Trains, Travels

For some reason I’ve dreamt of climbing every night the past week. Mostly I’m on a tough mixed terrain ridge really testing me to my limits. In fact so testing I tend to wake up with the physical effort of clambering whilst in bed. It was amusing the first night, but 5 days on it’s getting a bit much really. It doesn’t compare with Michael on the last night of our climbing course. I woke at about 5 in the morning to the sound of him trying to put on his waterproofs in his bed after 10 minutes of struggling he threw them on the floor in a huff. Not that he has any recollection of any of this, a combination of an obsession with climbing and far too much alcohol in one night. If I stuck to the theme of odd activities in the night there’s another story from the Moiry hut, but it’s not pleasant so if you want to know you’ll need to ask in person…

Ok, I’m struggling with content for the blog, after a week of heavy posting when I’m just back from holiday things are slowing up. I’m starting to get used to the unemployed lifestyle and the lack of routine in my life right now. A big downside to this is that the days tend to blend into one and they don’t make for very interesting blog posts. It’s tough enough as it is if you’re not interested in endurance training as there’s not much else to read about here.

On that note the weekend continued in the same vein as the week with more hours spent training. I’m pretty certain now that weekend drivers are actually better than weekday afternoon drivers, I definitely have far more close calls in the week. Plenty more hours spent on the bike leading to over 500km of riding in my first week back. Quite a lot, but at times there’s not much else to do, perhaps the secret cause of over training is boredom! After all it can be a case of go and train or watch a repeat of Ugly Betty on Channel 4.

I have to apologise for being a little hypocritical too. I went for a long ride on Saturday and passed another cyclist without saying a word. I didn’t mean to be that rude, not least because they said hello to me. If I’m making excuses I was planning to ask them how far it was to Wantage when I saw a sign with the distance on then as I went past them by the time my brain caught up they were gone. Pretty lame! Karma got it’s own back when I was taking an easier ride the next day, suffering a bit in the legs and a guy came blasting past me. Doesn’t often happen and if I’m making excuses again then I was eating at the time!

He did at least acknowledge me whereas whilst out yesterday I was apparently persona non grata. It was a Bank holiday here in the UK, which doesn’t mean much to me now, but for those who work is a bonus day off. There were a fair few people who clearly chose to take the opportunity for an extra bike ride. Not one road cyclist I saw acknowledged me, I don’t expect it, but that’s a pretty poor hit rate. Got me thinking about cyclist snobbery and whether the problem was I had quite a large backpack on for my trip that day. The presence of a backpack transformed me from someone cycling for cycling’s sake into someone cycling to get somewhere. Any cyclist knows that the former trumps the latter! Personally I’m for more friendliness on the road, the random encounters and occasional chats whilst on the wheel are one of the pleasures of cycling. It’s not all about the pain of intervals.

Whilst training volume has been high, I’ve not really felt in form yet. Running seems to be fine, but cycling and swimming are taking their time. However this may all be a matter of motivation as I discovered yesterday evening. I can hammer out a pretty hard ride with the right motivation. If you want to give yourself a good push I highly recommend racing the sunset. Knowing you have a limited time before it’s going to get dark and a bit more dangerous can help you knock out that Ironman or above pace for 90+ minutes. I don’t recommend getting caught out on the road in the dark though, things become quite tense. On the bright side my legs ca put the work in if they need to, just want them to do it next Sunday in Almere.

I’m back home after 2 weeks of climbing and mountaineering, that’s my holiday done so I’ll be back into training from tomorrow. It’s a weird holiday in that it’s the first time I’ve come back and not had a job to return to, that’s still got to sink in.

I’ve climbed more in the last week than I have in the entire year and that includes my first try at lead climbing. It was all good fun and a lot of work and at times a little nerve wracking. I learnt a lot in the Alps, both in terms of skills and new ways to test my fitness. I’ve not swum in the last 2 weeks, nor run or biked. On the other hand I was spending at least 4 or 5 hours a day hiking or climbing in the mountains, often at altitude, so I don’t think fitness will really have declined.

