I've been away in the UK for the past 5 days with Tinks meeting and greeting and getting in a general pre-season family reunion. It was really good - tiring but lots of fun with every night an event and every day filled with something to do. I was really, really pleased to see my Mum and Dad and Tink's family and have such a great time before jumping into the winter.
Before we left I managed to squeeze in a quick day up the mountain with Rosco and Emile, part of the riding fraternity who will be performing synchronized falling this season in our corner of the Alps. Again as before, the snow was good for this time of year. Most of the available powder had been tracked out but there was still only one lift open. Besides we're still finding our feet and it's not surprising that we'd probably butcher it anyway.
The good news is that it's dumping it down here. Like seriously dumping. I had to ease off Merv's snowy covering this morning before whacking his de-misters on full blast. Chris is back in the valley looking fit and well and ready for the rigours of the season. Everyone's beaming and frantically getting ready for the arrival of the tourists and generally stocking up and preparing for the already-arriving winter.
I moved Tinks and Katy this morning from their place in Houches to Servoz a little down the valley. It's an amazing, beautiful place they've got there - part of an old wooden converted barn in picturesque Old Servoz. They've leased it for a year and as it's full of mod cons and they're the first people in since it was done, I know it's going to be an awesome home.
So I'm in a meeting this afternoon, I'm moving house shortly as well and need to get ready for that. I'll stay over with Tinks for a night or two while I get prepared then it's time to call on Merv's carrying skills again.
I've picked up my season ski pass from the Montenvers station today as well and my winter boots are now a permanent fixture on my feet. The heady atmosphere of snow and excitement permeates the air and the mountains grow heavy with the ever-present precipitation. What we've all been waiting for is now arriving.
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Monday, 3 December 2007
Saturday, 22 September 2007
Chirpy Days
It's amazing what a bit of willpower can do.
Sister came over for a great couple of days and we managed to get in a meal at Katy's restaurant Le Delice in Les Houches which was fantastic as always. Then a trip into Chamonix with a few friends for some cheeky beers at Chambre Neuf followed by a few later drinks rounding the evening off in the Monkey Bar.
We had a stroll up the Gorges des Diosaz the following morning from Servoz then up to Vaudagne for a brief mooch around and back to Cham for Jen to have an afternoon nap while I boshed out some work. Italian dinner compliments of Casa Valerio and then a movie and a snooze.
Really ideal couple of days to spend together and have a natter and a bit of a wander around the valley - I was really stoked to be able to sort out the free transfers from and to Geneva for her as well as introducing her to my friends out here. All in all it was a great couple of days. My brain was resetting itself quickly - much quicker than normal and really think I might have beaten this thing, at least for the time being.
After an early-morning transfer I managed to get some nice time with Abi too and we loafed around the house eating and having a giggle and watching CSI before crashing out early. We set off from Abi's place this morning to go hike up the Tete de Balme at Le Tour but it was blazing hot and conditions weren't ideal to get to the very top so we stopped midway and admired the valley before coming back down. The view from up there is fantastic and although I mention it a lot - still never tire of it.
The brilliant thing about walking around ski areas in the summer is you get to see all the different hidden gullies and tucked-away routes and interesting features of the mountain. Many of these little beauties were duly filed away in the memory banks, including a rocking alternative option to the Le Tour home run consisting of a really steep, wooded section with a great narrow path. With blue skies and only the sound of crickets chirping us along the walk home it was a beautiful way to spend Saturday.
Well I've made a load of progress with my next contract over the past day or two as well now and am feeling so much better about it all. I hope that I can polish off the old contract this weekend - draw a line underneath it, put in the final invoice and move on. There's a load of work to be cracking on with that's piqued my curiosity and got me back into wanting to program and create and develop and build the project. Awesome.
Sister came over for a great couple of days and we managed to get in a meal at Katy's restaurant Le Delice in Les Houches which was fantastic as always. Then a trip into Chamonix with a few friends for some cheeky beers at Chambre Neuf followed by a few later drinks rounding the evening off in the Monkey Bar.
We had a stroll up the Gorges des Diosaz the following morning from Servoz then up to Vaudagne for a brief mooch around and back to Cham for Jen to have an afternoon nap while I boshed out some work. Italian dinner compliments of Casa Valerio and then a movie and a snooze.
Really ideal couple of days to spend together and have a natter and a bit of a wander around the valley - I was really stoked to be able to sort out the free transfers from and to Geneva for her as well as introducing her to my friends out here. All in all it was a great couple of days. My brain was resetting itself quickly - much quicker than normal and really think I might have beaten this thing, at least for the time being.
After an early-morning transfer I managed to get some nice time with Abi too and we loafed around the house eating and having a giggle and watching CSI before crashing out early. We set off from Abi's place this morning to go hike up the Tete de Balme at Le Tour but it was blazing hot and conditions weren't ideal to get to the very top so we stopped midway and admired the valley before coming back down. The view from up there is fantastic and although I mention it a lot - still never tire of it.
The brilliant thing about walking around ski areas in the summer is you get to see all the different hidden gullies and tucked-away routes and interesting features of the mountain. Many of these little beauties were duly filed away in the memory banks, including a rocking alternative option to the Le Tour home run consisting of a really steep, wooded section with a great narrow path. With blue skies and only the sound of crickets chirping us along the walk home it was a beautiful way to spend Saturday.
Well I've made a load of progress with my next contract over the past day or two as well now and am feeling so much better about it all. I hope that I can polish off the old contract this weekend - draw a line underneath it, put in the final invoice and move on. There's a load of work to be cracking on with that's piqued my curiosity and got me back into wanting to program and create and develop and build the project. Awesome.
Tuesday, 18 September 2007
Darken Days
Damnit, it's going to happen again. I can feel it. In about a day or two my brain's going to close down and spend a day kicking my soul and heart around before coming back to life. Fucking hate it. Just make it stop. It's like knowing the train is going to crash into a huge burning pile of twisted metal and watching the terrible drama unfold but still not having the will to pull the brake lever.
Nothing anyone can say will make it better. Sleep will be something to dream of - a way out for just a few blessed hours. But it will be like trying to catch mist in your fingers - clawing away with bony hands frantically with futile results. When it does finally arrive as the sun starts to come up they will be fitful, harsh dreams, a cloying and vicious surreal kaleidoscope of colour and images. When you wake from the frozen state you'll regret the time you spent there, just wishing you could just get your body back to a regular cycle. Guilty of the time you should have spent elsewhere.
It's been a while since I've slipped down and had a really dark patch. It was a few months ago now and when it happened it was only for 2 days. 2 days of having a voice in your head telling you over and over every bad thing you've ever done. Telling you that everything you cherish and value is worth nothing and worst of all taking away your hope.
I know medically why this happens - imbalances of serotonin levels in the brain. There's a reason for it that isn't just that you're "feeling a bit down" or that it's "just how life is". But it has got easier since I've been here. The dark days space themselves more and more, with hard exercise and bright sunlight being the keys to unlocking the mental turbulence. The lows aren't as low but the highs remain lifting and ethereal. I'm getting better - 31 years of this crap and I'm getting better. But it's still there in fits and starts, clawing away at your neck threatening to press your self-destruct button.
