caigoose9

After eating breakfast and forcing down a load of coffee and water in the hope that either might make me feel less woozy we packed into a mini bus and headed to

. P1010068 As the crag came into view for the first time, I was overwhelmed at its scale and as the psyche washed over me, I began to feel north face cheap much better. After a steady warm up, I moved onto something harder. I chose a relatively short, steep route that looked like it might suit my bouldering strengths. After getting the beta from my friend Nick, I tried to flash it and made it to the 5th bolt before falling on a wild slap to the mid height rest jug. After pulling back on, I climbed bolt to bolt to the top, managing the moves on my first try but feeling unable to link many together. On lowering to the floor I felt a little frustrated, so far I have not found any of the climbing particularly difficult, but I get tired all too quickly to stand any north face denali fleece of completing a route. I guess this is only my second day sport climbing in over a year; hopefully I should have a little fitness by the end of the trip.

Later on I surprised my self by managing to flash a route that Nick had climbed on his last day at the crag. It was a long battle but thanks to Nick’s ever present beta I managed to clip the chains. Emily (Harrington) tried the route after me and also flashed it. Being quite a bit shorter than me she had to make a few wild slaps in the middle section but stuck them with no problems and cruised to the top, inspiring.

The North Face Ski Challenge Tour Breaks Ice in Ruka, Finland! Last stage before coming back to the Alps, Ruka in Finland is more than a special place. It’s an experience to live at least once in one’s life. Actually, most people that have once experienced the Arctic and Lappland come back... After yet another 1200kms driven through Swedish ( north face denali) endless forests, after having crossed yet another boarder, we arrived in Ruka and enjoyed the quietness, the cold and the northern lights that periodically light up in the Finnish skies. There we met a team of people dedicated to helping us ( thanks Noora and Synkk? !) and make of that awaited stage a special event.