Mountain girl - A life of vertical adventures

Mountain girl blog: Life and death in the mountains

Over the past couple of years pretty much everything that has punctuated my life has been in some way connected to the mountains. Solace, healing, inspiration, travel, laughter, adventure, friendships, work, and even love have all exploded as a result of my decision to pursue a life less horizontal. This world has given me so much and I feel utterly blessed to have had so many wonderful experiences in such a short period of time.

But the mountain environment is not all about sunshine and summits. It is also a risky, demanding, challenging and frightening place where things often go wrong and when they do, they can have very real and serious consequences.

I know all of this, of course, have read the books, seen the films, heard the stories but this week was the first time that I experienced first hand the devastating effect that the mountains can have on those we know and love.

On Valentine’s Day I learned about the passing of Carlyle Norman – one of Canada’s best alpinists who endured a painful and prolonged passing as the result of rockfall on the Patagonian peak of Aguja Saint-Exupery. She died doing what she loved of course, but the mountains took her in the most brutal and violent of fashions that I have felt somewhat haunted ever since I read the details of what happened to her last month.

I met Carlyle in 2010 in Canmore where she worked as a yoga teacher and I had come to explore the mountains and a bit of myself. Our paths crossed briefly but for me the meeting was poignant and lasting. We spent a late night together, along with some other good friends, and it was an evening of enormous amounts of laughter and even more insane amounts of whisky. Carlyle was off to Patagonia to climb the following day, I was shortly leaving for Mexico, and the two others in the small group were mountain guides back home in Canmore for a brief laundry stop before heading back up into the high Alpine for more adventures. Whilst our connection was short it felt extremely special – much like Carlyle’s time on this earth.

Very often when we lose someone we try to find a lesson learned, a meaning or a degree of inspiration. We seek to find any way that helps us make sense and come to peace with what we have loved and lost. As the week draws to a close, and I have had a little time to reflect on Carlyle’s devastating passing, I am struggling to find any positive in what happened. Right now all I feel is an enormous sense of sadness at the loss of such a beautiful, fun, talented and young woman and an overwhelming amount of sorrow for what those close to her must be going through.

I also recognize within myself a considerable degree of resignation that these are the realities of a life pursued in the outdoors and that where we play is also likely to be where we may suffer. It is scary and humbling and you cannot separate the two. It will happen again but the adventure must continue.

My heart goes out to all of Carlyle’s loved ones and to the lady herself who now rests forever in the mountains.

Mountain girl blog: Layering made simple

With temperatures plummeting in the UK and the mountains of the Alps being relentlessly pounded with fresh snow on a daily basis, the chances are some of you may be thinking of digging out the old winter kit for a wee ski, walk or ice climb at some point in the near future.

And because it’s super cold and you’ve been very good all January, you might even be looking at upgrading some of your kit or adding to your existing set up. If so… read on, and if not, do a mountain girl a favour and read on anyway…

For years the winter layering system has been the same: baselayer, fleece mid layer, and waterproof shell outer layer. With a variety of sport dependent tweaks, ski tourers, mountaineers and other nutters who like to play outside when it’s freezing have essentially been layering up like this for ages. But over recent years, there’s been a change. Ladies and gentlemen – I give you – the lightweight insulation layer.

To avoid descending into a world of gear geekyness, I am going to keep this very simple. Insulation layers are awesome. Whilst they weigh next to nothing and take up very little room in your pack, their most important feature is that they keep us cozy. They keep us warm by keeping body heat in, holding it close to our skin and buffering us from the icy cold air. And in so doing, they keep us happy, which keeps our friends and family happy, which then spreads to a general feeling of worldwide wellbeing which may lead to the end to the global recession… OK perhaps not but never underestimate the importance of being warm on the hill, it’s very often the determining factor between heaven and hell.

So how does this magical piece of kit actually work? Well, the insulation layer fits into the layering system in a variety of ways: firstly it can be used as a warmer alternative to the mid layer fleece top or jacket, secondly you can chuck it over your existing set up when you’re needing an extra injection of warmth, and lastly it works nicely as a very cool bit of kit to be styling in around town at the end of the day. Whilst the latter feature is perhaps not of primary importance any Sportsiser knows that to have practical and functional kit that is also stylish, well cut and good looking is a winning combination.

