hoped to do a tour to Pic Blanc du Galbier the next day but the wind started picking up fiercely during the night and the next day it was virtually impossible to even leave the van! We decided to drive back to Bareges to see what conditions we would encounter there and hope for a good last day on the skis!

Our last day the ascent of Mont Agut near Bareges in the Pyrenees

We were told there was bad weather on the way to the Pyres. However we checked the forecast and it said it would be clearing the next day so in good faith we drove down.. We arrived about 3 am at the village of Betpouey near Bareges and woke up at 10am with the perfect picture!!! Blue sky and fresh snow!! Unai was super excited and we were going for a skin up Mont Agut (2157m). I was super tired and despite the absolute great conditions wasn't very motivated but just being out there was a privilege. We just made it to below the summit and then the weather started closing in so we turned round and skied according to Unai the best slope of the mountain.

In the evening we met up with friends of Unai that live in Luz and are pistieres in Bareges, Didi and Benji. We had an evening of guitar and travel tales. They were going to ski the Pic de Midi the next day and how we envied them as it was another day in paradise but we had to get home. And to be honest I was ready for rest.... Especially after living for 2.5 weeks in a VW camper van..great in many ways but a girl is a girl after all.

If you like any information on the areas, routes etc of the above please don't hesitate to contact me.

Keep checking the site for updates on future adventures!

This winter more Alps plus Ski touring in Turkey and Morocco to follow.

Remember people....Carpe Diem ,

Cherio Chris

3 Times lucky!

2008-11-03T22:18:00.001Z

Another cracking day on the skis, Dez and I couldn't believe our luck! Today we did a shorter tour ascend up to the right of Ciste gully on to Cairngorm summit in blazing alpine sunshine with no wind and nobody around. We met only a few cheeky Snow buntings, a pair of Ptarmigans, a dog, two other tourers and a group of walkers descending of Cairngorm that was it!

So peaceful and energizing it was and with another dream descend for this time of the year we couldn't beat our luck. Despite the temperature rising throughout the afternoon and the snow definitely transforming it was still surprisingly good on the N side of the summit and so was the snow on the whole of the descent really right until the Ciste car park.

The temperature is still rising and the weather changing ever so slightly but hopefully we don't loose to much of the good stuff. Well I am away to Holland early tomorrow morning. See use when back.

XX Chris

There is no better place then Scotland when you get days like this!

2008-11-02T20:11:00.001Z

Today Desiree, Mark and myself went for a little ski tour behind the Lecht ski centre. What a day!! The Lecht itself was busy, with a full car park but as soon as you left the ski area there was no soul to be seen..other then us.

Mark and I started of with a little warm up on the slopes over the East side of the road before meeting up with Dez. With the sun beaming in the sky and clean tracks on the descent it was like being in the Alps!

Once Dez arrived we skinned up to Beinn a' Chruinnich and skied down its SW ridge.

Then we skinned up to Carn Ealasaid.....

and skied down its SW shoulder to the bothy!!

The skiing was just wicked!! Totally SWEET for this time of the year.

The sun and the pristine snow and 360 degrees views made it one of the best days of Scottish skiing for the three of us!

I hope this beautiful spell of winter continues for all of you out there next week. I am off to Holland to spend some time with the family. Whatever you get up to don't forget to ski a few lines or climb a few climbs for me!

Enjoy! XX Chrissie

Winter ....Winter....more Winter

2008-11-01T17:37:00.001Z

Wow, wow, wow... There were a lot of people on the hill with huge smiles today!!! Winter has truly arrived in the Cairngorms and I am loving it (besides that my house has turned into a fridge freezer!!!). The snow cover is not to be neglected! Much better than expected. It was so nice to be out and blow out the cog webs. The beauty of Scotland amazes me time and time again. I needed a day like this to remember how much I need it and how it gives me new energy. Beautiful runs were to be had at the back and front of Cairngorm, the Eastwall, a slim line at the headwall of Coire Cas and anywhere else really. Also the climbers were full of enthusiasm so for anybody out there get yourself on the hills this weekend.

Cheerio for now,

Christel

Spring and summer have just flown!!!!!!!

2008-10-07T02:22:00.001+01:00

It has been strange not being able to update the site regularly. Thinking I would have plenty of time and access to the net in between trips, work etc was a bit ambitious. However it can only be a good thing that I have been spending my time out there having adventures instead of writing about it.

A quick update:

SPANISH PYRENEES

My trip to mainland Europe in spring started with a ski mountaineering adventure in the Spanish Pyrenees with my wonderful amigos from the Basque country.

The Team:

The original plan was to do a crossing of the Spanish Haute route but the weather was pretty bad for the first few days and therefore we decided to do day trips starting in the Aneto/Maledeta region. Our first day we climbed Posets in wild conditions but what a wonderful mountaineering outing! It has this superb wee ridge that leads to the summit and if only the weather would have been better the descent would have been a dream!

