Mountain Ways

Camping Cooley

2010-07-18T19:32:00.000+01:00

Mourne Wall Training

2010-07-18T19:00:00.007+01:00

Some more shots Spain

2010-07-10T10:53:00.001+01:00

Spanish trip to Sella great trip never mind the ash

2010-07-10T10:17:00.016+01:00

Wicklow - Glendalough 3 April 2010

2010-04-05T11:14:00.006+01:00

Good day for walking

Ann is boss !

Blue sky with sunshine in a brisk cool wind. Rain moving in from the NW but we were in the car before it hit. About 16 Km and 650m of climbing.

Doan and Muck

2010-03-29T08:47:00.010+01:00

Good long walk into Louth Shannagh then right to the shoulder on Doan. Gerry suggested we traverse around a few hundred meteres where we picked up a nice path to the top. Great views in the sunshine and a short rest then down from the summit towards Muck after lunch at the Mourne Wall. Another great spring day in the hills without any rain. 14Km and approximately 700m of climbing.

Preparing for the Tain Festival

2010-03-13T21:51:00.012Z

Skiing in France

2010-03-13T15:29:00.006Z

After a long delay some pics from the trip to France - Great Skiing and good company made a top class trip. There again we don't do bad trips

Walking and Climbing on 9th and 10th Jan

2010-01-17T12:11:00.004Z

Walk on the 2nd January 2010

2010-01-17T12:03:00.001Z

Left my camera in the car after taking one shot on the drive to the hills. Road conditions very bad.

Left from Newcastle to the top of Donard via the Blackstairs. Some scrambling with crampons and ice axe then a long pull to the top. Solid winter conditions. From Donard to the top of Comedagh then down to the Pot of Legawherry up a steep slope to the top of Slieve Corragh then Comedagh and down; the Glen River Valley. Conditions required crampons but that didn't stop people from being on the hills without them. Groups making their way back to Newcastle by sliding on their bums! Takes all sorts!

Walk on the 28th December 2009

2010-01-17T11:48:00.004Z

Review of the year is now available

2010-01-17T10:46:00.002Z

CROWS Hillwalk...

A review of 2009

Book Preview

Isle of Arran, Scotland

2009-11-25T00:12:00.013Z

A quick visit to the Isle of Arran in Scotland with Andy and Fergal proved to be a winner with great weather on the Sunday and not half bad on the Saturday. A great place with impressive mountains that pack a bigger bunch than you'd think.

A quick jaunt up Slieve Foy

2009-10-25T23:14:00.003Z

Foleys Bridge Tullymore Forest Park

2009-10-19T21:42:00.002+01:00

Chimney Rock Mountain 18 October 2009

2009-10-19T21:41:00.002+01:00

Trail Days for Coillte

2009-10-19T21:20:00.005+01:00

Oxfam Trailtrekker 11th place for the super 8

2009-09-29T23:41:00.005+01:00

After 100Km both CROWS finished together

A great moment and a great achievement!

Well done everyone and a special thanks to our loyal support team#

Noel, Stephen, Damien, Catherine, Catherine and Ann - ye did a great job.

Annalong Horseshoe - ready for the Oxfam Trail Trekker

2009-09-20T20:51:00.005+01:00

Gola - climbing, canoeing and swimming

2009-09-18T23:06:00.006+01:00

"20 yards a groanin" was the climb of the trip for me. Obvious crack in the picture only S 4a but a great situation with waves breaking below the platform

Trip to Gola

2009-09-18T22:48:00.001+01:00

Three blue sky days - dead right we went to Gola!

But the training goes on.....................

2009-09-18T22:44:00.002+01:00

and on

And on

and on

Dance moves from the 70's

2009-09-18T22:34:00.002+01:00

Michael has a dynamic warm up routine. Sort of goes against all the rules but seems to work for him!

Oxfam Trailtrekker when will it end!

2009-09-18T22:29:00.002+01:00

Some of the walks enjoyed clear moonlit skies
Her we are on the col just above Carlingford

Oxfam Trailtrekker

2009-09-18T22:17:00.003+01:00

The training continues

Walk of 26 (41Km) to 40 miles (64Km) have been completed in all weather by day and night and the teams are ready

We have a willing and able support teams in Stephen, Damien, Catherine, Ann and Noel. The plans are almost military in their detail Bit of a worry that Roisin.

Just a matter of getting it done now!