So you’re sold? Great. Now you have to make a choice – there are two options: down or synthetic. Whilst down is extremely warm, light and compressible the downsides are that it is expensive and if it gets wet – well, that’s it. Insulation powers are nul and void and you’ll wait longer for it to dry than we have waited for a Wimbledon Champion.

Synthetic layers on the other hand are easier on the wallet, water resistant and are Usain Bolt-esque in their speediness when it comes to drying. Essentially down is great if you’re in very cold and dry conditions but if you’re likely to get wet playing in the mountains of the UK or out skiing, then a synthetic layer has to be the right option.

So which one do I recommend? For a review of one of the best synthetic jackets on the market right now, click here.

Mountain girl blog: Powder with the pros

As if life wasn’t already good enough with all this sunshine and powder snow in the Alps, last week the gods of winter dealt me an incredibly special card.

A fortuitous meeting on the piste led to an invitation to go riding in the off piste with some of the best skiers in the valley – the instructors of 360 Ski School.

I was super excited, honoured and more than a little bit nervous about going out to shred with these guys but Jocelyn and his crew were amazing. We jumped off cornices, carved fresh lines in thigh deep powder, skied secret runs through the trees, and found lots of little hidden stashes of pow pow pow!!!

You always learn a huge amount from doing any sport with experts and no matter how nerve jangling a prospect it may be, you should always jump at the chance to go up a level. With the 360 guys I picked up tips, pushed my limits, learned more about my local area and most importantly, laughed a lot! So if you’re coming out to ski in Les Gets or Samoens and looking to make the most of the immense powder, then I strongly suggest giving the guys at 360 a call. In the meantime, here’s a little taster of what we got up to.

Mountain girl blog: Morning above the mist

You know how it is, the alarm clock goes and you don’t hear it. And then it goes again and somewhere in the deep recesses of your mind, a connection is made.It’s time to get up.

When my incredibly annoying alarm went off yesterday I had every intention of going skiing, was anticipating a bluebird day and getting the first lift up the mountain. Instead I finally awoke to visibility that stretched as far as my nose and let’s just say I’m no Barry Manilow. Thick. Fog.

It would have been so easy just to go back to bed or to have chosen to take this rather substandard weather as an indication that I really should stay home and do my tax return. But regular readers of this blog may have picked up that I don’t really go for the ‘easy’ option so in the words of my most disliked band The Beautiful South – I carried on regardless…

As is very often the case in the mountains and in life, the most difficult decisions are very often handsomely rewarded. And almost always when you are least expecting it. So when the Tete des Saix chairlift soared out of the freezing fog and into the glorious bright blue sky beyond, I thanked my lucky stars and my alarm clock. It was going to be a good morning.

Thanks to my Go-Pro Hero HD Camera for this little film!

Mountain girl blog: Backcountry adventures

After weeks spent taking full advantage of my season pass and using the lifts of the Grand Massif to access the immense Alpine powder, last week signaled the start of this winter’s ski touring fun and games.

For those of you who don’t know what ski touring is, simply put it is walking up hills and mountains on your skis and then skiing down. Sound like a sweaty, tiring, blister inducing, rather usless way to spend a day? Perhaps for some but not for me.

I am a relative newcomer to the sport but it is by far and away my most favourite thing to do in the whole world. In fact, the only thing that could beat a day out touring would be two days out touring… or three… or a week… or… ok, you get the deal – I love it. Even more the Cadbury’s Crème Eggs, party food and Prosecco.

From where I live in Samoens in the Haute Savoie, a 15 minute drive from the house can deliver you to the car park of Les Allamands from where you can take a variety of routes up to the summit of the Tete de Bostan. This is a safe place to tour as the slope angle renders it unlikely to avalanche. It is also an accessible and short tour involving about two and a half hours of climbing on skis through a forest and then out into the open with fantastic views over the Aravis, Mont Blanc Massif and Portes du Soleil.

As is the way with ski touring, you often put in a hell of a lot of effort to get to the summit and the descent always passes by far too quickly and in a blink of an eye you’re back at the car, peeling off your skins and planning where to go for a much deserved petite biere.