At the end of our first day we found our wee dos for the next 3 nights in a little cabana pretty much the equivalent of a Scottish bothy with a wonderful open fire. The second half of the party arrived later that night and wee all celebrated our reunion with gathering huge tree trunks and some good drams in front of the fire place! Indeed I brought some good old Whiskey over from the bonny Highlands which went down a treat!

Day two the weather was pretty wild, snow blizzards and plenty of wind. We managed to climb one of the smaller peaks opposite Posets, Pico de la Maidera which we ascended twice as the descend was so sweet! Not just the descend..the climb up was beautiful through the forest. Free 'rice' all the way on our descend!!!

Day three saw us going in a simular direction as the day before but it had stopped snowing and the weather was stunning! Still a good battle through the wind. We climbed the peak next to Pico de la Maidera. Nice ascend and a good lower descend but the top section fairly tough to ski due to wind affected snow.

The winds was a struggle but gave us some amazing scenes!

The descend......a decent bit of slab! not pleasant for skiing.

Day 4 we decided to have a real mellow one and just go for scenery. We went up on the other side of the valley. The lower part was a big steep boot up with skis on the packs through wild boar country! Higher up it changed in this amazing boulder field, one great maze!

We stopped on the ridge for a bit of sunbathing and a descent pick-nic! Before descending down to the valley.

On day five some of the team had to get back to work and so four of us remained. We traveled further west to give Garma Negro a try. Absolute wonderful peak and a fantastic area but unfortunately we started to late and we only made it to the top of the main access gully. It is an area with huge slopes above you and a lot of rock. Due to the warm weather the avalanche risk was big and we turned round after topping out of the couloir. Initially we tried to ski out right on the terrace but the big cliffs below us got steeper and steeper and the avalanche hazardous slopes above us bigger and bigger. There is no easy way off this part. We ended up descending the access couloir with it's avalanche rubble...neck braking/ leg braking material!!

On day six we went for Bissourin. The weather was stunning and so was snow. This peak is an absolute gem with just a great descend. There are many options for ascending this peak. Despite the good weather we got disorientated and made it an extra long and somewhat hairy ascend. The snow on ascend was hard and the slopes steep. But worth it all the way!!

Unfortunately that was my last day in the Pyrenees and we traveled to Durango for a bit of food and beer before saying agur to my friends in Bilbao.

WILDSTRUBEL

My 2nd part of my Alpine adventures was with clients in the Wildstrubel. I was working for Pyrenean Mountain Tours with guides David Maret and Richard Dupont. It is one of my favorite ski touring areas.

We had pretty bad weather which made it an eventful and full on trip. I did the same tour last year under totally different conditions and the huge amounts of snow this year and the iffy weather made all the ascents and descents differ from last year. A lot more technical but also a lot more sweet powder!!!! Because the weather was bad we were the only visitors in every single hut with exception of the last one.

We started from les Diablerets. I love this place for it's off piste eldorado although we didn't venture off piste this very day as the visibility was nil, the snow heavy and the wind furious.

All week we were challenged by the weather. Plans had to be constantly adapted with high avalanche risks and bad visibility the majority of the week. Eventually we finished in Kandersteg.

VANOISE

Back in Geneva I met up with friends and we made our way to Chamonix. Here picked up Mark Ryle and continued on the next day to Pralongnan de La Vanoise. It was a warm day and we were late in starting. The plan was to do the Grande Casse but when we got to the foot of it we changed our mind as it was late and there were avalanches going off everywhere. We headed for the Col de la Grande Casse and descended down to Champeny. It was by far one of the nicest descends I have ever had... Stunning scenery, beautiful weather and powder virtually from top to valley!! It was amazing. The next day the weather turned nasty on us again and we didn't do a great deal. On our 3rd day we skinned up to the refuge de la Vanoise again in bad weather. Richard Mansfield was there with clients and we had good banter. We hoped to do the Grande Casse the next day but the weather was just too bad so we went for a long skin to Pointe de la Rechasse ... and descended down into the valley and all the way down to Pralongnan. Another adventure finished. I was pretty knackered after 3 weeks especially since I didn't really recover from the chest infection at the start of the trip.

ZANDVOORT - AOSTA - ZARAUTZ - BILBAO

Back in bonny Scotland saw me to work again until the beginning of May. Then I was off to Holland for a Basque-Dutch wedding on the beach of Zandvoort in my home country together with Unai.We went on a road/ski touring trip to the Gran Paradiso to finish of the touring season. Followed by sunshine, sea and beaches in the Basque country. Beach, snow, sea and sunshine..what a contrasts..couldn't get any bigger but what a great combination!! It was amazing!!! Gran Paradiso was so quiet and what a beautiful place. I was still struggeling with my health but was determined to make the best of the time we had out there. We did the Gran Paradiso, La Tresenta, Pica Galicia... Next spring we would like to go back there and do a crossing from the Vanoise into the Gran Paradiso. It is an wonderful area with tons and tons of possibilities. On the last day I couldn't talk anymore as I was so ill. But what an experience. The refugio Benevolo and Vitorio Emanuelle are fabulous. Lovely guardians and lovely food. If you would like any info on the above trips please don't hesitate to send me a mail. We drove to the Basque coast to finish of with sunshine, rest and catch up with the rest of my Basque friends...

