What a change from one week to the next! Almost everything is different, the transport, the accommodation, the rock, the water, the people etc etc but there is one constant and that is having fun. It feels a little strange coming from a situation climbing with a group of really talented experienced climbers, where most of the hard projects have already been completed. To climbing in an area where there are still lots of unclimbed lines and you are only one of a few in the group who can climb them. I couldn’t really say if one was better or more enjoyable than the other, they are just different.
I have climbed for three days in the north face denali so far. The first I ran around like a headless chicken, trying and climbing what may be new routes until I ran out of energy and crashed. Maybe I have got used to being able to stimulate my body and mind with Red Bull whenever I feel tired, but since the never ending supply has vanished, and I now have to pay through the nose, I no longer have the luxury. Since then I have tried to be a little more controlled and have relaxed a lot more. There is plenty to keep me entertained when I am not climbing, like wearing Man-kinis...
On one of the mornings, Rich Mayfield shouted “today is man-kini day” which I think was a very spur of the moment decision, but everyone got fully involved. Not wanting to be left out of the fun and games, I too trotted off to Carrefour in search of large ladies pants that would stretch over my shoulders. After a lot of procrastinating over which colour and style would best suit cheap north face, I settled on a size 46, black thong. Very tasteful I thought.
Once we arrived at the destination for the day, it was time to “man-up” as Rich had taken to calling it. There were some interesting moments when learning where to put my various bits and pieces and the cameras were out to catch all the action. Fortunately my little man, who is actually quite camera shy, somehow managed to avoid the paparazzi and my bluest snapshots only involved a rouge testicle or two.
We arrived into basecamp yesterday afternoon (16th) and spent today doing little but coming to terms with elevation. All feel great north face denali jackets, hence the rest day to keep it so.A second later I was 50 meters below, speeding over boulders 3 meters off the floor. Leaning back in my harness, I smiled. After my friends had jumped, the heavens suddenly opened and down came some of the heaviest rain I have seen since Asia last year. We packed up the soggy gear and set off back to the car, which promptly steamed up, almost causing a few crashes on the way back.
Just to keep you updated, because I have nothing better to do north face denali jackets, it is now 21:20 and my flight is now flashing RETRASADO! What fun...
I packed my bags but was very disappointed to find my man-kini was missing! My grand plan of wearing it home to surprise Emily came crashing down around me, what a terrible shame. Someone had obviously taken a bit of a shine to it and pocked it for themselves when I was not looking. The cheeky little rascals, how very dare they. Luckily or unluckily (which depends on your personal outlook), large ladies thongs are fairly prevalent nowadays, so I should not find too many problems in replacing it.
After relaxing for the last few hours,north face denali, the time came to leave my friends and I grabbed a lift to the airport. I should be back in England at some point today or tomorrow and plans have already started for my return to Devon. To tell you the truth, I am very worried about going back on the route, knowing all too well what could happen and how I felt last time. But I have to try to keep these feelings and thoughts under control if I am to have any chance of completing the route. If I have learnt anything from today, it is that you can do things to change and control irrational fear and I think (hope) the same rules will apply to rational fear.
This route, which started off as a small idea in a mixed up mind, has grown into the biggest and most difficult challenge of my life. I have had to give, and will have to continue to give, more than ever before but if nothing else cheap north face, this will make the final ascent even more satisfying. If people gave up when the going got tough the world would be a very different place.
Firstly, I am in a fairly deserted part of the airport, well away from all the overweight, pink, hung-over Britons on their way back from a fortnight package holiday in beautiful Benidorm. Secondly, I am next to a power socket which I am happily borrowing electricity from to ensure my laptop stays fully charged for today’s in-flight movie. And thirdly, I am right in front of an info board so I can keep track of my epic, without even getting up. In theory north face denali jackets, my flight will be departing at 21:00, but in practice, it is 20:45 and there is still not a gate listed.
It took a lot of searching to find this spot but I can assure you it was totally worth it. I would advise anyone else who has to spend time in these wonderful places to do the same and as with most things in life, its all about finding those silver linings.
So where was I... Oh yes, Spain. The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plains, at least that’s where it is supposed to fall but today it was falling squarely on the Orange house. I had climbed at the Wild Side at Sella for the last couple of days which is awesome but meant my skin was feeling a little thin. Two weeks of DWS did not do good things for my tips and even the thought of small holds was making me wince north face denali .
I had climbed fairly well and was pleased with the routes I had done and so felt that my last day should be something a little different. A few of us drove out to the Mascarat Gorge for another go at the big swing but today I was determined to make it really big, as big as possible in fact. I lowered as far as possible and marked the ropes at the correct point before scrambling back up the side of the gorge to the bridge. Without wasting any time, meaning I had no chance to back out I made my way to the take off point an clipped in. My heart was beating fast and thoughts of escape were at the front of my mind so I picked up my camera and started to record. I forced myself to tell the camera what I planned to do, knowing that once it was on film, I wouldn’t chicken out (its funny how your brain works). As I climbed with shaking legs onto the railing, cheap north face, I knew that everything was 100% safe but that didn’t stop me from imagining terrible things happening. Shouting out loud that I was going meant no turning back and I hurled myself off the top railing, entranced by the wavy slack rope stretched out in front of me.
