Best of both worlds !

I had lunch with PTC  the other day.

It had been a while since we caught up as we both have been busy with all sorts of stuff !

One of the things he did say to me was ” Feck sake update the blog !”.

So here we are !

This post has grown & grown as time has slipped by and I have added more !

The lack of posts is not down to doing nothing just time to write and post  and an uber slow lap top !

This has changed now with moving to the dark side with a Mac book pro which will hopefully make things easier !

Getting out in the snow has been great, around Perthshire there has been loads without having to travel too far.

I had some time to take back from work (hahaha) so my mate Chief had a Friday off and we planned a wee jaunt in Glen Fender.

We stopped in Escape Route on the way to have a ridiculous amount of money removed from me for a new toy that I will get to soon.

We did have coffee and bacon butties as well as the usual good banter with the guys.

Parking the car was interesting in the drifts of snow, we kitted up and headed for the track.

The snow was patchy at some points but enough to ski on all the way.

There was even enough to have a bit of fun !

http://s1224.beta.photobucket.com/user/bobinson3/media/P1020059_zps89db951f.mp4.html

And of course enough time for a brew and to take in the scenery.

Its weird ! Half of me was not wanting the snow to stay and the other wanted a melt so I could get out on the bike !

Being in Perthshire at the weekends and in Glasgow during the week has kind of given me both !

It had been an age since I had been in the Kilpatricks and after 2 days of blue skies being viewed from the office window I decided to take the bike to work and head out after work.

The usual happened when you are trying to get away from work, someone asks something or you answer the phone and before you know it it’s 5pm.

I rushed out of the office at Drumchapel and headed out onto the A82.

PTC had been out all day in the hills and was heading to the studio so it was going to be a solo !

I changed quickly mindful of the sunset.

The climb nearly killed me as I raced to get to the top of the hill to catch the sunset.

As soon as the sun dipped behind the hills it went really cold.

I set off towards Loch Humphrey and then along the tracks to the wooded section.

It was getting dark so I had the lights on, I entered the short cut route through the trees, its tricky at times but semi frozen in half light meant I ate dirt on a little step off.

I rode through the awkward gate and started on the downhill that I had been looking forward to !

Only to find pretty soon that all had changed and there were new fences, ditches and mud holes everywhere.

I got down to Overtoun House a bit jaded and text PTC  ”Fannies” !

The track that never fails to bring a smile to your face had indeed failed to do so !

The weather had stayed stable which saw a cold but sunny Raft Guide improvers course at Dunolly.

We had a good few days on the river with the new staff and they all went on to do well on their 6 day Guide course.

The stable weather saw more amazing sunsets.

Its also going to be a year of courses !

Updates and I suppose time has forced me to get my finger out and push for more qualifications.

With my Mountain Bike leader assessment coming up I have been getting out, as part of that I was doing the Expedition module training last week.

My heart sank that it was in Queen Elisabeth Forrest but it was good to get out for a couple of days with the tent.

It was great working with Bill Ross who pushed us through our paces !

The assessment is at the end of the month then it will be time to blitz the hills for a month in readiness for Mountain Leader Assessment !

Personal Development ! Aye  gees a break !

Funny start to the year !

When the bell’s rang at midnight bringing 2013 in it was mild with a bit of rain !

The snow I had spent Christmas in was being stripped back to nothing and the hills were bare again.

Mild weather meant biking !

A good thing too as it was time to get out and get a bit of practice for my night ride leader module !

By the time the assessment date came the weather had changed again and the snow had fallen and it had gotten colder again.

In Perth there was not much but further North it was lying and getting deeper.

In the Weege there was nothing but patches and It was just deep enough for a wee ski around the turbines at Whitelees.

It felt milder and looking onto the South side of the Campsies the snow cover was patchy.

I finally finished work at a decent time and headed up for a run, the North side was a different matter and on the way back down I was up to my knees floundering about off the path.

I got back to the truck and could not resist swapping my trainers for my ski boats and heading back up the track on my skinny’s.

I had a great time, and as I left the hill it snowing, by morning it was raining again !

A snowy epic journey North for The DofE Expedition Festival saw us sitting in workshops whilst heavy snow and blue skies passed us by !

By Sunday we returned to the Weege, rain and high winds greeted us.

Whats February going to be like ?

 

2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 7,500 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 13 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

Connect The God Dam Dots !

“Who you trying to impress”

“Who could care less”

As regular readers know I cant stand the “Christmas Thing !” so if I find myself in the country I tend to run for the hills to get away from the madness.

I arrived back from Cape Verde on the 23rd late, by the time I got home it was 01:30.

I got up the next morning and loosely packed my kit before heading North.

Stopping off at Sainsburys in Stirling to grab some provisions became a mission trying to get out the car park !

I popped in to see the guys at Escape Route, they were full of festive cheer and aiming to get very full of it when they finished !

It was dark as I headed for Dalwhinnie, the rain was falling and  to put a finer point on it the weather was “SH1TE”

The forecast had said it would dry up at about 18:00 and to be honest as I parked up it was clearing.

I got a fire going and had a few beers as I sorted my kit out for the next few days.

Sorted I  cooked some sausages on the fire and then jumped in the truck to get some kip.

Next morning it was mild !

I was tired and the motivation to get up was seriously weak.