But this time it's different. I'm not going down easily. I'm going to fight this with everything I've got starting with getting up early tomorrow and go out for a run, then work for a few hours and finally go to meet my sister. The voices can get stuffed frankly - I don't need them and they don't need me. Go pester someone else, make someone else doubt themselves. I'm going to release the voices high up into the mountains where they can stay for an eternity as a dark cloud looming over a forbidden peak. I'm going to keep the skies clear above my head. It's medical, and I can heal my body of anything with enough effort. I can push myself further than others, I can force myself to the absolute limit. This is no different at all. I can force myself rid of this minor problem, this small glitch in my body, this bug. Just like any computer bug I can code a fix for it, rework it, push logic at it and it will go away, dissipate into nothingness.
Nothing anyone can say will make it better. Sleep will be something to dream of - a way out for just a few blessed hours. But it will be like trying to catch mist in your fingers - clawing away with bony hands frantically with futile results. When it does finally arrive as the sun starts to come up they will be fitful, harsh dreams, a cloying and vicious surreal kaleidoscope of colour and images. When you wake from the frozen state you'll regret the time you spent there, just wishing you could just get your body back to a regular cycle. Guilty of the time you should have spent elsewhere.
It's been a while since I've slipped down and had a really dark patch. It was a few months ago now and when it happened it was only for 2 days. 2 days of having a voice in your head telling you over and over every bad thing you've ever done. Telling you that everything you cherish and value is worth nothing and worst of all taking away your hope.
I know medically why this happens - imbalances of serotonin levels in the brain. There's a reason for it that isn't just that you're "feeling a bit down" or that it's "just how life is". But it has got easier since I've been here. The dark days space themselves more and more, with hard exercise and bright sunlight being the keys to unlocking the mental turbulence. The lows aren't as low but the highs remain lifting and ethereal. I'm getting better - 31 years of this crap and I'm getting better. But it's still there in fits and starts, clawing away at your neck threatening to press your self-destruct button.
But this time it's different. I'm not going down easily. I'm going to fight this with everything I've got starting with getting up early tomorrow and go out for a run, then work for a few hours and finally go to meet my sister. The voices can get stuffed frankly - I don't need them and they don't need me. Go pester someone else, make someone else doubt themselves. I'm going to release the voices high up into the mountains where they can stay for an eternity as a dark cloud looming over a forbidden peak. I'm going to keep the skies clear above my head. It's medical, and I can heal my body of anything with enough effort. I can push myself further than others, I can force myself to the absolute limit. This is no different at all. I can force myself rid of this minor problem, this small glitch in my body, this bug. Just like any computer bug I can code a fix for it, rework it, push logic at it and it will go away, dissipate into nothingness.
Saturday, 8 September 2007
Bish, bash, bosh
Dropped Chris off at the airport last night, felt a bit tearful as he was going away and gave him a hug and waved him off. The weather was perfect and as he mentioned in his blog it was a great way to be heading off with a memory of the valley in all its glory.
So....
Bish:
Moved all my stuff from the farm to the office today. Going to get everything sorted to turn it into a proper apartment and move desks/etc so that they become more of a small living area and somewhere I can chillax (a new word I learned recently that is a combination of "chill" and "relax" - I'm so hip and trendy).
Bash
Going to finish off one of my contracts this weekend. They've already started to pay (wahey!) and so going to polish it all off and hand them the thing of beauty we've been working on for the past couple of months. This will then mean I can focus on my new contract as well as make upgrades to another ongoing project. Basically it means I'm not going to be bitching and whining on my blog about work, and let's be honest I'm pretty bloody disorganized generally - having 3 computer contracts on the go is a blatant recipe for disaster.
Bosh
Going to go food shopping today. This is the big shop, you know the one you always need to do when you move into somewhere new? I love it. Gonna buy some cool stuff.
So....
Bish:
Moved all my stuff from the farm to the office today. Going to get everything sorted to turn it into a proper apartment and move desks/etc so that they become more of a small living area and somewhere I can chillax (a new word I learned recently that is a combination of "chill" and "relax" - I'm so hip and trendy).
Bash
Going to finish off one of my contracts this weekend. They've already started to pay (wahey!) and so going to polish it all off and hand them the thing of beauty we've been working on for the past couple of months. This will then mean I can focus on my new contract as well as make upgrades to another ongoing project. Basically it means I'm not going to be bitching and whining on my blog about work, and let's be honest I'm pretty bloody disorganized generally - having 3 computer contracts on the go is a blatant recipe for disaster.
Bosh
Going to go food shopping today. This is the big shop, you know the one you always need to do when you move into somewhere new? I love it. Gonna buy some cool stuff.
Friday, 7 September 2007
Seasons Changing in the Chamonix Valley
Two days ago, overnight, the temperature dropped like a lead duck into a pond. Hats, gloves and some hideous neon 80's skiing jackets emerged from the various hotels and residences to be sported around town. The heat of summer is officially waving its last good bye and being replaced with the chillier climes of autumn.
Siberian winds pushing a giant cold-weather system from the north-east.
I'm bouncing off the fucking walls with excitement - snow's coming, I can smell it. Other members of the Narg household are not as enthusiastic and are starting to burn incense, chant melodic ancient parchments and sacrifice live chickens to try and lengthen the hot weather. These people are fighting nature and will not win (with or without my moral support)!
Cold and clear around Mont Blanc (latest webcam image)
There's still the sun and blue skies but instead of the deep azure lustre of recent months, it's a paler more powdery hue. Anyone venturing up high should be prepared with thermal undies and more than just a cheeky grin to fend of cold's frosty fingers. The boys have started talking about the upcoming winter, reminiscing about adventures past and stories of deep powder days are flowing like the house rose in Le Delice.
The frosted tips of the Aiguille du Midi (latest webcam image)
Chris is leaving today to go back to London to work on a contract and we had a bit of send-off last night. Fred and I texted everyone in our phones and the glorious man even put on a promotion of McCrampons - a favoured beverage amongst the Les Houches Royalty (fresh lime juice, ice, Jameson's whiskey and Canada Dry). Loads of friends turned up to send Chris off in style with a great blend of people chirpy and cheerful having a bite to eat and washing it down with plenty of booze. A really good night.
The recent madness of working on contracts when I've not been driving transfers recently is starting to get much easier. I've gotten into a good routine and there's regular additions to the company coffers which is very cool. Shaun (the guy who owns Transfer2TheAlps, whom I am driving for) is away at the moment so I'm doing everything and it's going very well. In fact I built his website and have built a very cool admin section which I've been adding to and generally tweaking. He's very pleased and so am I - the more work he gets the better it is for me!
So I'll pick Chris up from Les Houches late afternoon after grabbing some other clients from Cham then off to Geneva. Dinner and a video - a bit of Indiana Jones no less - will follow upon arrival back into the valley. Who knows, might even be able to squeeze in a bit more work this evening. Life's pretty full at the moment but it's great that it is. I'm enjoying it more and more these days and it always makes me smile to get a wave from a passing friend as I'm zipping around the valley in my magic blue bus. I've even managed to start whisking through iTunes and burning CD's to play in the van on the way back. I've even got a crap 80's collection CD for the tourists so they feel they're on a proper cheesy French holiday.