I was off the air for a time there

2009-09-18T22:12:00.002+01:00

Some catching up to do

So, lets get on with it!

20 July selection of images from Croagh Patrick and Mweelrea for you Joey Happy Birthday! click on images to get a better look

2009-07-23T23:55:00.009+01:00

Croagh Patrick through the Coffin Ship Memorial

Mass at the summit

Doolough valley

The tradition of pilgrimage to this holy mountain stretches back over 5,000 years from the Stone Age to the present day without interruption.

Views from the mountain

Pat and Ritchie at the summit of Mweelrea

Happy Birthday Joey!

Binnian on 28th June - Started off wet then cleared to sunshine!

2009-07-07T22:05:00.002+01:00

CROWS in Connemara

2009-06-26T19:23:00.007+01:00

The Trailtrekker stages 8 and 9

2009-06-26T19:20:00.002+01:00

Longest day of the year and a good walk to match from Carrickdale to Carlingford. A good pace and a few pints afterwards. Well done LADS!

Trip to Divis Mountain & Belfast

2009-06-21T23:32:00.004+01:00

Interviews with the club members

2009-06-08T22:57:00.007+01:00

Q: Name one thing being in the club has done for you

A: Eh well, I'm more agile and sure footed

Q: What would you say to people that say it could be dangerous?

A: I'd say baa, once ewe watch out for the obvious then its grand

Stage 1 of the Oxfam Trail Trekker

2009-06-04T23:52:00.007+01:00

Zwartble Sheep - from Holland

Pat on his way to Leitrim Lodge

"Head bands for all day" in the Mournes

Catherine on her 30 Km warm up for the 10Km womens marathon

If you go down to the woods today - bring your map!

Errigal done at last - great couple of days in "sunny north west"

2009-05-25T22:34:00.004+01:00

Pot of Legawherry on a blue sky day

2009-05-10T22:08:00.011+01:00

Talk of Louth's formost mountaineer returning !

2009-04-28T23:03:00.007+01:00

CROWS reaction is enthousiastic and as usual under stated

Mein Gott ! Vot have ve created !

2009-04-26T20:59:00.000+01:00

Exercise on Slieve Foy 26 April 2009

2009-04-26T18:17:00.004+01:00

Slieve Lamagan on a sunny day in April

2009-04-19T17:12:00.014+01:00

CROWS in the Alps - Snow Shoeing and Skiing

2009-04-02T21:34:00.020+01:00

Great trip to Argentiere in the French Alps. Well done everyone!

Aiguillette des Posettes 2201m

A good cup of coffee!

Roisin on the Grands Montets ski run

Stephen coming in from the cold

Keep going - not far now

Col de Crochue Ski tour

Picnic with a view on the Grand Bernard

Alpine views

Argentiere church - cat on the prowl

Paddy's Day in Donegal

2009-03-19T18:42:00.013Z

Quick trip to Donegal. Did a round of the Aghla's then camped at Lough Altan.
Used the canoe to get a few Km closer to Errigal before scrambling up the north ridge. Weather was brilliant and the views were cracking! Now, where to next?

Look we had to bunch up to get in the photo!

Eugene didn't realise I hadn't paddled for the last half hour

The grass is always greener on the other side!

Images from the Tain Walking Festival Carlingford 7/8th March

2009-03-09T21:46:00.021Z

Pot of Legawherry - Comedagh and return to Tullymore

2009-02-08T18:40:00.006Z

We had hopes of getting up one of the gullies on Comedagh from the Pot but the weather took a turn for the worse and so.......

I haven't seen the Mournes look like this in many years. A proper winter for once. Despite the blizzard the temperatures were not that low and the snow was soft and unconsolidated despite the last few weeks of rising and falling temperatures. The reason is that nearly all the snow is quite fresh as the Mournes have escaped the big dumps experienced in other parts of the country.

The wall itself is in parts almost buried behind drifts of snow. Sometimes only the capstones are showing

There were a fair few hardy souls braving the weather

Sun 25 January - Started bad but turned out great

2009-01-25T17:51:00.005Z

Some dirt bikers - breaking the local laws and messing up the hill side. But, then what do they care

Sunday 18/1/09 good walking

2009-01-18T22:57:00.010Z

4 CROWS 2 fledglings. 10K with 590m

Some scrambling and summits on Slieve Meelmore and Meelbeg

Cold but good !

Fighting the wind on Meelmore

Now, this proves just how severe the wind was!