THE SUMMER

When back in Scotland it was fabulous to come back to still beautiful snow conditions and the night after I came back I skied Aladin's couloir with George. Wicked!!

The weather remained very good for a few weeks and the remainder of May I had a good combination between work and play. June was jammed with work and so was August. July I worked only two weeks and the rest I spend adventuring with Unai. The weather was sheit but the rest wonderful!!! September saw me going back to the Basque country for a few weeks and Unai and I surfed and mountainbiked and mountaineered our way across from Biaritz to the Picos de Europa and back. It was brilliant. The Basque country has got so much undiscovered goodness, it is just amazing.

Since I have been back in home I have steadily been working until now and it has been wonderful to see the change of season. Winter has arrived in Aviemore. It has been cold over the past week and the first snow has hit the 'Gorms. Hopefully it continues and we will be in for a great winter again.

Wednesday I will be going out to Holland to spend time with my family and will be back in the country on the 19th October. Get in touch folks if you want to go out climbing, skiing, biking anything...an opportunity in the fresh air won't be missed!!

A selection of the summer play photos

On Alpine Adventures

2008-03-28T20:41:00.001Z

Well folks that is me off to the Spanish Pyrenees tonight followed by two weeks in the Suisse alps. I will try and keep you posted on my adventures out there...in the mean time have fun out there whatever use get up to lads and lassies!!

Hasta Pronto,

And remember ...Go daft and do some crazy stuff. get some air and jump into the unknown now and again....it feels so good...after all...you only live once!!

A tough weeks work

2008-03-27T09:28:00.001Z

This week has been wild, windy, bitterly cold. Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty good but it seem to get wildish again though milder.

I was working with a school group from the South Friday and Saturday and managed to virtually lose my car door in Glenshee car park whilst I was transported and dumped a 100m further. Everything was flying out of my car past me, including my favorite hat. Boohoo. If anyone finds a pink and gray Bula beeny round GLenshee please contact me! I managed to crawl back to my car and push the door shut without me in it...by this time the winds got worse and worse and I was hanging of my roof bars with my legs dangling in the air, not able to let go! My brain was working overtime thinking, what on earth am I going to do? It was like a comedy sketch but then with quite a serious undertone! There was hardly anyone going by as nobody obviously wanted to venture up that way.

My colleagues hadn't arrived yet and I had tried to phone them to tell that the weather was to bad to come up and they should stay lower down and I would meet them but now I needed help. After 20min dangling in the air hoping that someone would pick up on my somewhat precarious situation a van passed by and noticed there was something weird going on at the other end of the car park. He drove up towards me and I was trying to explain him to park his van so that it would give me shelter from the wind and I could try and enter my own car. In the end we needed two vans to make a triangle round my car before I had enough shelter to crawl in. Wow what an epic!!!

White out....

I phoned my colleagues who decided to come up and check it out anyway as it didn't look so bad lower down..well they got the message alright when they got to the car park.

Everything alright in there?

We ended up doing a day starting from the lower car park. As the day went on the weather got worse and worse. It was hardly possible to do any major teaching. We ended up doing a big shovel up but the bitter cold and strong freezing winds made it pretty nasty out there and whatever we did it was very hard to keep people warm out there. We looked like a bunch of yetis at the end of the day and I was glad to get off the hill.

The 4 funny folks..

The next day we went to Cairngorms and it was slightly better in terms of wind and it got better as day went on. We did a lot of winterskills on the lower slopes in Sneachda and it was good fun. There were tons of climbers out on the snow and ice and I have never seen so many folks on the crags in Sneachda..it was like an ants nest!!

On Sunday I changed clients and was now working with young officers. The first day was a winterskills day at the hills behind Tulloch Station. Again pretty wild and cold and complete white out for the first half of the day made work pretty intense.

A lot of teaching navigation and necessary navigation!! The second half of the day we worked on winter skills followed by a journey over Stob Coire Sgriodain. The weather improved throughout the day which gave us some beautiful views of the plastered hills.

On the second day all went over to Creag Meagaidh. This turned into be a wild, wild day. The idea was to do the whole circuit Starting from the main car park at visitors centre over to Carn Liath and round to Meagaidh but the weather got totally nast and once on the top plateau of Carn Liath we were in complete white out with gail force winds and snow blizzards straight into our face.

Two of the groups went on and continued along the ridge for a little while but in the end all turned roud and came back the same way as we ascended...navigating our way through the soup. At times I couldn't even see my feet.

Once lower down we dug some pits, did some sliding and dug a snow grave whilst others did a shovel up and made I right palacio. We saw all sorts of wild life...especially little voles??? What were they doing out in those conditions? Mental. Also white hares were spotted on a few occasions and snow buntings.

My last day I worked together with my colleague Ian in Coire Leis working on winter skills as the others went back up to bag Meagaidh.