I don’t really mind that it’s a lot of effort for sometimes very little reward because for me it is always an adventure – are you going to get powder snow, sun affected crust, or icy scratchy stinky stuff? That’s the thing with ski touring – unlike the manufactured and prescribed world of the resorts, you are right in the wilderness and good snow conditions do not come to order. Of course when there is powder there’s nothing better but for me it is the whole experience that makes it so worthwhile. As clichéd as it may sound, it truly is all about ‘earning your turns’.

I believe that ski touring is the essence of true adventure: a journey into the unknown where you really need to have your wits about you, be aware of your natural environment, be humble enough to know when to retreat yet be sufficiently brave to push your limits when it is required.

More than anything it is about working with what you’ve got right in front of you at that moment, accepting it and making the very best of it. In this age of immediacy and limitless choice, that is a very rare experience indeed.

Here is a little video of the day out I had with Java the dog last week. Like the snow at the bottom of the hill, it’s nothing special but it might give you a wee taster of what it’s all about. Please excuse the rapid ending to the whole thing but I’m afraid we then descended into such a thick mist that I couldn’t see up from down and actually ended up feeling very sick! We did get down safely and next time I promise to make something a little more exciting and professional but until then… enjoy this wee aperitif!!

This little exploration into the unknown was my first attempt using the awesome Go-Pro Hero HD Camera. This fantastic bit of kit is super easy to use, small yet robust, and records in superb quality. I’m looking forward to getting to grips more and more with it and putting together some fab little visual records of my adventures.

Mountain Girl blog: Crossing over…

With all the Christmas shenanigans and festive goings on, the last month or so has been a little bit frustrating for this mountain girl. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good bit of stuffing (ahem), am more than partial to the odd Quality Street, will go some on the Brussel Sprouts and even more so on the sloe gin and Xmas vino… but all of this caper has been a distraction from the mountains at a time when a massive amount of snow has been falling in the Alps. Thankfully now, the decorations are packed away, the family have dispersed, the milk thistle has been purchased, and we can get down to business - snow business.

It has been well documented that the last month or so have seen record snowfall in the Alps and this is one of the few cases where it is absolutely right to believe the mainstream media hype. If you’re looking at your post Christmas belly and feeling a little lardy, don’t. This snowfall is obese, not you.

The falling flakes have been relentless and as a result there have been very few of those gorgeous bluebird days which all skiers dream of. Snow is great but when it’s falling it generally means low cloud, poor visibility, and pretty cold temperatures. If the storm is significant it can also mean strong winds up high. All of this makes for great powder (and significant avalanche risk) but not necessarily the best conditions for the intermediate skier.

When you are on two planks hurtling down a 30 degree slope at speed, not being able to see is annoying at best and damn right crippling at worst. You might have the best goggles in the business, the fattest skis around, and the lightest shell layer on the market but no amount of trendy, expensive kit is going to buy you passage through this one. Poor visibility and variable snow are the two key indicators that separate that the proficient from the advanced. Nothing more, nothing less.

Over recent years I have found myself enormously frustrated when the cloud came down and the snow was not even and constant. Suddenly I would find my brain go to mush, my skiing go completely to pot and the whole experience suddenly become a merde-fight. In the past, conditions like these have either seen me head to the trees (where visibility is improved as you have a point of reference) or more often than not, directly to the nearest bar. I’ve felt this way for a while but no longer. Something has changed now and it did so in the Portes du Soleil last weekend.

Last Sunday I headed over to Morzine to meet up with my brother in law who was in town for a couple of days for work. When my alarm went off early curly and I looked out the window to see… well nothing except for my reflection in the thick fog, I thought twice about heading out on the hill.

On a normal day in my Alpine life I doubt I would have budged from the warm cocoon of my bed but I see my bro-in-law rarely and ski with him even less so I dug out the truck, threw my kit in and headed over the hill. Getting off the chairlift in Avoriaz was like stepping into an avalanche - we couldn’t see in front of us, couldn’t tell what was up or down and had no reference points other than the poles that mark the edge of the piste. And so thick was the cloud that we could only see one of these at a time.

As we stared into the white abyss I pointed out what I thought was a person that we could follow, only to find out that it was a shape in the ice wall on the side of the piste. Thankfully neither of us were going hell for leather towards it or we might have become snow angels!