I made some last-minute kit decisions then set off, trudging up a very wet hillside.

There is not much of a path up the shoulder of Creagan Mor, so picking your path between the patches of thick heather distracts you from the climb.

About half way up to the Lochan a bit of fine drizzle fell, it was nice and refreshing as it hit my face in the mild air.

Reaching the Lochan patches of snow appeared and the wet boggy ground started to harden up a bit as the temp started to drop.

Heading for Geal-charn the snow was still patchy, the wind had started getting up and the temp was starting to fall.

At the summit the cloud was starting to come in and the light starting to fade, dropping off the top on a bearing I started looking for a potential camp site.

At about 800m I found a slightly sheltered patch and started to excavate snow into a flat ledge.

An hour later and I had a pit instead of a ledge, given the wind that came in that night it was probably for the better.

It had been a short day but I was pretty knackered as I climbed into the tent, got my kit sorted and climbed into the combi bag.

A couple of hours later I awoke after a bit of a snooze, the moon was shinning outside giving off loads of light.

The jetboil was sluggish in minus temps as I melted snow for dinner, after my Asian Noodles which were very tasty I read a bit of my book before drifting easily back off to sleep.

I woke up about 8 and stuck my head out the tent, it snowed over night and the cloud was still low, there would be no impressive sun rise!

I drifted back to sleep till 9am got the stove on and started packing my kit up.

I had a bit of breakfast and set off for A Mharconaich, the weather was ever changing, one minute cloudy next minute it would lift and clear giving amazing 360 views.

The snow under foot was much more consolidated than the day before so it made the going much easier.

By Half eleven I was on the summit and the cloud had lifted, it was -6 on the top and there was a bit of a breeze.

I had noticed when i had hit the top of the ridge that there was someone else on the hill, as I got the jetboil out for a brew the caught up with me,after a quick chat he was taking photos and another 4 people appeared !

I finished my brew and wished the others a good day,retracing my steps back along the ridge, the cloud was starting to come in as I started heading towards Beinn Udlamain, the highest of the peaks in this group.

I was getting into the pace of things and by 13:30 I was on the top at 1011m it was biting cold and there was not much to see as the cloud swept across the summit, I checked the map and continued to handrail along the old fence line down towards Carn Lc Loumhaidh.

As I reached this the cloud was right down and the light was going really flat.

I toyed with camping on the flat expanse as it was a bit more sheltered but as a gap in the cloud came I decided to head onto the shoulder of Sgairneach Mhor.

The gap in the cloud was short lived and I found myself floundering around in the flat light.

I tried to take a bearing with my compass but the bubble had doubled in size and the prismatic disk was spinning all over the place.

I knew I wasn’t far from the summit but decided to hunker down in the tent as the forecast had said it would clear in the morning.

I was on a flat bit of ground at just over 900m, I was aware that was a little exposed so took a bit of time to pitch the tent well and make sore there was plenty of snow on the valance.

As I ate dinner and read my book the wind shook the tent, it was going to be a long night.

I plugged my I pod in and drifted in and out of sleep till about 7 the next morning, I unzipped the inner door to be greeted with a porch full of snow, at some point the wind had changed direction and had blown in under the door.

It was still nasty outside, my thoughts drifted to bugging out down Coire Dhomhain back to the A9, I used the PTC* mantra “have another Cuppa”.

By 10am the cloud lifted and I was glad that I was not too hasty in making the decision to drop down early.

Packed up it was not long till I was standing on the summit.

The fresh snow had corniced on the ridge as I headed down towards The Snow of Atholl.

After a steep climb up to the top of the Snow of Atholl I looked back and could see people on the tops all around me.

I dropped down to the A9 and began the 10km slog back up to the truck.

A few hours later I was In escape Route drinking coffee and buying a new compass.

I had indeed connected the dots !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

V-Lite Infinity Pro HPI ion-mask™

First of the Terrex kit reviews

I seen these a while back at KORS 2011  2010 and tried them on being that lucky sample size 8.

I was impressed how light they were for a shoe with good protection on the toe and heel (320g per shoe size 8).

The lovely Lesley from Hi-Tec sorted us all out with a pair for the Terrex, having not had a chance to wear them much before the race I was needlessly worried !

The ion-mask ™ hydrophobic technology used to treat the mesh upper ensures the shoe absorbs very little water and helps the shoe dry quicker too.

At first when I looked at the sole unit I was unimpressed and thought this would be the shoes downfall, in use I have been really impressed on its performance from claggy peaty mud, wet rock and the bottom of a wet canadian canoe.

The flex zone and 3D counter balance give the sole good flex but not super soft bendy that tends to hurt my feet.

The blocks are spaced enough to stop mud build up and the material seams to be durable enough to get descent wear out of the shoe.

Well it is a Vibram sole !

The speed lacing system is a great idea to save faff when getting the shoe on and off, I did break the little toggle and had issues trying to get the locker to move, but when tightened it didn’t slip or loosen after 4 hrs of solid hiking over the Tarmachan ridge.

I wore these on a long run straight out the box and had no issues with fit whatsoever (strange for me with a bigger trainer).

Loads of funky  colours available and also available in Male/Female fit with a good size range too !

They are on the Hi-Tec shop page for £49.99 so not a bad price for a good performing all round shoe.