We had a grant day. We dug quite a few pits and the snow pack at the moment is rather interesting!!! Quite a few different layers of slab lying on all sorts of very slidy surfaces...like graupel, ice mmmm. We found many graupel layers!

We spend a quality day out doing winterskills and it was a good laugh with some great characters!!

Ice on our way in..

The Lunch break at the CIC..

Bothy bags are the business...

On our way to Coire Leis

People on the Curtain

Wonderful views...

Steeper terrain..

Kicking steps...hard work..

Beautiful ice and riming along the way...

Happy people...

In the war zone....

'Making ledges' for ruck sacks...

Some sweet demos by Ian and Martin...

Some funny faces by people eating snow...

You must be joking..this doesn't feel right...

Our main man ...Mr Airborne..

The arrest..

The forward role seemed to be the highlight!

Never mind the slightly faster approach...

Gramponing ...

Concentration...

A steep descent...

looking back...

Another beautiful day out in the hills and lot's of people out enjoying themselves wether climbing or walking.. We also met quite a few teams that had turned back due to slight unstable approaches. The curtain so a lot of people...The cave must have been absolutely jammed at one stage!

Also .5 saw many people. Well lot's of people all over again really. It seems to get better up there every day. Lot's of nice ice around!!!!

The weather suppose to get a littlebit milder but hopefully we get that refreeze, so that all of you that remain or come to Scotland over the next 3 weeks will have a great time out there!!!

How many people can we get in the cave???

Well that's it for just now, I am going out to Alps on Saturday and though I am looking forward to it...I really wouldn't mind staying here!!! It is ski touring heaven and climbing paradise just now!!!

Me moving house and preparing for leaving on Saturday...The blog will be updated when I have access to internet out there.

Have a wicked time out there everyone!!

Life is there to be lived!!

Ciaoooo, Chris

3 Magic Days Climbing on The Ben in Great Company.

2008-03-20T12:04:00.001Z

Photo: George Reid in .5 Gully by Christel Langeveld

Sunday night saw a team of 3 blokes and a bird walking into the CIC with ridiculously big rucksacks full of essential kit like wine and whiskey. Kirk Watson and Robin Smith, Tom Marshall and myself headed into the Ben for a few wicked days climbing!

Photo: Team on Tower Ridge by Christel Langeveld

On our way in we met Claire, who told us she had been filming Dave MacLeod and Joe French on Don't die of ignorance but she had left them to it as they had been on it for a very long time and it was getting to cold to stand around with the camera and after watching Joe dangling and screaming with pain as Joe ended up in a predicament on the traverse it had been a full on day.

Photo: An overview of the Ben by Christel Langeveld

I met Dave and Joe later as they were coming of the hill properly broken but it had been a success Dave climbed free and Joe did an amazing second, super tough with major complications on the way up as you can read on Dave MacLeod's site. What an inspiration and what a amazing night to come of the hill....the Ben was moonlit and sparkled by the stars...it was an incredible sight.

Photo: Looking into a moonlit Coire Na ciste by Christel Langeveld

On Monday the weather gods were super kind and the teams headed of to their objectives. There were a lot of people on the hill..all arriving with big smiles...and leaving with even bigger ones!!

On our walk into the Comb Gully buttress we saw folks on Italian Climb Right hand which looks wicked, see photo below. People on Tower Ridge, Folks on Vanishing Gully, well people everywhere really.

Photo: Team on Italian Climb right hand by Christel Langeveld

Kirk and I went for Green Gully. A wonderful classic thin on the gear but climbing although cruddy in a few places overall fine and there were even a few ice screw placements on the way. Down no 4 Gully to coffee and biscuits!

Photo: Me topping out Green Gully by Kirk Watson

At night we met Steve Hammond and Nick Arding who had done Orion Face and they were beaming...in super nick at present! Ice screw heaven apparently! Fairy Wyffe (Blair) and Gaz had also been out for an adventure and climbed Hadrian's Wall direct on overall good mountain conditions but kinda cruddy ice and difficult to protect. Many others enjoyed this fine day.

Photo: Could it get much better?...by Christel Langeveld

On Monday evening George Reid came up to join me for a climb on Tuesday. We headed off to do .5 Gully...It has been the best winter climbing day I have ever had!!! We shared out climb with another team from Northampton, Martyn Frost and his mate Niall. They couldn't have been a better team to share the climb with. We had a right social up there. It was great.

Photo: Martyn Frost in .5 Gully. by Christel Langeveld

The climbing was good and the ice pretty all right. The 3rd pitch was a bit hollow and ice axe placements weren't really positive. Feet ballet it was!

Photo: Climbers' tools by Kirk Watson

The upper 3 pitches covered us with spin drift. The snow was good though in the upper section and there was ice to be found for belays. The weather had turned to proper winter just after midday and when we topped out we were in snow blizzard and white out. We had to navigate our way back to Coire Leis. Photo below, George starting the 3rd pitch of .5 Gully.