Up and over the mountain passes north face denali, down into villages. About 40 miles into the race, I realized the vision in my right eye was beginning to blur. Then the blurring turned to haze and the haze turned to white. I couldn't see through the white. I lost my depth perception. The down hill running that 10 miles ago I was hooting and hollering on the inside because it was so fun suddenly became a true nightmare. I couldn't tell how steep the terrain was, how big a rock was, how high to jump or when to expect my foot to strike the ground. I started breaking, then walking, then seemingly crawling trying to figure out my footing. By the time I reached Courmayeur, Italy, I had tears in my eyes. I knew the race was over for me. An hour later, as I was being driven out of town, I looked around as the sun was rising and vowed to come back if I could guarantee myself full vision for the entire length of the north face denali jackets.
But it wasn't over for Topher, Lizzy, or Diane. After a shower back at the hotel and an attempt at a nap, I joined other The North Face? folks and headed out to the aid stations where we could see them in action, and offer any help to their crew and encouragement to our team mates. Congratulations to everyone that finished, and a special congrats to Topher who looked a little rough, but kept it together and ran a spectacular race; Lizzy who looked amazingly fresh and happy all the way through, and Diane who had one of her toughest races ever, but pulled it together for a terrific finish.
My time in Spain has come to an end and as usual cheap north face, I find myself writing this from an airport. I guess it makes sense... Airports are possibly the most boring, and least enjoyable part of my life and so writing a blog, which is usually fairly low on my list of priorities, suddenly seems like a fantastic idea when the alternatives involve pacing up and down, or watching the information boards to find out how long my flight is delayed by. In fact, today, I have hit the airport blogging jackpot. I have found a place so perfect that all other airport blog sessions will hence forth be measured against this moment.
The scenery of the race did not disappoint, and neither did the villagers in the villages that we ran through. But for me, I would have to end my journey around Mt Blanc about half way through because of a serious problem with my right eye that brought my pace to a crawl. But up until the point that I realized I had to stop, I was having the time of my life.
The start of the north face denali, right on time at 6.30 pm, went smoothly - more smoothly than I would have imagined with 2,377 starters. I liked the idea of running through the night when I was fresh - which is different from most 100 mile races which have an early morning start that guarantees when the sun goes down, you're maunuvering through the darkness in some kind of a tired, zombie like state. The 6.30 pm start gave me some inspiration to try to finish before sunset the next day.
Besides the stunning scenery - before the sun went down - my favorite part of the race was running through the villages. It seemed like the entire village came out to watch the runners go by. Approaching a village, usually on a steep downhill, runners could hear in the distance music and cheering mingled together. The running route through each village was lit with lights and sometimes torches. Families came out, north face cheap, mothers holding babies, kids standing next to the course with their hands extended for a high five. Bands playing, small stands of water and wine set up for the runners to imbibe if they wish. It seemed like the more eye contact a runner made with the crowd, the louder they became. I tried to high five as many kids as possible, wave to the crowd, smile and just enjoy the moment. And they went nuts. I'm not sure how I was picked out as an American, but running through the villages, I often heard a question directed at me..."Obama?" "Obama!" I would answer and that again would throw the crowd into another level of cheers.
Days passed, just as they always do and my time in paradise slowly drew to an north face denali. On the last day we climbed at Cala Barques which really is a perfect venue for trying or watching others try Psicobloc. This made it the obvious choice for the last day’s location and we were joined by many local and international climbers, creating a fabulous and friendly atmosphere. With everyone encouraging each other, and the boat playing great tunes, it was easy to give the routes everything you had, resulting in some inspirational ascents.
The sun set slowly over the horizon and it was time to party. The Red Bull crew are not known for doing things by halves and tonight was to be no different. It may have been the atmosphere, or it may have been the never ending supply of vodka red bulls, but the first time I looked at the time it was past 4am. We moved on to another venue which I thought was surprisingly good for a small town. The DJ’s played good tunes and mixed them well north face denali fleece, what more can you ask for.
I woke up the next morning to a fuzzy world and forced myself to pack my bags. After eating lunch, I got chance to see the photos from the week, courtesy of Damiano Levati and they were amazing. I was blown away by some of the images and found myself feeling very sad that it had all come to an end. Resized_pan01_3 I said my good byes to friends old and new and headed for the airport. My week in Mallorca was nothing but a pleasure and has introduced me to the wonders of Psicobloc which I can see playing a big part in my future climbing. I think the real joy of this style, is feeling completely free from the normal constraints that climbing can put on you. Everything that I love about climbing is magnified and intensified by Psicobloc making for an incredibly pure and special experience.north face denali. Climb where you want, climb how you want.
I flew a few days before the race into Geneva, then caught a taxi service into Chamonix. I had spent quite a bit of time preparing the details of the race - packing the required gear and making sure I had enough food and electrolytes that I was familiar with to get me through the race. What I had not done was any research on Chamonix itself. I fell asleep on the ride from Geneva to Chamonix, and I woke up just as we were pulling up to the hotel.