The first week out in Switzerland was spent learning the basics of Alpinism on the ISM Summit and Skills 4000m course. Lots was covered - a bit of climbing, lots of rope work, glacier travel, crampon use and basic rescue techniques. The group that week was quite large - 8 of us plus our 2 guides, but fortunately we all got along really well. We were pretty fortunate to have a large group that worked so well together, in general the larger the group the more likely they’ll be problems. Certainly the same course the next week had one person who really didn’t enjoy things. The training included summits of two peaks the smaller Pigne de la Le and the 4000m Weissmeis to finish the week. Both very enjoyable with the Weissmeis providing a bit more challenge and a little more exposure.

Hard to pick highlights from the first week, obviously both summits. I’ll not forget being dragged across a snow field by one of the guides as I tried to practice self-arrest techniques. He definitely enjoyed that! Nor taking a dip in the glacial off flow from the Moiry glacier, seriously cold water, but after 3 days without a shower very refreshing. Hopefully for us all the photo of my bare arse will never make it to the internet. Thanks to Chris for taking that one, thought the fact it’s his kids favourite is a little worrying…

For the second week I’d signed up for the Technical Alpinism course so had already committed to pushing myself further in the mountains. I was pretty pleased to find it was just me and Michael (another guy from the first course) for this week, thanks to someone deciding to cancel. With only 2 of us and one guide the schedule became much more flexible. Unfortunately the weather for the week was much less obliging and limited the amount of time we spent on snow and ice. However the result was I spent time climbing rock in 3 different countries over 3 days!

We spent the first 2 days of the week in Switzerland staying around Leysin still. I started the week with my first large mutlipitch climb, the Miroir d’Argentine. We climbed the direct route up the face, about 500m of elevation and 15 pitches. I’ve a long way to go with climbing so this route was at times testing, but I relaxed into it a lot more once I was a good few pitches in. It took around 5 hours from bottom to top and was fuelled by only 3 Special K bars! It’s remarkable how appetite vanishes whilst you’re in the mountains, there’s too much else on to notice. We followed this big climb with a second multipitch effort up a local pillar, rain however called things off sort of the top and I got to have a go at my first multiple abseil descent. Abing off things before the top became a bit of a theme for the week thanks to the weather, but I think we were getting fairly slick at it by the end.

With bad weather moving into the Alps, we headed off to the Aosta valley in Italy to find some sunshine. It was pretty amazing to go from rain, fog and clouds on the Swiss side and descend into sun in the Italian valley. On the climbing side it was more rock and also my first lead, but food really was the highlight of this day. We ended up in a little B&B nearby and ate at a local restaurant. The volume and quality of food was fantastic, all fresh local produce in a simple daily menu letting them focus on the meal. I doubt they see many foreign visitors there, but the owners spoke excellent English and took great care of us. The meal was amazing, though the next few days we questioned the wisdom of opting for raw beef as the first course.

After another multipitch climb in Italy which we actually summited before abing off the top we drove over to our guide Twid’s place near Chamonix. Again the advantage of such a small group was the mobility and the fact our guide could put us up at his home! At times it felt more like we were hanging out with a group of guides than on a course. We always knew we were with a guide on the climbs though as Twid made sure we kept the pace up and didn’t mess about. Eliminating faffing was a major priority of everyday. I have a long was to go to achieve the efficiency of a guide; their ability to get equipment off your harness without you noticing verges on sleight of hand.

So finally we went for some ice climbing up the Cherie Couloir in the Aiguille Du Midi. Thursday we were up at 5:15 for breakfast and to head off and catch the first lift of the day. It was quite luxurious not to be staying in huts and to have our only Alpine start being after 5am. Winds were high once we got there and we started on the ice climb, about 5 pitches up though Twid decided it was time to Ab off as winds picked up and the next pitch had poorer anchors. So once again we didn’t quite make the top but did get our first real ice climbing. We’d planned to follow the climb with the Cosmique Ridge up to the cable car, but conditions and poor reactions to something that had been eaten aborted that. A short ridge climb into the Cosmique hut was opted for instead, not as long but quite enjoyable, with one very long leg stretch in the middle of it.