Photo: George Reid to set off on the 3rd pitch of .5 Gully by Christel Langeveld

At the hut we met the other guys who all had a great day. Kirk, Dan and the famous team of T. Marshall and R. Smith all climbed Smith's route and something else which I can't remember, could have been Zero Gully! Two other guys from CIC climbed Psychedelic Wall, which was thin but good. Tim Blakemore, Steve and Ian climbed Vade Mecum. Miky Brownlow and partner climbed Slav Route after the day before ticked of the Citadel in the Cairngorms! Fit bloke or what? Steve Hammond and Nick Arding climbed Zero Gully and said it was a great route but pretty serious due to the lack of any real security in the form of belays or runners (there was one good belay at the top of the first pitch).

All in all another wicked day for all of us.

On my last day Kirk, Des and I climbed Comb Gully whilst Tom and Rob, Richard and Niall did .5 Gully. When they came back they were on absolute high! They all loved it!!

Photo: .5 Gully by Christel Langeveld

Photo: A close up of .5 Gully by Christel Langeveld

Comb Gully was a great way to finish of my adventure on the Ben this week. Another classic....the first section is a snow plot but then you get to two lovely pitches of fine climbing. Very thin on the gear but that means less faff or hanging around to get it in or out!!! As we topped out it was pee soup again at the top. Plan was descent via no 4 Gully. We didn't pay any attention to where we were going as we were in highly intelligent conversations....so we had relocate and walk back up...three 'professionals' ehh???? Great fun getting ourselves back though.

Photo: Me heading up to start of Green Gully by Kirk Watson

Tim and Ian climbed Cascade today which was in great condition and it was marvelous watching them! There were folks in Vanishing Gully and on Italian Climb right hand. There was a team on Glover's Chimney. Two Step Corner had a team on it and there was a team filming on the top of Number Three Gully Buttress but not sure what they were on.

After coffee and pack up at CIC I had to make my way back down, boohoooo I did not want to go it was so good!!!

Photo: Climber on top section Tower Ridge by Christel Langeveld

Had a lovely walk back to the upper car park where I met Tim who gave me a lift back to North Face car park which meant I could go to climbing wall at night for a wee climbing session to cool down.

As from today it is going to be a busy time with work but I am wonderfully recharged after this beautiful week.

Thanks to Kirk, Tom, Rob, Des and George...You guys have made my week magic!!

Photo: George Reid and I after topping out .5 Gully by Martyn Frost

My advise to all climber maddies out there...go and visit the bonny Ben soon....it is in such wonderful condition...don't miss it!!!! Get out there, live it and love it!!

Have fun out there,

Love,

Christel

Photo: All smiles... by Kirk Watson

A Beautiful Day Climbing in Sneachda...(Slide show to the right)

2008-03-15T17:33:00.001Z

What a wonderful day. No sigh of wind just complete silence with exception of the voices of all the folks that were out enjoying themselves today. It was a rare day in the Cairngorms. Fabulous conditions wether you decided to go climbing or ski touring it was just sweet for both.

The Corries were quite busy but the atmosphere so mellow. That is just how Tom and I felt. Very chilled out and mellow!! We were both tired. I was home very late from work last night after a very early start and the Tom, Kirk, Andy and others had been out for a session in the bar. I nearly didn't go out today but I am so glad I went anyway as it was completely refreshing and relaxing.

We decided to go really easy and just have a social day instead of full on energy eating experience. We were thinking about Red Gully, the Runnel or the Spiral but all were so busy. The only thing with nobody in it was Goat track Gully so we ventured up there. I had brought my big camera which definitely kinda gets in the way whilst climbing but it was easy going and it was nice to take some nice piccies on the way up. We met two other chaps that were soloing up and had a good social with them. Once of the guys, had worked in Holland for 3 years so we indeed had a few Dutch lines. Always good to practice the native lingo.

On our way down the Goat Track we met Rob Jarvis with his client Fiona who were also smiling through the day. It really was just quite special.

The climbing conditions are shaping up quite nicely. The morning started off quite warm today but into the afternoon it got cooler again which allowed for some nice settling conditions. The snow was sticky but good underfoot today and with a little bit of melt and refreeze we might see some good ice appearing in the next few days.

Tomorrow night we are going over to the CIC hut to climb on the Ben for a few days and apparently it is coming in to good shape. There has been a lot more snow over there and apparently they have been Bomming for the last few days to bring the avalanche risk down!!!! I can not remember the last time they bommed in Scotland??? How cool is that? The long term forecast looks fantastic. It remains cold pretty much the whole of next week.

Well that is it for today. I am going to chill out a little bit more tonight with a glass of red wine and rosy cheeks!

Touring tomorrow maybe over to Braeriach and Cairntoul. The Coirries there look in super nick for some sweet skiing lines!!!

Cheerio,

Christel

The Best Day in the 'Gorms This Winter

2008-03-13T22:21:00.008Z

Well I am suitably knackerd today after a mind blowing day ski touring with Kirk and Tom in the Northern Cairngorms finishing up by a bouldering session in the Extreme Dream.