Skiing in France

2009-01-10T12:30:00.031Z

Heading off early in the morning. We skied in Espace Diamant and Megeve.

Stephen and Gerry on the slopes well above the cloud in the valley

Some times "No Brakes" Kenny comes a cropper

Contrast the modern skier with the one wearing the 1970's "Sheena Easton" jacket!

View of the Aravis chain of Mountains

The old jail Annecy

Street scene in Annecy

One for Tony - Paraglyders do it in the snow too

Click for a better view

For 2009

2008-12-28T22:10:00.002Z

Last Walk of 2008

2008-12-28T20:48:00.015Z

12 for a walk to the summit of Donard

Great day for walking with fine views in all directions.

The Mourne wall was a clean and dry way to cross the Bog of Donard - if you didn't mind the height.

Margaret striding out towards Donard

Sunset with Carlingford and Slieve Foy in the distance

Paddy and Tony crossing with the - eh, additional supplies!

View towards Newcastle

Memories of 2008

2008-12-23T08:23:00.006Z

I've put together a selection of photos as a review of the year for the CROWS

Click on the icon above to see the first 15 pages of the 58 page book

Merry Xmas to everyone in the club!

Forkhill and the poets trail

2008-12-21T16:23:00.010Z

The Poets Trail around Forkhill on a damp and dreary Sunday.

About 12Km with some hide and go seek played by Paddy who eventually joined us at the Mass Rock

Group on the Heli Pad on the top of Croslieve

Last CROW of the year

(Eugene) Rain, Rain go to Spain

(Tony) Say what!

Comedagh

2008-12-16T18:58:00.008Z

14 Dec 2008
A good walk in misty condition following the Mourne Wall from Hares gap Approximately 14 Km.

From about 500 meters up the ground was frozen and nearing Comedagh we topped out over the cloud in the valley.

As conditions were right I had a look over the Mourne wall into the Pot of Legawherry which was filled with mist and right enough an optical phenomen know as a Brocken Spectre was visible, but faint. I managed to get a photo of it (click on photo below for a better view). The following is an extract from Wikimedia

A Brocken Spectre, also called Brocken bow or mountain spectre is the apparently enormously magnified shadow of an observer, cast upon the upper surfaces of clouds opposite the sun. The phenomenon can appear on a misty mountainside or cloud bank, or even from an aeroplane, but the frequent fogs and low-altitude accessibility of the Brocken, a peak in the Hartz mountains in Germany, have created a local legend from which the phenomenon draws its name. The "spectre" appears when the sun shines from behind a climber who is looking down from a ridge or peak into mist. The light projects the climber's shadow forward through the mist, often in an odd triangular shape due to perspective. The apparent magnification of size of the shadow is an optical illusion that occurs when the observer judges his shadow on relatively nearby clouds to be at the same distance as faraway land objects seen through gaps in the clouds, or when there are no reference points at all by which to judge its size. The shadow also falls on water droplets of varying distances from the eye, confusing depth perception. The ghost can appear to move (sometimes quite suddenly) because of the movement of the cloud layer.The head of the figure is often surrounded by the glowing halo - like rings of a glory, rings of coloured light that appear directly opposite the sun when sunlight is reflected by a cloud of uniformly-sized water droplets.

At the top of Comedagh we managed to squeeze into the summit shelter to get our lunch before heading down to the Mourne Col and back by the Brandy Pad

CROWS in Wales

2008-10-15T17:15:00.010+01:00

A successful trip by the club to Snowdonia from the 3rd to the 6th of October

Based in the Celtic Royal Hotel (reccommended by our friends in the Wee Binians, thanks for that!)

A bus tour on Friday settled everyone in and gave us a chance to see some of the pretty towns and villages.

(lets hear it for the girls!)

Saturday was just about the worse day this year on the hill and we made a brave but ultimately useless attempt to get to the top of Snowden

Sunday well it was probably one of the best days on the hill this year!

(Summit of Snowden 1085m)

The evenings were almost as tiring (but in a different way) than the days

Great hats were worn !

Good laughs were had

But in the end all CROWS have to go home

Lets hope our annual trips are all as good!

Vallee Blanche

2008-09-13T17:14:00.007+01:00

Up at 6am and back to Chamonix Mont Blanc.

The plan was to take the first cable car to the Aiguille de Midi at 3800 m and spend the day travelling down the Vallee Blanche.