Siberian winds pushing a giant cold-weather system from the north-east.
I'm bouncing off the fucking walls with excitement - snow's coming, I can smell it. Other members of the Narg household are not as enthusiastic and are starting to burn incense, chant melodic ancient parchments and sacrifice live chickens to try and lengthen the hot weather. These people are fighting nature and will not win (with or without my moral support)!
Cold and clear around Mont Blanc (latest webcam image)
There's still the sun and blue skies but instead of the deep azure lustre of recent months, it's a paler more powdery hue. Anyone venturing up high should be prepared with thermal undies and more than just a cheeky grin to fend of cold's frosty fingers. The boys have started talking about the upcoming winter, reminiscing about adventures past and stories of deep powder days are flowing like the house rose in Le Delice.
The frosted tips of the Aiguille du Midi (latest webcam image)
Chris is leaving today to go back to London to work on a contract and we had a bit of send-off last night. Fred and I texted everyone in our phones and the glorious man even put on a promotion of McCrampons - a favoured beverage amongst the Les Houches Royalty (fresh lime juice, ice, Jameson's whiskey and Canada Dry). Loads of friends turned up to send Chris off in style with a great blend of people chirpy and cheerful having a bite to eat and washing it down with plenty of booze. A really good night.
The recent madness of working on contracts when I've not been driving transfers recently is starting to get much easier. I've gotten into a good routine and there's regular additions to the company coffers which is very cool. Shaun (the guy who owns Transfer2TheAlps, whom I am driving for) is away at the moment so I'm doing everything and it's going very well. In fact I built his website and have built a very cool admin section which I've been adding to and generally tweaking. He's very pleased and so am I - the more work he gets the better it is for me!
So I'll pick Chris up from Les Houches late afternoon after grabbing some other clients from Cham then off to Geneva. Dinner and a video - a bit of Indiana Jones no less - will follow upon arrival back into the valley. Who knows, might even be able to squeeze in a bit more work this evening. Life's pretty full at the moment but it's great that it is. I'm enjoying it more and more these days and it always makes me smile to get a wave from a passing friend as I'm zipping around the valley in my magic blue bus. I've even managed to start whisking through iTunes and burning CD's to play in the van on the way back. I've even got a crap 80's collection CD for the tourists so they feel they're on a proper cheesy French holiday.
Wednesday, 5 September 2007
Mad Busy
Just been manically busy for the past week or so and it doesn't look like it's going to let up for a few days more at least. Going slightly mad but I guess I was always slightly mad anyway. In a few more days or a week or so I hope peace will return and I'll be able to go climbing for a few days in some clear skies. I might even try to squeeze in a couple of hours with the newly married Mark from All Mountain Performance today up at Coupeau on the gnarly crag there. I've never climbed there before but it's dead close to Cham and there's some pretty stiff pitches it so should be fun. Plus I've not climbed for a few more than a few weeks now due to the endless tourists in August and I think the exercise is really, really needed.
Moving house has gone relatively well. On the 31st I packed up all of my gear (and Andy's) and put it into storage temporarily until the 6th/7th where I can get it out and move into the office and make it home. I stayed for a couple of days with a friend at her chalet and have done a couple of nights in the bed in the office. Chris is off on the 7th and so will get the final move done then. Looking forward to having a more permanent place to rest my head and I sleep like a log here so tis all good. Plus I know have ... a BATH! Yes! All I need now is a little rubber ducky to play and splash around with.
Contracts are my main stress. I'm finishing up the old one and starting a new one and they've managed to overlap by a few days. The old contract is inches from completion and as ever the end of it is a little more mad than the start. The new contract is in two parts - the reskin/upgrade of a large site and the support for another large site. This is good because it's ongoing and will keep ticking over. I'm just getting my head around what's going on with the technicalities of the site - luckily it was originally built by a mate I used to work with, so know my way around his code which is a major bonus!
Driving transfers is going dead well. I've been taking over from Shaun driving quite a lot recently and have been zipping in and out of Geneva lots. Even managed to get a few hours in between transfers yesterday to go into a shopping mall in Geneva and have a root around. The Swiss are so organised man! They had little green lights above the parking slots in the multi-storey parking that turned red when a car is parked in the slot. How groovy is that! Plus Swiss rush hour is like the least rushed rush hour in the world. Everyone's polite and casually let other cars cross lanes and stuff. It's really trippy after being in London where people would kill for that last place on the tube. These guys are just so ... nice ...
All in all, I think I'm preparing well for the interseason and ready for the winter. Over the next month or so things should solidify and all this hard work will be rewarded by powder days and beautiful snowy adventures.
Moving house has gone relatively well. On the 31st I packed up all of my gear (and Andy's) and put it into storage temporarily until the 6th/7th where I can get it out and move into the office and make it home. I stayed for a couple of days with a friend at her chalet and have done a couple of nights in the bed in the office. Chris is off on the 7th and so will get the final move done then. Looking forward to having a more permanent place to rest my head and I sleep like a log here so tis all good. Plus I know have ... a BATH! Yes! All I need now is a little rubber ducky to play and splash around with.
Contracts are my main stress. I'm finishing up the old one and starting a new one and they've managed to overlap by a few days. The old contract is inches from completion and as ever the end of it is a little more mad than the start. The new contract is in two parts - the reskin/upgrade of a large site and the support for another large site. This is good because it's ongoing and will keep ticking over. I'm just getting my head around what's going on with the technicalities of the site - luckily it was originally built by a mate I used to work with, so know my way around his code which is a major bonus!
Driving transfers is going dead well. I've been taking over from Shaun driving quite a lot recently and have been zipping in and out of Geneva lots. Even managed to get a few hours in between transfers yesterday to go into a shopping mall in Geneva and have a root around. The Swiss are so organised man! They had little green lights above the parking slots in the multi-storey parking that turned red when a car is parked in the slot. How groovy is that! Plus Swiss rush hour is like the least rushed rush hour in the world. Everyone's polite and casually let other cars cross lanes and stuff. It's really trippy after being in London where people would kill for that last place on the tube. These guys are just so ... nice ...
All in all, I think I'm preparing well for the interseason and ready for the winter. Over the next month or so things should solidify and all this hard work will be rewarded by powder days and beautiful snowy adventures.
Monday, 3 September 2007
Feel like shit
Got a hangover. Feel like shit. Ugh.
Think I might give up drinking for a month again.
Think I might give up drinking for a month again.
Thursday, 30 August 2007
My New Home
Wahey! Sorted out somewhere to live. Chris is going back to the UK for a few months so going to live in the office - it's an apartment anyway so no need to do any work to it!
Looking forward to being in the middle of town, the tourists are dying away and there's amazing views of the Aiguille du Midi to wake up to every morning.
Turned out nice again.
