A strange week on the farm; unlike England, we've had pretty crap weather all week so we've been tied down to the farm. I still haven't got round to doing the 100 mile bikeride, but it'll be soon. So with the bad weather we've just been watching films and reading books, and drinking too much beer. However, on the one day we were blessed with sunshine we made the most of it and decided to climb a mountain.
We think it was called Mount Ferrata, but this is unconfirmed. It was certainly a major peak in the French Pyrenees mountain range. It took about an hour to drive to the trail head and then we were off on another mini-adventure.
This was taken before we realised just how much snow there would be at the top - hence the shorts and t-shirt combination. However, I also wanted to keep my 100% mountain climb/shorts combination in check. It would be un-English to even attempt a mountain climb in anything more than shorts. So off we went.
The first couple of hours were awesome; nice sunshine, clear skies, wonderful views and not a single trace of human impact on this most beautiful of landscapes.
I'm not too sure what I was trying to achieve with this pose, its fairly reminiscent of Rocky? Anyway, this picture also gives a preview of the type of terrain we would have to face to reach the peak. The peak we reached was actually twice as big and scary as shown above!
The hike got gradually harder and colder as we went on. The air had a noticeable chill the longer we went on, despite the constant sunshine. Although I didn't notice it getting thinner like I had on my previous climb of Mount Humphreys, AZ.
Once we passed the treeline the snow became a lot more prominent and also meant that it was difficult to stick to the trail. I had one hairy moment when I attempted to cross a big mound of snow that had covered the trail on a steep shoulder. The snow was quite icy and slippery and with a fairly big drop if I were to slip. I made it half way across when my foot ever so slightly slipped and my heart went a bit funny. It was the type of mountaineering that would usually require full snow gear with an axe, harnesses and spiked boots, and here I was with shorts and a t-shirt, foolishly trying to make this crossing. I decided to turn back using the imprints I had made in the snow/Ice. Instead we had to climb up a steep patch of dense vegetation to go around the snow mound (on the way back I actually fell down this steep section but I managed to grip onto some heather to stop any momentum I could have gained and fallen any further down the mountain side). I think it was roughly around this point when I turned to Sam and said that this is pretty hardcore stuff.
After a tricky and exhausting final section we finally reached the peak at about 2pm. Its a great feeling to reach the summit of a mountain. You literally feel on top of the world and its a feeling I'll keep chasing into future.
We met a welshman at the top who lived in the South of France, he'd done the climb a few times before and recommended a few different routes back, but as we were about to start the descent, thick clouds drew in so we figured it would be safer to stick to the same route back down. About 5 minutes before we met him we had actually said how good it would be to have a beer to celebrate. Then as we were chatting to him he whipped out a beer and said: 'I never do a mountain climb without a beer'. Bastard. At least it gives me an excuse to do it again.
So a real highlight of the trip in a fairly uneventful week. We did manage to get the day off to watch the Royal wedding though, and as 'lovely' as it was, it kind of annoyed me. I'd forgotten just how religious weddings can be. As the Archbishop droned on I forgot that 2 billion of the worlds population were watching, this has probably undone the combined work of Dawkins, Harris and Hitchens in one swift move, and reaffirmed many peoples belief in Myth.
Until next time!
We think it was called Mount Ferrata, but this is unconfirmed. It was certainly a major peak in the French Pyrenees mountain range. It took about an hour to drive to the trail head and then we were off on another mini-adventure.
This was taken before we realised just how much snow there would be at the top - hence the shorts and t-shirt combination. However, I also wanted to keep my 100% mountain climb/shorts combination in check. It would be un-English to even attempt a mountain climb in anything more than shorts. So off we went.
The first couple of hours were awesome; nice sunshine, clear skies, wonderful views and not a single trace of human impact on this most beautiful of landscapes.
I'm not too sure what I was trying to achieve with this pose, its fairly reminiscent of Rocky? Anyway, this picture also gives a preview of the type of terrain we would have to face to reach the peak. The peak we reached was actually twice as big and scary as shown above!
The hike got gradually harder and colder as we went on. The air had a noticeable chill the longer we went on, despite the constant sunshine. Although I didn't notice it getting thinner like I had on my previous climb of Mount Humphreys, AZ.
Once we passed the treeline the snow became a lot more prominent and also meant that it was difficult to stick to the trail. I had one hairy moment when I attempted to cross a big mound of snow that had covered the trail on a steep shoulder. The snow was quite icy and slippery and with a fairly big drop if I were to slip. I made it half way across when my foot ever so slightly slipped and my heart went a bit funny. It was the type of mountaineering that would usually require full snow gear with an axe, harnesses and spiked boots, and here I was with shorts and a t-shirt, foolishly trying to make this crossing. I decided to turn back using the imprints I had made in the snow/Ice. Instead we had to climb up a steep patch of dense vegetation to go around the snow mound (on the way back I actually fell down this steep section but I managed to grip onto some heather to stop any momentum I could have gained and fallen any further down the mountain side). I think it was roughly around this point when I turned to Sam and said that this is pretty hardcore stuff.
After a tricky and exhausting final section we finally reached the peak at about 2pm. Its a great feeling to reach the summit of a mountain. You literally feel on top of the world and its a feeling I'll keep chasing into future.
We met a welshman at the top who lived in the South of France, he'd done the climb a few times before and recommended a few different routes back, but as we were about to start the descent, thick clouds drew in so we figured it would be safer to stick to the same route back down. About 5 minutes before we met him we had actually said how good it would be to have a beer to celebrate. Then as we were chatting to him he whipped out a beer and said: 'I never do a mountain climb without a beer'. Bastard. At least it gives me an excuse to do it again.
So a real highlight of the trip in a fairly uneventful week. We did manage to get the day off to watch the Royal wedding though, and as 'lovely' as it was, it kind of annoyed me. I'd forgotten just how religious weddings can be. As the Archbishop droned on I forgot that 2 billion of the worlds population were watching, this has probably undone the combined work of Dawkins, Harris and Hitchens in one swift move, and reaffirmed many peoples belief in Myth.
Until next time!