The length of the route was about 20 km and the main difficulties were in finding a safe route through the crevasses. After the crevasses we had a half dozen ice pitches to climb down and some abseiling off cliffs above the hut.

We were disappointed to find the Requin Hut closed and locked for the winter.

After down climbing the ladders bolted to the cliff we discovered the last 10 meters were missing so again we had to abseil . Another ice pitch and we were on the glacier and off on a race against the fading light. Splitting into two groups the front runners found the 200m of ladders up the cliff in pitch darkness which saved us a long cold night on the glacier.

Once at Montenvers we got onto the track for Chamonix and then it was just a matter of an hour or two into the town.

It was just after midnight when we finally arrived at our accommodation

Some food, water and a good rest was followed by some early morning shopping in Cham then the airport and home.

A really good trip!

Summit Day Grand Paradiso

2008-09-13T13:54:00.010+01:00

The summit of Grand Paradiso - this was what we were in Italy for!

When we got up at 3.30 am it was bucketing rain and there was thick mist. Departure was put on hold.

Breadfast at 4.30 am showed the weather had improved.

At 5.00 we decided to go for it. After an hour on the trail the rain finally stopped and we climbed above the cloud to the edge of the glacier.

We encountered steeper than expected slopes; due to being slightly off route! After a few hours hard work, Il Roc appeared and from there the summit was visible.

The final 300 meters were hard won as we approached the 4000m mark but the views compensated as we could see the high alpine summits of France, Italy and Switzerland.

Up to this point there were only 2 other parties on the mountain but groups now appeared from several different directions and we were soon jostling for position on the very narrow summit block

CROWS on Grand Paradiso

Finally at 4061 meters we were at the top of Italy and had fantastic views in every direction.

We descended to the hut by a different route which included some very scary scree and after some food and drink, collected our gear and descended to the valley.

All in all a hard day but a good one!.

La Tresanta

2008-09-13T13:42:00.005+01:00

At 3600m high this would get us ready for the climb to Grand Paradiso. A straight forward glacier traverse was followed by a climb over a snow bridge at the bergschrund at the top of the glacier and a rock climb onto the ridge itself. That was followed by a long and tiring climb to the summit in mist. Some photos and a little bit to eat and we headed back down. No views due to the poor weather but we were sure we would benefit from the altitude.

The descent was tricky and required good judgement.

The return to the hut in mist and rain made us wonder if we would have the weather window the next morning. The decision was to get up at 3.30am anyway and be ready for the start. We got ourselves ready (removing any equipment judged too heavy and were in bed at 9.00 pm.

Setting out for the Refuge Victorio Emanuelle II

2008-09-13T13:27:00.004+01:00

After a late arrival in Pont (Val Savaranche) we had a relaxed start to the Refuge. The sun shine kept everyone's spirits high.

A two hour hike to the hut was followed by a few hours on the glacier working on our skills and checking out a route for the La Tresenta climb the next morning.

We arrived back at the hut in the rain and had a good meal before settling down for the night. We were up at 5.30 am for the climb

At the airport

2008-09-04T12:24:00.002+01:00

All present and correct 9 for the alps !

Training for the Alps

2008-09-03T22:16:00.003+01:00

Training is done and the bags are packed for the trip to Grand Paradiso in Northern Italy (only 4 days in Italy and we need 3 of them to do the climb) 4061 m

Looking forward to it but as usual the weather forecast is poor

We will make the best of what we get

The CROWS

Walk 27 July Slieve Martin and Kilbroney

2008-08-07T18:41:00.003+01:00

A breather and a view

Summer is here for a short time anyway!

Friendly lizard joined the walk

Top of Slieve Martin photo by Brian

Lost in the forest (only for a while!)

Canoeing on the Lower Erne

2008-08-04T13:48:00.012+01:00

Setting off from Enniskillen on a bank holiday Monday. Weather good and winds light. We visited the island of Devenish with its Monastic settlement and then headed west on the lower lake. Stopping off at a small jetty for a picnic. Good fun and loads to see. Some of the cloud formations were fantastic.

Canoe

2008-08-03T11:40:00.000+01:00

Just thought of a great way to defraud the insurance company

Mountain skills for everyone

2008-07-18T13:33:00.002+01:00

Night nav exercise in Wicklow

--
Eugene

Something for the local club - The CROWS

2008-04-19T13:39:00.000+01:00

These lads were waiting for me at the Argentiere Hut

And Finally

2008-04-19T12:19:00.001+01:00

After a good night we left Zermatt and spent a day travelling by train back to Chamonix. It was good to get the weather to finish the route but it would still have been a great mountain experience regardless. We met some great people and spent time amongst the most amazing scenery in Europe and that alone made the trip worth while.