Looking forward to being in the middle of town, the tourists are dying away and there's amazing views of the Aiguille du Midi to wake up to every morning.
Turned out nice again.
Saturday, 18 August 2007
Climbing delayed!
No Frison Roche the other day - put off by a combination of cloud and work. Stayed in the office last night to get more of this project finished - deadline is Monday and we will be ready! I'm just going to be pleased when all the manic rush is over.
The good news is that we can see the finishing line and it's pretty damn close. I'm driving a few airport transfers on Monday to get a bit of extra cash and then on Tuesday will go out and hopefully do this nemesis climb. The rest of the week I've got a few viewings set up for apartments - Taconnaz, Gaillands and Chamonix Centre are all on the cards.
Bring it on baby.
The good news is that we can see the finishing line and it's pretty damn close. I'm driving a few airport transfers on Monday to get a bit of extra cash and then on Tuesday will go out and hopefully do this nemesis climb. The rest of the week I've got a few viewings set up for apartments - Taconnaz, Gaillands and Chamonix Centre are all on the cards.
Bring it on baby.
Friday, 10 August 2007
New Lease of Life
Good solid day of work done today and finishing up now - about 10pm. Will come in tomorrow and bosh out a load more but really humming along with this project now. Churned out a load of good stuff earlier and going to try and complete loads of it this weekend ready to jump into next week with a big cheesy grin. Chris has chipped off back to the Fatherland to see family this weekend so going to try and cream through the work while he's away so he can come back to something cool.
Feeling loads better after a real low point mid-week. Going to try and get out for a run this weekend too - might even run from the farm to work tomorrow. I'm becoming more and more of a fan of being fit and healthy making a difference mentally. Hopefully in my case even watching sport has the same effect but who knows - I'm not a scientist.
After the 24 festival that occurred when it was pissing it down with rain a few weekends ago, it looks like Sunday evening might promote a bit of a Lethal Weapon festival. Frankly the weather looks like it's going to be shocking. Saturday should be pretty nice though - I'll just slip on my green flash, skin-tight 1970's tennis shorts, headband and my ipod (it's at times like this I wish I had a cassette walkman) and go running around being generally healthy.
Oh! ... and it snowed this week! It's August for god's sake! There was a serious drop in temperature (one that made the log pile deplete in size) and it dumped above 1800m. Go figure - the weather here is weirder than a bucket of soapy frogs sometimes.
Feeling loads better after a real low point mid-week. Going to try and get out for a run this weekend too - might even run from the farm to work tomorrow. I'm becoming more and more of a fan of being fit and healthy making a difference mentally. Hopefully in my case even watching sport has the same effect but who knows - I'm not a scientist.
After the 24 festival that occurred when it was pissing it down with rain a few weekends ago, it looks like Sunday evening might promote a bit of a Lethal Weapon festival. Frankly the weather looks like it's going to be shocking. Saturday should be pretty nice though - I'll just slip on my green flash, skin-tight 1970's tennis shorts, headband and my ipod (it's at times like this I wish I had a cassette walkman) and go running around being generally healthy.
Oh! ... and it snowed this week! It's August for god's sake! There was a serious drop in temperature (one that made the log pile deplete in size) and it dumped above 1800m. Go figure - the weather here is weirder than a bucket of soapy frogs sometimes.
Tuesday, 7 August 2007
Shooting the demons
Feeling chirpy now. Spoken to me ma which is always cool. Now eating banana sandwiches and watching Groundhog Day. Amazing what quality food and educating theater can do for the spirits.
We've dug into the work, come up trumps right at the end of the day and have cleared the decks ready for tomorrow. Got a few apartment ideas and hopefully going to get something sorted out soon so it'll be a good base for the foreseeable future. Time to rock n roll back into society after the cabin fever years at the farm!
We've dug into the work, come up trumps right at the end of the day and have cleared the decks ready for tomorrow. Got a few apartment ideas and hopefully going to get something sorted out soon so it'll be a good base for the foreseeable future. Time to rock n roll back into society after the cabin fever years at the farm!
Dealing with the demons
Feeling pretty low today. Got lots on my mind.
Crampons has decided to use my place at the farm as accommodation for staff over the winter season. We had agreed that I'd stay there with Chris over the winter but hey, things change and it's not a surprise - it's something we've talked about several times over the past few months. It's no bad thing really - I love it up there but some pretty big problems were looming up on the horizon with regards to the winter. Heating and transport and internet access being the three main ones.
Ironically the weather's turned over the past 24 hours, the recent days of blue skies and baking sun have been replaced with the Jurassic Park look. Thunderstorms broke up the peace of the night and this morning misty cloud was rising from the woods on each side of the valley. The cloud is hanging low and heavy over Chamonix and Les Houches has taken on a darker hue.
Work's going well however but some seriously long days are needed before the end of the week to meet the first deadline. We're cracking on with it now and dropping it into the main development environment with several degrees of success.
I know in my mind that things are going to be good - the card deck is shuffled. Time to deal a hand and see what happens.
Crampons has decided to use my place at the farm as accommodation for staff over the winter season. We had agreed that I'd stay there with Chris over the winter but hey, things change and it's not a surprise - it's something we've talked about several times over the past few months. It's no bad thing really - I love it up there but some pretty big problems were looming up on the horizon with regards to the winter. Heating and transport and internet access being the three main ones.
Ironically the weather's turned over the past 24 hours, the recent days of blue skies and baking sun have been replaced with the Jurassic Park look. Thunderstorms broke up the peace of the night and this morning misty cloud was rising from the woods on each side of the valley. The cloud is hanging low and heavy over Chamonix and Les Houches has taken on a darker hue.
Work's going well however but some seriously long days are needed before the end of the week to meet the first deadline. We're cracking on with it now and dropping it into the main development environment with several degrees of success.
I know in my mind that things are going to be good - the card deck is shuffled. Time to deal a hand and see what happens.
Saturday, 4 August 2007
The Sequence
Current activity sequence looks something like this:
Work --> climb -->
alpine activity --> work -->
work --> climb -->
beer --> work -->
work --> climb.
Got picked up by Chris and Phil this morning to go up to the Aiguillette d'Argentiere for a spot of climbing (I've climbed it before - here's the previous blog post).
An hour and a half hike up the ridge then a couple of hours climbing, hike back down to the car and now I'm in the office working on our current contract (the deadline's a bit pressing at the moment).
The walk up to the aiguillette was its usual blend of a bit of effort and lots of stunning views. You feel like a condor with the thermals casting a hot wind rushing up the slope, it's just amazing. It makes also makes it all the more worthwhile to be putting graft into getting to the climb. Everyone's friendly that you pass on the rocky paths and there's only the sound of laughter you hear intermittently breaking up the continual scrunching beat of your feet on the loose stone. It reminds me of walking around the Austrian Alps as a kid with my mum, dad and sister. It brings up the same memory of walking down a mountain path above the Ossiacher Zee with a huge dock leaf hat on for some reason!