The final day had an even more leisurely start, with weather supposedly improving in the day and a lift that started later we could lie in till 7. The plan was another small ridge climb, but this time with a more challenging climbing and mixed conditions. We shot up the lift and got on the glacier it was a trickier crossing than we’d experienced with a bergshrund to cautiously cross. With a bit of care there were no issues and we were soon onto the ridge. Unlike previous ridge climbs, there was actual climbing involved not just a scramble. Four pitches up and there was a boom of thunder; that was it, time to get off the mountain. We abed straight off onto the glacier, roped up and carefully made our way back and down the lift. As we descended the snow we’d experienced up top thawed into rain. And that was it for mountaineering for the week. A stop for coffee, see Britain get a gold on the track whilst I drank it and then back to Leysin.

It was a great trip and learning experience and it leaves me with a focus outside of triathlon. I’m not sure how it will all fit in really, I need to work on my climbing if I want to get further with Alpinism. My fitness is not an issue, I had no problem regularly going up above 3000m and climbing. How and where I fit in climbing with my other training remains to be seen, I have some more contacts to try in Oz though. I also have a rough goal to get my climbing together and when I’m back in Europe next year a trip to the alps will be on the cards. Not sure of the objective yet, but something to challenge me a little more.

There are a lot of interesting and unusual ways to push your fitness and endurance out there and they don’t all involve trying to cross a finishing line before everyone else. My primary goal is still to cross that Ironman finish line ahead of more people, but I encountered a mindset that focussed more on testing your limits in a far broader way. Building up skills, fitness and mental focus and using it to tae on challenges that interest you, whether it’s summiting a mountain or completing a race. I find it inspiring and points to further places to go in the future. Everything I do over the coming year needs to address these 3 things and help enable me to take on bigger challenges.

This post is far too long, I’ll write about plans whilst I’m still in the UK, mental focus, training and at some point, I will write about Columbo in later posts…

Posting from a hotel internet terminal as I don’t have an iphone or that much idea about twittering… Pictures will follow next week when I’m back in the UK. Week 1 is done and I’ve climbed my first 4000m peak it was a lot of fun if a little scary crossing the final steep snow fields. That much exposure does a lot to focus the mind on the task at hand. The week has been challenging at times and has certainly tested me. I’m happy to say my endurance passed the test at the very least, though I have plenty to work on on the more technical side. I’m ok at picking up techniques and how they’re used, but when it comes to climbing I’ve a long way to go.

Lesson of the week is I need to stretch more, I’ve had it quite clearly pointed out to me that I’m lacking in leg flexibility which doesn’t help with climbing. My other deficiency is confidence in my feet and legs, I don’t have much trust for small footholds and end up out of balance. Hopefully the next week will help me work on and improve this as well as providing some even more challenging mountaineering. Ice climbing should be one of the highlights, I’ve really enjoyed the small amount I’ve done so far. It’s even helped me learn how to sew again as I fix tiny nicks in my trousers.

Details, pictures and thoughts about Columbo once I’m back in the UK.

A quick one as it’s getting late, I’m tired and I’ve yet to pack for my trip tomorrow.

I wasn’t on that today and won’t be getting on that much anymore. Instead I went out on my bike and tried out my leaving gift a Garmin Edge 705. It’s a pretty cool tool, will be even better when Saris update the Powertap wheel to work with it, but even without that having the maps there is nice. It’ll be a lot more use once I’m in Oz and will hopefully save me from myself and my lack of direction.