The trip back to Chamonix was relaxing and enjoyable with the train trip from Matigny to Argentiere and back to France particularly spactular. We collected our gear from the Belvedere and said good bye to everyone before returning to Geneve and home.

Zermatt at last!

2008-04-16T21:33:00.000+01:00

We are in zermatt we made it! Today, we crossed seven high glaciers, three mountan cols and two Countries in approximate thirty KM journey. We are in a small guest house and are well rested and fed. We're heading back to Chamonix tomorrow by train.

We started out at about 6.30 am from the Vignettes Hut under a blue cloudless sky (the forecast had got it wrong but in a good way for a change). At some stage during the night the high winds died down. Unfortunately, a couple of lads didn't make it to the hut and in the clear morning light they could be seen about 500 m away and 300 m up the glacier. The Air Glacier rescue helicopter was making brave efforts to get to them but the avalanche risk was high and the unlucky pair were in a terrible place. Hopefully they got down and without any cold injuries.

The move to the first col (Col L'Eveque) was difficult. With the temperatures down at -20C the skins wouldn't stick on Gerry's skies. They kept falling off giving him huge difficulty. I tried using gaffer tape but it just broke into pieces. Gerry eventually managed with some tape that was stored in the rucksack and two velcro straps. First prize for being cool under pressure. We eventually got to the coll and into the sun light and everything started working again! A great ski down into the Glacier D'Arolla valley and an amazing skin up the next valley with the Bouquitin Hut visible on the far side high up on the ridge. The Col de Tsa de Tsan looked inviting but the route went straight up the steep slope straight ahead.

The second col (Col Mount Brule at 3400 m) was indeed steep and difficult and we had to carry the skies on our ruck sacks. With the weight now almost 18Kg the altitude certainly kicked in! Again, the views were fantastic.

The third col (Col de Vapelline at 3800 m) required a long traverse across the glacier. Groups broke up into 2s and 3s and the heat took its toll. After 2 hours the tip of the Matterhorn came into view a great moment; leaving us just 14 Km to go. We passed the Finns and other groups on the climbs but their excellent skiing meant that they left us behind once the down hill sections came.

Some back slapping and a few nice pints of beer at the first cabane we came to and then a ski down to the town of Zermatt at 6pm in the evening.

The main objective now was to get somewhere to stay for the night.

Zermatt sits at the bottom of the Matterhorn and cars are not allowed. We nearly got run over by the little electric vans that act as taxis until we got used to them.

The Alpen Rose Hotel was the first hotel we called to and we were glad to find it was reasonably priced and had a restaurant.

The first shower after 6 days was just magic!

The Weather strikes back!

2008-04-15T23:09:00.000+01:00

Well we arrived in the Vignettes Hut (double click on the image to the right to see the hut high up on the mountain), with the weather restricting our progress once more, tomorrow we have to tackle a hard 28K route so we're in for a long day.

On the way to the hut we diverted slightly to climb Pigne D'Arolla at 3796 m. Unfortunately we had zero visability from the top so it was a bit disappointing.

Finding the Vignettes was tricky in the low visability and at one point we had to ski alone across a high avalanche risk area. This was the only hut that had a resident dog. We were glad to hear the mutt barking at our arrival.

(PS. The following morning we got up at 5am and went out into a blizzard. The temperature was around -30 with the wind chill and after struggling through 1.5 meter deep snow we made a decision at the col to return to the hut. A small number of mountaineers did move out towards Zermatt but the majority retreated to Arolla or stayed put like ourselves. A day of rest followed with fingers crossed for some decent weather for what effectively will be out last day. We waited anxiously for the weather forecast at 8.30 pm)

Progress!

2008-04-13T17:37:00.001+01:00

We left the Mont Blanc massif and travelled around to Verbier by rail and cablecar moving into the Mont Fort hut. The idea was that the weather might be better and allow us to progress from this side. The weather cleared enough to allow us to move out and we arrived at the Prafleuri Hut in pretty good time. A beautiful hut, located as usual on a high point to avoid avalanches. The final part of the day was in zero visibility. We were in the area of the hut (within 100 m) for quite some time before we located it. As it turned out we were the only people there so we got great attention from Babette the Guardiane. Lovely hut only recently renovated. Our guide book was out of date and described it as a basic hut where you had to mealt snow for water and indeed we initially occupied a building that fitted the description exactly. After an hour Gerry discovered there was a new building just around the corner. We were glad we didn't sit all night freezing in the old hut.