Chris and I were pretty shocked at how much better we were climbing than the last time we were there. Looking good boys - improvement! We even tried a double-pitch variant route along a sharp knife-edge corner leading up the north-eastern quadrant and then along an extremely exposed traverse across a little shelf before pushing on upwards over a slab with lots of lovely holds to the very top.
I loved it, Chris was beaming and smiley but unfortunately Phil picked up a stomach bug yesterday and spent the day snoozing on the rocks with the chamois mountain goats wandering around him. Chris and I tried a variety of pitches with overhangs, roofs, corners, ridges and some really nice crack climbing all featuring whilst he dozed in the beaming sun.
The views up there are amazing and I still never tire - winter or summer - of the way the valley looks. It's feels as though the whole place is a living entity with glaciers growing and receding in the same way as clipping a beard and mountains hanging heavy with snow in the winter and heavy with lush vegetation in the summer sporting different costumes for each season.
I look up and down the mountains and the valley and have this weird personal relationship with many of the features that can be seen. Looking at the big bouldery cliffs in the Lavencher bowl reminds me riding backcountry through there dodging avalanches. Further east on the Grands Montets at the top there's the Petit Vert - and remembering climbing it late season with Mark and dropping first down the hug open face cutting a single flowing line down the hanging glacier. Then there's the rounded double peak at the Swiss end of the valley - the Tete de Balme and hiking it with friends old and new. Shooting down the gulley that runs down the face of the Domaine du Balme is one of my favourite things to do - ever. Riding through the tiny village of Le Tour on my snowboard after fresh snow this winter - leaving a solitary trail in the snow through people's gardens and by the church graveyard wall. Then there's Flegere and Brevent - jumping the huge natural kicker called "The Tit" with Fred from Le Delice and also riding kilometer after kilometer of untracked powder with Kevin one major snow day. Then there are the times spent looking upwards - yearning to climb Frison Roche at Brevent; the huge daunting wall visible from Chamonix and something I'm finally going to achieve with the experienced Louise soon.
Then there's the Aiguille du Midi - start of the Vallee Blanche and of course Mont Blanc and all it means and stands for in the valley. We know and talk about its individual features and bumps and gullies as we see them every day. Crampons and I are going climb that big dome of snow and ice this winter ... and ride it down. Then of course there's looking across to Les Houches further west - the village I live in and the endless memories of there. The whole valley is filled with thousands of sparks of memory, triggered by each slow glance across the immense terrain and the subsequent empathetic rapport with what you see. This is my home, I feel it in my body.
In other news I've just paid my rent for the month, there's a load of money clearing and coming in, the business is growing, the farm is clean, I've got a tan, have met a funky girl. Things are cool now. Things are looking cool for the future.
And to top it off, Led Zeppelin are releasing a new album on iTunes. Unfortunately it's a compilation album of previous songs picked by the band, and as I've actually got every album they've ever previously released I've already got the tracks elsewhere. Still, always good to get a new toy.
Photos from the day to follow.
Work --> climb -->
alpine activity --> work -->
work --> climb -->
beer --> work -->
work --> climb.
Got picked up by Chris and Phil this morning to go up to the Aiguillette d'Argentiere for a spot of climbing (I've climbed it before - here's the previous blog post).
An hour and a half hike up the ridge then a couple of hours climbing, hike back down to the car and now I'm in the office working on our current contract (the deadline's a bit pressing at the moment).
The walk up to the aiguillette was its usual blend of a bit of effort and lots of stunning views. You feel like a condor with the thermals casting a hot wind rushing up the slope, it's just amazing. It makes also makes it all the more worthwhile to be putting graft into getting to the climb. Everyone's friendly that you pass on the rocky paths and there's only the sound of laughter you hear intermittently breaking up the continual scrunching beat of your feet on the loose stone. It reminds me of walking around the Austrian Alps as a kid with my mum, dad and sister. It brings up the same memory of walking down a mountain path above the Ossiacher Zee with a huge dock leaf hat on for some reason!
Chris and I were pretty shocked at how much better we were climbing than the last time we were there. Looking good boys - improvement! We even tried a double-pitch variant route along a sharp knife-edge corner leading up the north-eastern quadrant and then along an extremely exposed traverse across a little shelf before pushing on upwards over a slab with lots of lovely holds to the very top.
I loved it, Chris was beaming and smiley but unfortunately Phil picked up a stomach bug yesterday and spent the day snoozing on the rocks with the chamois mountain goats wandering around him. Chris and I tried a variety of pitches with overhangs, roofs, corners, ridges and some really nice crack climbing all featuring whilst he dozed in the beaming sun.
The views up there are amazing and I still never tire - winter or summer - of the way the valley looks. It's feels as though the whole place is a living entity with glaciers growing and receding in the same way as clipping a beard and mountains hanging heavy with snow in the winter and heavy with lush vegetation in the summer sporting different costumes for each season.
I look up and down the mountains and the valley and have this weird personal relationship with many of the features that can be seen. Looking at the big bouldery cliffs in the Lavencher bowl reminds me riding backcountry through there dodging avalanches. Further east on the Grands Montets at the top there's the Petit Vert - and remembering climbing it late season with Mark and dropping first down the hug open face cutting a single flowing line down the hanging glacier. Then there's the rounded double peak at the Swiss end of the valley - the Tete de Balme and hiking it with friends old and new. Shooting down the gulley that runs down the face of the Domaine du Balme is one of my favourite things to do - ever. Riding through the tiny village of Le Tour on my snowboard after fresh snow this winter - leaving a solitary trail in the snow through people's gardens and by the church graveyard wall. Then there's Flegere and Brevent - jumping the huge natural kicker called "The Tit" with Fred from Le Delice and also riding kilometer after kilometer of untracked powder with Kevin one major snow day. Then there are the times spent looking upwards - yearning to climb Frison Roche at Brevent; the huge daunting wall visible from Chamonix and something I'm finally going to achieve with the experienced Louise soon.
Then there's the Aiguille du Midi - start of the Vallee Blanche and of course Mont Blanc and all it means and stands for in the valley. We know and talk about its individual features and bumps and gullies as we see them every day. Crampons and I are going climb that big dome of snow and ice this winter ... and ride it down. Then of course there's looking across to Les Houches further west - the village I live in and the endless memories of there. The whole valley is filled with thousands of sparks of memory, triggered by each slow glance across the immense terrain and the subsequent empathetic rapport with what you see. This is my home, I feel it in my body.
In other news I've just paid my rent for the month, there's a load of money clearing and coming in, the business is growing, the farm is clean, I've got a tan, have met a funky girl. Things are cool now. Things are looking cool for the future.
And to top it off, Led Zeppelin are releasing a new album on iTunes. Unfortunately it's a compilation album of previous songs picked by the band, and as I've actually got every album they've ever previously released I've already got the tracks elsewhere. Still, always good to get a new toy.
Photos from the day to follow.
Saturday, 7 July 2007
Productive Saturday
It's a beautiful day up in the Alps, with blue skies and bright sunlight. A great change from the recent poor weather - summer is hopefully here to stay! It would be a great day to go climbing - Chris gave me a shout this morning to see if I fancied it - but unfortunately I've got a bit of an eye infection and prudence dictates it's going to be better to not agitate it and leave it to heal up. It's one of the downsides of wearing contacts but hey - at least it's giving me time to do other things.