Today a few words spoken this autumn sprang to mind. I remember Andy Nisbet saying in November that this year would be the best winter in 7 years and I think he could't have been more accurate! Todays tour to Ben MacDui gave us stunning views to the Shelterstone and the Coires of Braeriach, Angel's Peak, Cairntoul and Devil's Peak. It is absolutely plastered in those Coires! There are big cornices off Braeriach, the Northern Coire and slopes of Cairntoul look like some big American bowl. Carn Etachan, Shelterstone and Hell's Lumlook in good nick. Scorpion, Sticil Face, the Needle, Chancer they all start to look sweet... It is all just so exciting. The Ben is apparently coming in very good condition and I can't wait to get overthere on Sunday. A couple of nights in the CIC and some good days climbing ly ahead and with a forecast of more Northerlies and snow we can expect conditions only to get better!!

The snow is in good condition for touring. Quite wind rippled but a nice solid surface. Not to much to be caught out in. Watch the leeward slopes for slab and watch out for some big cornices. There was avalanche debris in the Loch Avon Basin coming down from the Feith Buidhe and Garbh Uisge Beag that looked fresh.

Perfect conditions for a day out and hardly anyone around....Tranquility and a lot of inspiring verging on emotional Zen moments.

Thanks to Kirki and Tom for the excellent day!

Tomorrow sees a day of work but Saturday climbing in the Cairngorms and then over to the Ben on Sunday...Life is soooo Good!!!!

XX Chris

I will put up a slideshow of pictures so this should appear on the right hands side at top so just click that to have a look for conditions and just some beautiful views!

The Videos of Today's Ski Tour 12/03/08: By Far My Wildest day in Scotland, just click play buttons.Check out the Story and Photos in the post below.

2008-03-13T00:50:00.010Z

My wildest day this winter, Exciting conditions at the Shelterstone and the Female Yeti ( and Matt if you happened to read this....those icicles growing on to my hair on that wild day in the Fiacall Couloir are nothing by the standards set today!!!)

2008-03-13T00:33:00.005Z

Well what can I say about today.... I decided to venture out on my own for a wee tour into Coire Raibert via fiacall Coire Cas and back over Cairngorm to take some piccies of the wild weather and the snowy hills. That was the plan anyway. I didn't leave until 1pm but thought it was only going to be a little trip and the weather didn't look all that bad....

It was very windy but I thought that the winds were suppose to get stronger and then ease off again later in the day. However the winds picked up more and more and turned into a full on blizzard that I have seldom been in on my own.

If you follow the photo sequence you can see that it started off very nice and friendly out there. Blowy alright but not a bad day at all. When I got to the top of Fiacall Corrie Cas it started to become quite wild. I met Sean from Glenmore Lodge who was assessing MIC's and he told me that two folks had been avalanched at the bottom of Jacob's Ladder but luckily walked away from it.

I wasn't planning on going anywhere steep with a big avalanche hazard. Still thinking the conditions were ok I skied down Coire Raibert to have a look at the conditions on the Shelterstone. The winds were picking up rapidly and most of the time it was a complete white out. I felt quite dizzy skiing and it was to say the least an interesting experience to be out there on my own. Once I got right to the edge I couldn't believe the difference from a couple of weeks ago. Quite some cornices on the west/SW side of the burn and the buttresses looked amazing. There are some piccies lower down so have a look if you are interested in the conditions over there.

As the weather got ferocious I turned round and tried to put my skins back on. On of the skins was completely covered in snow as soon as I got it out and wouldn't stick for the life of it so I skinned back up on one skin and one ski. By that time I could hardly stand up and on my way back to the Coire rim I was picked up several time by the wind. It was now a full on continuous white out and bitterly cold. Everything froze rapidly and I literally started to look and feel like a female version of the Yeti! My hair, my face, my jacket, my eyelids, everything that could freeze froze! I was for the first time in my life worried about frostbite and concerned about getting back ok. It was a battle to get back to point 1141m and as you can gather I didn't go anywhere near Cairngorm. I managed to half crawl half ski down the Fiacall and I can't tell you how glad I was to see the mid station.

It still was a fantastic day out but I also felt I was put out of my comfort zone and realized that I am not indestructible.

Cranking it up at the Extreme Dream

2008-03-11T21:38:00.005Z

After a day getting brain fried behind the computer it was time to put up some sweat at the Extreme Dream wall in Aviemore. I absolutely love the place... Stevie and Scottie have done such a great job putting this place up. It has a brilliant atmosphere, provides a superb training venue, is user friendly, and if you are in need of a social and a good chill out then this is where you want to go on your night off. They also run fantastic courses and climbing events. Check out the link on this page for their site.

Anyway tonight was just one of these good socials mixed with cranking it hard and a lot of banter. Good crowd of keen foulks. George Reid, Desiree Wilson, Mark Chadwick, Hannah Burrow Smith(literally straight of the hill still in boots and waterproofs), Pete Gwatkin and a big bunch of other regulars were all up for a good session.

George and I had agreed we were going for a night of Speed and Stamina in keeping with the Husky Snow Stars scheme..(if anyone is interested I can tell you all about it, well in fact George is probably the man to ask!) So this meant in theory lot's of fast up and down climbing.... We did start of like that but soon got caught by some more challenging routes instead of running up jugsville.