Yesterday, and after another day of travel we got to the dix hut. This was the hardest day so far. Because, there was nobody at the Prafleuri we had to trail break and navigate all day. In deep powder and broken terrain that is an exhausting task. Also the avalanche risk was high (there was a reason there was nobody else around) and that added to the strain. The sun reflecting from the snow burned us badly on the face even with high sun factor. The climb from the Pas Du Chat was very hard after such a day and we had the strange experience of the Air Glacier service dynamiting the slopes once we cleared the valley. The heavy snow had made them all dangerous and a long distance event called the "Patrouille des Glaciers" was starting in three days. So, explosions and avalanches and a long pull to the Dix Hut finished off a hot and tiring day

The Guardian, Pierre at the Dix Hut came out to meet us - "The strong men from the Prafleuri have arrived". Gerry shouted back that we were looking for the Vignettes Hut. We had to put up with some slaggin for the rest of the night!

We decided we need to take the following day off after 6 straight days either training or on the route.

However, the follwing day was a beautiful day and so we climbed a mountan called La Louette from the Dix Hut. Not a complete rest but an easy day we are looking forward to tomorrow to the Vignettes and then its just to Zermatt on tuesday, weather permitting.

Foiled by the weather!

2008-04-08T18:17:00.000+01:00

We spent Monday skiing off piste, practising off piste skill and then in the afternoon we skinned up to the Argentiere Hut (click on image to the right to view) arriving knackered at 6.30pm. Great meal and welcome from the Guardiane then a poor sleep and up at 5am to tackle the route to the Trient Hut.

Weather got worse as the morning progressed and we made the decision to return from the Chardonnet. We decided to descend the Argentiere Glacier by the right bank that required we cross the glacier roped. Liam was the "dope on the rope" as front man. Anyway all went ok and we didn't need to haul his skinny butt out of a crevasse.

Back in Argentiere at 2pm.

We met the Guides from the night before so at least some of them decided to return as well

Weather not good for the next 3 to 4 days - we will continue to work on skills and do plenty of off piste and skinning.

highs and lows

2008-04-06T18:26:00.000+01:00

We got a place to stay in Argentiere in the Belvedere. Very basic but nice people. The rooms are all based around 4 bunks so it would have been better if Matt was with us. We have a different guest every night but there you go.

A good day practicing skills near the Lognan and Grand Montet. Skinned up about 900 meters and practiced avalanche rescue skills

The weather is not in our favour but we are setting off tomorrow anyway from Chamonix. The plan is to go to the Argentiere Hut at 2700 m to assist with the altitude training. We will then ski down to the Chardonnet Glacier and move on to the Trient Hut. The following day we will go to Champex and then on to start the Verbier route proper.

At lot of snow is forcast but we might get to Verbier before it or we will be beaten back by the weather.

The training and the nights sleep at the Argentier Hut will hopefully mean that we will be in good nick for the Chardonnet Glacier but we are prepared to back off if the conditions aren't correct. We are adding 2 days to the Verbier route by doing it this way but that is not an uncommon option.

On our way

2008-04-05T10:53:00.000+01:00

At the Airport now and ready to roll. Met Danny Fenton on the bus. He is heading off to Berlin to do a marathon. He reminded us that we started out together 25 years ago in the Reserve. Feeling a bit old after that :-) but hey, at least we are all still doing something and each to his own. Best to luck to Danny

Bad news

2008-04-04T21:08:00.000+01:00

Bad news today before the trip even starts. Matt was involved in an accident and has broken bones in his foot effectively putting the kybash on the trip for him. Everyone is gutted for him. Especially after all the training, investment and build up. We will keep him up to date on whats happening and no doubt think of him when the going is good and envy him when the going gets rough!

Pre trip thoughts

2008-03-27T20:53:00.000Z

Looking forward to the trip in the Alps. Wondering if I'm fit enough though just haven't got as much training as I would have liked. Pre trip nerves?

Bags packed (almost) and everything weighed and discounted if judged too heavy. Tiny amount of spare cloths as almost everything is technical gear. The pack is down to about 11 Kg and I don't think I can get it any lower than that!