So with that in mind I had a dig around and found loads of cleaning products and have been giving the farmhouse a really, really good clean. The kitchen went first today - the sink was fully scrubbed with Ajax and drawers and cupboards cleaned out and wiped down with disinfectant. A new covering was found for the kitchen table so it's now there's a sunflower yellow glow to match the sparkling white of the sink.
Next to go down was the toilet. A nasty job at best and frankly I wasn't going to enjoy it. A heavy dose of bleach, ajax and scrubbing the floor made it look better and a wipe down of all the wooden panels is a marked improvement. The doors to the bathroom and toilet looked like they needed a clean so duly got the treatment.
By this stage I was really get into the flow of things so dumped a load of washing in the machine and gave the bathroom floor and sink a quick clean. A cursory glance towards a window saw dust and dirt and not the clear pristine view so this was duly put right and all windows got a good wipe down with detergent then a dry cloth making sunlight stream into the house. Doors were all opened to push out as much dust as possible and the flowers on the balcony were watered.
The washing machine finished and so that got hung up on the balcony, flapping away in the light breeze. The wooden fire got a de-ashing and a wipe over with a cloth to bring it back to some glory and then for a finale there was a quick whip round with the hoover on the rugs and wooden floors.
There's a few jobs that I'd like to do like mopping the floor and piling up all the logs outside ready for the coming fires. Also I'd like to get teh spare troughs outside filled with earth and plant a lod of herbs and flowers in them but for the moment I think that's about enough. I'll grab my camera tomorrow and post up a photo or two of the results.
The house is now filled with a delicious aroma of spicy merguez sausages frying away on the cooker. Perfect.
So with that in mind I had a dig around and found loads of cleaning products and have been giving the farmhouse a really, really good clean. The kitchen went first today - the sink was fully scrubbed with Ajax and drawers and cupboards cleaned out and wiped down with disinfectant. A new covering was found for the kitchen table so it's now there's a sunflower yellow glow to match the sparkling white of the sink.
Next to go down was the toilet. A nasty job at best and frankly I wasn't going to enjoy it. A heavy dose of bleach, ajax and scrubbing the floor made it look better and a wipe down of all the wooden panels is a marked improvement. The doors to the bathroom and toilet looked like they needed a clean so duly got the treatment.
By this stage I was really get into the flow of things so dumped a load of washing in the machine and gave the bathroom floor and sink a quick clean. A cursory glance towards a window saw dust and dirt and not the clear pristine view so this was duly put right and all windows got a good wipe down with detergent then a dry cloth making sunlight stream into the house. Doors were all opened to push out as much dust as possible and the flowers on the balcony were watered.
The washing machine finished and so that got hung up on the balcony, flapping away in the light breeze. The wooden fire got a de-ashing and a wipe over with a cloth to bring it back to some glory and then for a finale there was a quick whip round with the hoover on the rugs and wooden floors.
There's a few jobs that I'd like to do like mopping the floor and piling up all the logs outside ready for the coming fires. Also I'd like to get teh spare troughs outside filled with earth and plant a lod of herbs and flowers in them but for the moment I think that's about enough. I'll grab my camera tomorrow and post up a photo or two of the results.
The house is now filled with a delicious aroma of spicy merguez sausages frying away on the cooker. Perfect.
Monday, 2 July 2007
Where's the summer gone?
So it's been raining for the past couple of days. The forecast is that it's going to rain cats and dogs for the next two. Bah. I thought this was supposed to be summer!
Things I've done in the past 3 days:
1) Went climbing to Gaillands with Chris and did a multipitch to the very top of the Forestier crag. We had an adventure around the woods on the top of the cliffs then abseiled down a chimney after doing a rather cool little traverse on a rock knife edge ridge.
2) Went out for a beer into Cham with Chris and met up with Brian (just returning from spending the past couple of days climbing enormous routes high up in the mountains) and Emma and had an MBC burger.
3) Been strimming the grass and undergrowth around the farmhouse to make it look pretty and nice.
4) Worked from home.
5) Looked at clouds being pushed around the valley below.
6) Listened to the rain fall (a lot) and gotten woken up by storms regularly.
Standard stuff really - nothing terribly exciting to report unfortunately but next week looks awesome for the weather. Looking forward to getting out for a bit of monkey activity on the rock and this period of inactivity is pretty cool for going for runs in the breaks in the weather and letting the fingers and hands and rest of body heal up from small dinks and bruises.
Things I've done in the past 3 days:
1) Went climbing to Gaillands with Chris and did a multipitch to the very top of the Forestier crag. We had an adventure around the woods on the top of the cliffs then abseiled down a chimney after doing a rather cool little traverse on a rock knife edge ridge.
2) Went out for a beer into Cham with Chris and met up with Brian (just returning from spending the past couple of days climbing enormous routes high up in the mountains) and Emma and had an MBC burger.
3) Been strimming the grass and undergrowth around the farmhouse to make it look pretty and nice.
4) Worked from home.
5) Looked at clouds being pushed around the valley below.
6) Listened to the rain fall (a lot) and gotten woken up by storms regularly.
Standard stuff really - nothing terribly exciting to report unfortunately but next week looks awesome for the weather. Looking forward to getting out for a bit of monkey activity on the rock and this period of inactivity is pretty cool for going for runs in the breaks in the weather and letting the fingers and hands and rest of body heal up from small dinks and bruises.
Thursday, 28 June 2007
Le Singe Blonde
Me 10 years ago.
Apologies for the swollen eye, I remember having taken a wee tumble on a wakeboard a day or two before the photo was taken (no change there then!). It's a bit strange looking at the old photo - I mean I know that's me, but it looks like someone else. Maybe it's from not really looking through old photos and seeing yourself in the mirror every morning so your idea of what you look like (and always have done) is the way you currently look.
Thought I'd post this photo up for me Mum really tho - she likes things like that. Hi Mum!
Wednesday, 27 June 2007
Contracts and climbing
Got a new contract! Woohoo! And it's a rockingly perfect one too. Good money. I'll be on call quite a bit over the weekend but hey - it's all good. It means that I'll be earning consistently and have enough money to save and live a happy life as well as having enough time to go climbing and snowboarding and also be flexible enough to work when I want to.
I'm so, so stoked.
I've been climbing at the indoor wall in Les Houches a few times with Chris, Crampons, Brian (who I still believe got bitten by a radioactive spider sometime in his youth judging by what he can climb!), Louise, Abi and many others. It's getting much better there and am finding it's a great place to train for specific areas of weakness as well as strnegth and technique.
Last Sunday Chris and I went out for our adventure and ended up going to Le Joux (The Wood in Savoyarde - the local dialect). The rock was a slippery technical variety of gneiss and we had a great time monkeying around it with the company of Lousie showing us some new stuff to do. I had an absolute blast and am starting to get the hang of the different holds and techniques to use when and where and really enjoying climbing the different pitches.