Eventually Mark and George encouraged me to give the red roof a try. Ohh help....however I got a a couple of clips further then a few weeks ago and was satisfied with that...Next time I will crack it! George was next and was going strong until the down climbing section at the end... This is where he needed 3 birds to pull him back up to the roof....Desiree, Kath and myself were all hanging of the rope without much success but good entertainment value and apparently a pleasant sight for the guys!!! Thanks to Mark for taking some pictures. Eventually we released George out of his slightly uncomfortable position..He was a happy man. We finished the evening with some other interesting routes suitably tired. We were in there for a good 3 hours and although not as fast as we planned we got quite a lot of mileage in.

Me feel happy and content and look forward to a day in them white hills tomorrow...The forecast looks rather exciting but then you can always get something done on a wild day..you just have to choose well!!!!

Cheerio,

Chris

A day in the hills with Dundee Highschool 9-03-08

2008-03-11T08:53:00.000Z

On Sunday I was working for Beyond Adventure with Dundee High School in the bonny hills of Perthshire. The group was on a DoE gold training day to get them prepared for their expedition training. I met the 5 girls at Rumbling bridge carpark. The rain that had fallen the previous day and the night before had made the rumbling Bridge falls a spectacular site and Goat boaters would have had an exciting time on the Braan but I didn't spot anyone....Shame, shame because it looked a pretty exciting run!

The weather on Sunday itself was mixed and perfect for navigation and experiencing some wild conditions. It varied from sunshine, to snow blizzard, to rain showers and back to sunshine. The girls were a great bunch and properly switched on.

We walked into Glen Garr and headed up to the Obney hills. On the summit there is an interesting hill fort. The weather turned pretty nasty on the top which made it even more exciting. Once we got some visibility back we looked across to the SW to identify one of the summits and saw another interesting structure on the top of it which was marked on the map as an obelisk. We decided to head down and climb the hill on the other side to check it out. The hill was called Craig Gibbon and the Obelisk looked like a sort of ancient monument. I would like to know what it signifies and how old it is so if anyone has got any ideas on that please let me know.

Another good day that blew out the cog webs!

See yahs,

Christel

HAPPYYYYY BUNNNYYY

2008-03-07T22:01:00.000Z

Me so happy as we all passed our assessment today. Many thanks to Duncan Freshwater and Sean Langmuir. You guys are incredibly inspiring and it has been a privilege to meet you both. Also thanks to Ruaridh and Dave. Good luck with your off-piste mountain safety next week....Think biomechanics when you are skiing in all that bumpy, lumpy hopefully lot's of white stuff!!

Chris

One more day...

2008-03-07T07:49:00.000Z

Today is judgement day then...last day of assessment. Hopefully we all do well and pass. I look out of the window and it is raining but sunny...I know to a lot of you this might sound totally alien but that is Scotland for you. It creates the most amazing athmosphere and light. Let's pray to the weater gods that this means snow higher up!

Also good luck to Matt, Tim, Rob and Hannah today!!! Guys and girl ..you all rock so kick some ass in those mountains!!

Hopefully I will have some pictures to post tomorrow.

Just have a great day out there whatever you get up to!!!

Ciao,

Christel

I promised powder...and we got it!!! Alpine coach level 1 course with Duncan Freshwater and Sean Langmuir

2008-03-04T21:43:00.000Z

As my fellow course members arrived today at the Cas carpark they would't believe me when I told them that the sun would be out later as in Scotland the sun always shines at some stage during the day!!

We arrived at the top in a proper bo white out! Believe it or not this can do wonders for your skiing....as it is all in the feel... However we opted to move very rapidly from Ptarmigan to Cas as we thought it beneficial for course purposes to see something. The first couple of hours was interesting so to speak but as the morning went on..guess what appeared? The Sun indeed! In combination with the fresh snow dropped overnight and early morning the conditions were just brilliant and yes.... for you alpine friends...we had powder.. in fact we had powder two days in a row.

Duncan Freshwater, our coach, who is a kinda of a local couldn't believe however how much the conditions had changed since his childhood. What is in my eyes a huge amount for Cairngorm was to him just a dusting. But all in all it is pretty good up there and as we got told by Sean Langmuir this afternoon...apparently the Cas Headwall is in perfect nick at present!!!! I was a littlebit envious it has to be said as I wouln't have mind a wee run down but we are on an training and assessment after all and not a week of play!

Great day and a super interesting course...look forward to tomorrow!

Cheerio for now,

Chris

BRAWA course 1/2 March 08 - The ultimate coasteering adventure

2008-03-03T21:35:00.001Z

This weekend I had a complete change of scene as after having moved around on snow for the last 2 months I changed to the sea as my outdoor venue. I took part in the British rock and water association coasteering skills training led by Andy Spink, Earl, Drew Forbes and Dan.

