Turkish delight part two

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

  

 

 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!!!

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

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

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