It's really good to be feeling like I'm getting better technically, and also finding what type of climbing I'm better at (strength climbing - overhangs, starting to use hand/fist jams properly, heel hooks, etc) whereas not as strong at friction and delicate balance climbing. Luckily Chris is almost entirely the opposite so we compliment each other very well - he can go up the fiddly balancy stuff which he breezes up, and I'll do the bits where you hang around upside down by one hand. Perfect!
Wardo's parents pitched up in the valley today too so we've had a frantic period of cleaning this morning. The house looks mint now too. Unfortunately the cooker was a bit beyond us and we were a bit nervy until we realised it had a flip-top hood. Good mojo - flip the lid and hey presto! a perfectly clean cooker to all appearances.
At least the house is looking and smelling nice now.
I'm so, so stoked.
I've been climbing at the indoor wall in Les Houches a few times with Chris, Crampons, Brian (who I still believe got bitten by a radioactive spider sometime in his youth judging by what he can climb!), Louise, Abi and many others. It's getting much better there and am finding it's a great place to train for specific areas of weakness as well as strnegth and technique.
Last Sunday Chris and I went out for our adventure and ended up going to Le Joux (The Wood in Savoyarde - the local dialect). The rock was a slippery technical variety of gneiss and we had a great time monkeying around it with the company of Lousie showing us some new stuff to do. I had an absolute blast and am starting to get the hang of the different holds and techniques to use when and where and really enjoying climbing the different pitches.
It's really good to be feeling like I'm getting better technically, and also finding what type of climbing I'm better at (strength climbing - overhangs, starting to use hand/fist jams properly, heel hooks, etc) whereas not as strong at friction and delicate balance climbing. Luckily Chris is almost entirely the opposite so we compliment each other very well - he can go up the fiddly balancy stuff which he breezes up, and I'll do the bits where you hang around upside down by one hand. Perfect!
Wardo's parents pitched up in the valley today too so we've had a frantic period of cleaning this morning. The house looks mint now too. Unfortunately the cooker was a bit beyond us and we were a bit nervy until we realised it had a flip-top hood. Good mojo - flip the lid and hey presto! a perfectly clean cooker to all appearances.
At least the house is looking and smelling nice now.
Friday, 22 June 2007
Overhangs at Le Fayet, running, sleeping and the Fête de la Musique
Lots to report!
Firstly - a funky pic of one of the storms we've been having lots of recently clearing up over Servoz (taken from our balcony).
A couple of days ago I chipped off with Brian for some evening climbing to Le Fayet just down the valley near Saint Gervais. Basically the whole crag was overhanging. We (and by we I mean Brian) did two piches. He led both, but I only managed to get up a few sections of the first pitch and one on the second.
I actually scampered up the first two parts of the pitch noting that my technique for overhangs could do with some work. The first section went surprisingly well hauling myself over a small ledge jutting out and then breezed up the second section that was a small pillar. The third section looked do-able standing on my little protected shelf but I just couldn't quite get the hand-jamming technique exactly right at the crux point of the move. It was incredibly frustrating but realised what was going wrong after Brian explained it fully. I'm determined to get the knack of that type of hold and am looking forward to going back after a month and getting over that section. Had a wee tumble when my hand slipped out of jam rather unexpectedly but didn't hit anything (the beauty of climbing overhangs - always fall into fresh air!) - the thing that annoyed was having to climb back up to have another go! I scrambled up the first section of the second pitch but to be honest it felt like someone had administered an epidural from the neck down after the rigours of the first pitch and after a brief mental argument felt the accompanying dangers of fatigue were too great to continue - retreat!
The upper whole crag at Le Fayet overhangs by about 30 feet so it's pretty daunting to look at. Brian reckoned that there's been an earthquake or some sort of geological shift gone on in the past ten years or so that's made the rock lean over more as the pitch grades given in his book were WAY out of synch with how the pitches actually are (much harder than the book says). If you've found this blog posting via a search engine and are planning to climb Le Fayet then prepare to shit yourself. Take two pairs of undies. Actually better make it three as the walk to the crag through the forest is hot and sweaty and you don't want to be uncomfortable on the rock now do you?
It took two days to recover from that little trip and there's still some residual aching in the arms and hands. But my god I feel fit. This fitness thing has been heightened by the procurement of a brand spanking new pair of bling-bling trainers whilst in the UK last weekend. They duly got buffed up and the shiny bits shined and the laces tied just so in readiness for the first run in them yesterday. Huge fun as it happens - donned the traditional knee-length surfing shorts and ipod and took the dogs along boshing directly up the mountain we live on. Running around the mountains is incredible and exhausting. Continual steep slopes and beautiful views really feel like you're being pushed for a good reason. I've found a little course to run - around 4 miles or so all in (2 miles uphill, 2 miles downhill, no flat bits!) and the intention is to do this a few times a week with Digby the dog accompanying as moral support. Because it's light til late these days, it's a perfect alternative to do anything non-activity related in the evening such as watching Scrubs on the pooter or going to Le Delice and getting pissed.
Storm clearing over the Aiguillette des Houches
Unsurprisingly with all this activity of an evening and having stopped drinking temporarily (switched to mango juice) it's meant some seriously good sleeping. Always been a problem over the years but for the past week have been up early rising fresh and happy regardless of whatever time I go to bed with not much dreaming. We've been woken up for the past few days with amazing thunderstorms and yesterday we even had a hailstorm roll in at 6.30am to greet the arrival of the day. I got up and took some photos and then stayed up checking emails and writing content for a website happy in the simple side of life living up high.
Large hailstones on the balcony
I chipped down to Le Delice last night for the Fête de la Musique - a musical festival that takes place on the 21st July each year that encourages amateur musicians to take to the streets and perform in public. I kept thinking how much my Dad would have enjoyed it - he's a wicked guitarist and it'd have been cool to see him up on stage again throwing a few songs out. Katy and Fred had a really good acoustic guitarist (Mark from Canada) in there strumming away whilst people were eating and drinking. Katy was hugely impressive having a whirl with the microphone and has a really nice voice - Norah Jones styley - and opted for some classic tunes like Son of a Preacher Man and Pink Floyd's The Wall. Fred made an appearance on the guitar and showed some class and style with a couple of soulful numbers. I've got to say the hairs stood up on my neck when the pair of them did a song together - it really was amazing and the bar was in awe as they did a duet with much whooping and cheering when they finished. All in all a really good night. I was talking to Abi, one of the Les Houches crew all night and we spent the entire night laughing which was great. Also, we realised that Fred makes his "sex face" when playing the guitar. This snippet of information will be filed and brought out in future!
All in all a really good day - a run in the evening, then cooked coq au vin with rosti potatoes for Andy and myself, a bit of chocolate then down to Le Delice for a mango juice and to watch your friends show some hidden talents all the time having a good giggle. Awesome.
Firstly - a funky pic of one of the storms we've been having lots of recently clearing up over Servoz (taken from our balcony).
A couple of days ago I chipped off with Brian for some evening climbing to Le Fayet just down the valley near Saint Gervais. Basically the whole crag was overhanging. We (and by we I mean Brian) did two piches. He led both, but I only managed to get up a few sections of the first pitch and one on the second.