I had a plan for a big post today, but I’ve just felt really tired this evening. A little worried that maybe I’m becoming ill just as I’m about to head off again. So today wasn’t a big training day, in fact it was relatively relaxed. Full time training starts properly when I’m back on the 17th of August. Until then days spent hiking, climbing and dragging myself up the sides of mountains in the Swiss Alps will keep me fit. I realised today this is the first holiday I’ve taken unrelated to triathlon training in 3 years! I’m not too worried about losing fitness, right now I’m feeling in incredible shape on the bike, a bit slow in the water and ticking over on the run. Once I’m back I’ll start work on the weaknesses and develop the strengths.

No idea if I’ll get any access to the blog during the next 2 weeks. It’ll be an internet cafe or similar if I do and I’m not sure I’ll be that keen to spend the time on the blog. We’ll see. Otherwise in a couple of weeks I’ll hopefully have some interesting content to post.

Another weekend, another opportunity to fall on my arse and bruise my elbow. Aptly timed to coincide with practising roping up when walking over tricky terrain. Technically the terrain wasn’t so tricky and it was just for practice, didn’t stop me giving it a go.

So that’s me obscuring some of the view of the Langdale valley halfway up a route on the crags there. Second from last climb of the weekend and the weather had turned nice, we no longer needed the waterproofs and gloves. In fact, occasionally I’d go so far as to say it felt warm.

My easy week was truly easy with a little training in the run up to the weekend, less than I’d planned. I headed up to Kendal on Friday and after struggling to entertain myself in the town during the afternoon I opted to go for a run. Perfectly timed to catch the worst of the days weather as I returned to the B&B. It proved to be a decent hill session though, hard to avoid up there.

Saturday and Sunday were then spent experiencing climbing outdoors for the first time. No more reassuring, colourful holds to guide me and a lot more time being damp. Saturday’s weather report had promised to be pretty bad, but to be honest I think I got off lightly. The first half of the day was spent getting used to following up some easy routes and the rope work involved in climbing outdoors. I was relieved that as I got higher I didn’t get more nervous, my focus remained at climbing the rock to hand ad not how high up I was. That said there were a couple of times over the weekend where the height helped me focus on getting past an awkward situation and avoiding falling.

I finished Saturday with a climb of Little Camonix in the rain and wind. Taking the positive view it gave me a chance to try out the waterproof layers I’d bought ready for the Alps later this year. I’m pleased to say they worked. From the whole of the weekend belaying my guide, Tim Lofthouse, sat astride a block of rock halfway up the route in the wind and pouring rain will stick in my mind the most. Despite the weather it was an enjoyable day and very satisfying to have managed to climb in those conditions. I’m assured if I’m happy to cope with that then I’ll be fine with Alpine conditions.

Sunday we headed to the Langdale region. The day started off a bit damp with some wet rock to struggle over at first. It made the climbing a little more exciting at times! I got to abseil for the first time and after overcoming the initial it’s just me holding the ropes tight on the belay plate stoppng me falling nerves I really enjoyed it. Would have liked another go!

We moved to the final area of the day and got a couple more climbs in, this time with sun. The rock was a bit drier, well except for a tiny waterfall halfway through one route. On the one hand it was kind of fun having a bit of water splash on you, on the other the wet holds were less fun. I created a bit of extra excitement for myself by traversing a section too low, removing some protection, realising my mistake and having to back track a little uncomfortably aware that I’d now be more likely to swing if I fell. It proved to be a good incentive to get me through, though my shoulder crunched in disapproval at some of the pulling my arm was doing.

It was at the top of this climb I demonstrated my skill at falling on my arse as we walked back down. More precisely as I took the first step of walking back down…

Despite some vaguely good intentions a combination of poor weather and fatigue from a day spent outdoors meant I never managed a run the rest of the weekend. Making a total of 0 hours tri training for the period. I got home today and spent an hour on the rollers doing a nice easy spin to get back into things and have bigger plans for the rest of the week. I can’t complain about the small break it’s been 3 full months of solid training building my volume and effort up and without any significant breaks. Climbing was a great way to take a break too, still active, still needing mental focus, but an entirely different discipline to my usual routine. I can’t wait to go for the Alps and hope to get back to the crags at the Lakes sooner.