It was an absolute cracking course that I can recommend to anyone involved in the outdoor industry as it is something totally different, exciting, fun and adventurous that you can target to any level in a wonderful wild environment.

The two days involved techniques for working with clients in a marine enviroment, swimming techniques, surf rescue skills, swell forecasting and bathology, tidal impact zone skills, jumping off things, the what if something goes wrong scenarios etc.

On Friday night we thought that the roof was going to blow of the building and that we would be hit by a rogue wave any minute. We were therefore surprised to see in the morning that the weather had turned to some blue sky and only a gentle breeze. We thought that we would find calm seas and a little swell but the opposit was true!!! The swell was big, choppy and irregular and super exciting to bob about in...it was also exceptionally cold!! But what a lot of fun. Swimming between different buffer zones, jumping in and getting out. Swimming into the boulder zone and dealing with rip tides etc.

On day 2 we expected the swell to be less but it was even bigger than the previous day. When we arrived at Easdale/ Seal Island at the bay we all stared with anticipation at the massive waves rolling into the bay. Hitting the cliffs on the left, bouncing off into the centre, rolling back to the cliffs to hit a 2nd time...it was absolutely spectacular but also quite intimidating, fear inspring maybe?

We started in the 'least choppy waters' to set up a swim line followed by throw line rescues which was slightly different than throw bagging on the river??? Here when on the rocks you are not dry or particularly safe as the waves come in and take you off your feet if you are not in a very pro active and stable position and the rope also floats in all directions including around the rescuers feet. Plus as the water round the rocks in the sea is flowing madly in all directions the person to be rescued can also have a very interesting time with ropes...it was very clear that ropes and water you really only want to use when no other options available.

We decided to move round to more exciting waters to do some sea level traversing and jumping of big cliffs in a biggggg swell to have a good practise at getting out of the water and back onto the cliffs. This was my favourite part of the weekend. The swell and the waves were so huge that you sometimes would end up about 5 to 10 meters higher on the cliffs than the actual sea level. It was intense but also a great feeling. The key in water is to go with it and don't work against it, don't fight it because it is much stronger than you are and you would never win! If you go with it however it is such a tremendous feeling, very relaxing I found!

We finished off with rescue scenarios and swimming with a conscious and unconscious casualty and some techniques to push your client off when they try to drown you....that is actually quite hard if you are wearing a steamer as they are so brilliantly bouyant!!

All in all a fab course and thanks to the guys for making it such a success!!!

This week I have moved back onto snow again to do another assessment course ....and since we had a decent amount of new snow in the Gorms I will try and put some powder shots on the blog this week!!!

Tada,

Chris

An 'interesting' day for the SAIS girls

2008-02-28T18:24:00.001Z

Winter had returned for a little while overnight and this morning looked promising....Kathy and I were very excited about the prospect of maybe finding 50cm of fresh powder in the Cas Bowl....Well you know..we all have dreams.. Unfortunately there wasn't as much as we expected. However the pit showed some very interesting layers of which two were graupel. There was one very low graupel layer on top of crust which we didn't expect. The graupel grain can be a nasty piece as it forms a lovely sliding layer. There was also a bit of windslab and as we wandered around discovered that this was lying on a variety of aspects due to the crazy winds from all directions and variet in quantitiy and depth. Generally quite sticky and stable but something to watch out for at the gully excits.

All in all a good day to catch up with Cairngorm gossip....sorry we don't share this with you!

Tomorrow the weather looks interestingly wild....so I probably venture into dry places...

Mon 25th Feb - Allways something to do on a bad weather day

2008-02-26T22:13:00.000Z

With a forecast that said conditions would deterioate a plan was made to still go in and do something....It wasn't a day for hanging around so it had to be fast and straight forward enough to keep moving.. Matt decided we should go into Fiacall Couloir in Sneachda.
Wonderful choice, great fun, fast, a bit slabby in places and more and more wind as time passed but so worth it! I did think that my hair was gonna break a some stage due to icicle growth but luckily it defrosted and I wasn't left with any serious amputations. Topping out was a windy affair too and we ditched any other adventures...Home straight over Fiacall Ridge...another wicked day.

Sunday 24th Feb

2008-02-26T21:02:00.000Z

What a beautiful day! A fine day for taking some pictures in the Cairngorms....typical Scottish weather..sunshine, snow, wind, silence, occasional whiteout all in one day.

Climbed up the Couloir meeting some climbers coming down from Savage Slit. Made my way over to the Shelterstone to enjoy the silence and stunning views. Walked back onto the plateau in the early evening to enjoy the beautiful light and made my way down the Goat track. A fine finish to a fine day.

Availability

2008-02-25T18:42:00.000Z

March: 8th/10th/11th/12th and 15th until the 20th
April: 13th until the 17th/ 21st until te 24th/ 28th until the 30th
May: 1st until the 5th/ 7th until the 25th
June: 1st until the 5th/ 9th until the 12th
July: 4th until the 31st
August: 1st until the 4th
September: 1st until the 30th
October: 1st until the 23rd/ 28th until th 31st
November: 1st until the 30th
December: 1st until the 31st