I actually scampered up the first two parts of the pitch noting that my technique for overhangs could do with some work. The first section went surprisingly well hauling myself over a small ledge jutting out and then breezed up the second section that was a small pillar. The third section looked do-able standing on my little protected shelf but I just couldn't quite get the hand-jamming technique exactly right at the crux point of the move. It was incredibly frustrating but realised what was going wrong after Brian explained it fully. I'm determined to get the knack of that type of hold and am looking forward to going back after a month and getting over that section. Had a wee tumble when my hand slipped out of jam rather unexpectedly but didn't hit anything (the beauty of climbing overhangs - always fall into fresh air!) - the thing that annoyed was having to climb back up to have another go! I scrambled up the first section of the second pitch but to be honest it felt like someone had administered an epidural from the neck down after the rigours of the first pitch and after a brief mental argument felt the accompanying dangers of fatigue were too great to continue - retreat!
The upper whole crag at Le Fayet overhangs by about 30 feet so it's pretty daunting to look at. Brian reckoned that there's been an earthquake or some sort of geological shift gone on in the past ten years or so that's made the rock lean over more as the pitch grades given in his book were WAY out of synch with how the pitches actually are (much harder than the book says). If you've found this blog posting via a search engine and are planning to climb Le Fayet then prepare to shit yourself. Take two pairs of undies. Actually better make it three as the walk to the crag through the forest is hot and sweaty and you don't want to be uncomfortable on the rock now do you?
It took two days to recover from that little trip and there's still some residual aching in the arms and hands. But my god I feel fit. This fitness thing has been heightened by the procurement of a brand spanking new pair of bling-bling trainers whilst in the UK last weekend. They duly got buffed up and the shiny bits shined and the laces tied just so in readiness for the first run in them yesterday. Huge fun as it happens - donned the traditional knee-length surfing shorts and ipod and took the dogs along boshing directly up the mountain we live on. Running around the mountains is incredible and exhausting. Continual steep slopes and beautiful views really feel like you're being pushed for a good reason. I've found a little course to run - around 4 miles or so all in (2 miles uphill, 2 miles downhill, no flat bits!) and the intention is to do this a few times a week with Digby the dog accompanying as moral support. Because it's light til late these days, it's a perfect alternative to do anything non-activity related in the evening such as watching Scrubs on the pooter or going to Le Delice and getting pissed.
Storm clearing over the Aiguillette des Houches
Unsurprisingly with all this activity of an evening and having stopped drinking temporarily (switched to mango juice) it's meant some seriously good sleeping. Always been a problem over the years but for the past week have been up early rising fresh and happy regardless of whatever time I go to bed with not much dreaming. We've been woken up for the past few days with amazing thunderstorms and yesterday we even had a hailstorm roll in at 6.30am to greet the arrival of the day. I got up and took some photos and then stayed up checking emails and writing content for a website happy in the simple side of life living up high.
Large hailstones on the balcony
I chipped down to Le Delice last night for the Fête de la Musique - a musical festival that takes place on the 21st July each year that encourages amateur musicians to take to the streets and perform in public. I kept thinking how much my Dad would have enjoyed it - he's a wicked guitarist and it'd have been cool to see him up on stage again throwing a few songs out. Katy and Fred had a really good acoustic guitarist (Mark from Canada) in there strumming away whilst people were eating and drinking. Katy was hugely impressive having a whirl with the microphone and has a really nice voice - Norah Jones styley - and opted for some classic tunes like Son of a Preacher Man and Pink Floyd's The Wall. Fred made an appearance on the guitar and showed some class and style with a couple of soulful numbers. I've got to say the hairs stood up on my neck when the pair of them did a song together - it really was amazing and the bar was in awe as they did a duet with much whooping and cheering when they finished. All in all a really good night. I was talking to Abi, one of the Les Houches crew all night and we spent the entire night laughing which was great. Also, we realised that Fred makes his "sex face" when playing the guitar. This snippet of information will be filed and brought out in future!
All in all a really good day - a run in the evening, then cooked coq au vin with rosti potatoes for Andy and myself, a bit of chocolate then down to Le Delice for a mango juice and to watch your friends show some hidden talents all the time having a good giggle. Awesome.
Tuesday, 12 June 2007
Waiting contd...
Forgot to mention this in the last post too:
1) Really looking forward to flying to the UK this weekend to see my family and wonderfully wicked nephew. Need to get a vignette for Merv the Swerve to go on the Swiss motorways - it's going to be our longest drive together. Road trip!
b) Sold the affiliate software, when the client returns from holiday getting a load of cash for that. Going to try to resell it over the interweb and a PayPal account which will cost me nothing.
4) Working with Crampons on the chalet helping getting it sorted for the clients this summer/winter
3) Working for Crampons looking after the guests this summer - something I'm quite looking forward to.
Things are looking extremely healthy and I'm wandering around happy.
1) Really looking forward to flying to the UK this weekend to see my family and wonderfully wicked nephew. Need to get a vignette for Merv the Swerve to go on the Swiss motorways - it's going to be our longest drive together. Road trip!
b) Sold the affiliate software, when the client returns from holiday getting a load of cash for that. Going to try to resell it over the interweb and a PayPal account which will cost me nothing.
4) Working with Crampons on the chalet helping getting it sorted for the clients this summer/winter
3) Working for Crampons looking after the guests this summer - something I'm quite looking forward to.
Things are looking extremely healthy and I'm wandering around happy.
Waiting
Just waiting for my contractors to pay me. It sucks this waiting period - the money's coming in and everything's going to be just fine so I can pay off a few outstanding bils and things. I've just spoken to them and they've said they're putting it through as we speak which is good. They've also said they want a huge load of work doing which is even better.
As the time passes in Cham I'm acutely aware that everything is in place for me to stay out here - happy and contented pushing myself mentally and physically in the mountains. With this new work, another contract coming up and a permanent job in a couple of months time it means that I'm finally on track for staying for a long while.
It's taken a while and the help of friends like Chris, Wardo, Crampons, Fred & Katy, Louise, Mark & Mimi and especially massive support from my parents - for which I'm eternally grateful to all. Over the next month I'll be buying a drink or two for them!
The summer months will be set for climbing - trying new and more varied pitches and next winter I'll be busy with the seasonnaire business, transfers and snowboarding. Life is starting to fill up a lot.
As the time passes in Cham I'm acutely aware that everything is in place for me to stay out here - happy and contented pushing myself mentally and physically in the mountains. With this new work, another contract coming up and a permanent job in a couple of months time it means that I'm finally on track for staying for a long while.
It's taken a while and the help of friends like Chris, Wardo, Crampons, Fred & Katy, Louise, Mark & Mimi and especially massive support from my parents - for which I'm eternally grateful to all. Over the next month I'll be buying a drink or two for them!
The summer months will be set for climbing - trying new and more varied pitches and next winter I'll be busy with the seasonnaire business, transfers and snowboarding. Life is starting to fill up a lot.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)