Having said all of that, I had the best day on the mountain that I have had in several years. This was in large part due to the company but also because suddenly I realised that these difficult conditions didn’t bother me anymore.

I didn’t realise it at the time until my brother in law pointed it out later, but my downhill performance was unaffected by the adverse light and it didn’t phase me in the slightest. I was skiing by feel, reacting to what was under my feet, trusting my instinct and in his words this signified that I have ‘crossed over’ to another level.

God only knows what lies on this new side, this brave new world of still being able to ski reasonably proficiently in rubbish weather, but I’m hoping it indicates a smoother, more consistent, going with the snow flow ski experience. Now if I can only achieve the same in my day to day existence, then world domination is surely just around the corner

Mountain girl blog: Snow and sparkles

At a time of year when most people back in the UK are obsessing about X Factor winners and Xmas party outfits, over here in the mountains there has only been one subject of conversation. When will it come? And how much will it bring? And what happens if it doesn’t come in time for Xmas? And …god, when will it come?

We’re not talking about Santa here people, we’re talking about snow. Simple frozen particles of water falling from the sky that carry enormous significance in these parts. Livelihoods depend upon their appearance and so it comes as no real surprise that ‘la neige’ has pervaded every single conversation I’ve had over the past few weeks.

It is safe to say that the annual wait for the inaugural snowfall of the season is a painful one and thankfully last week we were put out of our misery. Big style. After weeks of enviously looking at US friends’ Facebook status updates and pictures, finally we Alpine peeps had something to jingle our bells about.

Pardon the phrase but this was a dump to be proud of and as soon as the weekend came around, there was no hanging about. Skis and boots were positioned by the door, avalanche beacon batteries tested and new winter clothing excitedly ripped out of its packaging to be put to the test.

Having been fortunate enough to get my hands on an Arcteryx Atom LT Hoody recently, I have literally been breakdancing on the spot at the prospect of getting into the outdoors to try it out. For those non gear freaks amongst you, basically this is just a lightweight synthetic jacket. But let me tell you, it is so, so much more than that.

For the snow/outdoor gear girlie, this bit of kit is a hundred different things in one. As a super light, incredibly warm layer, it can go underneath or on the top your existing set up. You can wear it as a ‘fleece layer’ underneath your shell jacket or you can throw it on over the top when you need that extra warmth out on the hill, and unlike down, you don’t need to worry if it gets wet – which is kind of a plus when you’re talking about playing in the frozen particles of water world. And the icing on the gateau? It’s as well cut as Peter Andre’s ‘Mysterious Girl’ abs (oh god, I think I just gave my age away…) with articulated elbows, gusseted underarms and as a result looks cool as hell off the hill aswell as on.

At around £160, this is not cheap but its hybrid nature makes it a totally worthwhile investment. And after all, who doesn’t need a multitasking, gorgeous looking, warm, and reliable bit of stuff in their life at this time of year?!

Look out for my full Tried and Tested review coming soon!

Mountain girl blog: Moustaches and bikes

The sun may well have shone relentlessly over the past few weeks but there’s no denying that summer is long gone here in the Alps. The sky is still brilliantly blue but the ever-present scent of burning leaves, the early morning frost on cars and total lack of people anywhere are constant reminders that it’s definitely November.

Hmmm, yes November. A strange month indeed. I mean, what really happens in November apart from people growing dodgy facial hair for charity? In the climbing world at least November definitely signals a time of transition. Some will just head indoors and immerse themselves in the sweaty, shirtless, self conscious world of the climbing gym.

Others will pack away rock shoes and chalk bags, replacing them at the front of kit cupboard shelves with crampons and ice axes as they eagerly await favourable ice climbing temperatures and conditions. Yet more will see this as the time to think of other sports and dust down their skis and boards, get bindings tuned and edges sharpened and use the offseason time to prepare for an onslaught of some early season powder.

For me none of this really makes sense. I don’t want to waste time waiting for winter to arrive, I want to get out there and do whatever seems right for now. But what to do? Shorter and much colder days mean that big long road bikes and hikes have become kind of less appealing so I need to find something else.

And I have - but let me tell you that my new chosen sport is a bit of a break from the norm to say the least. As a lover of the wilderness and the silence of the great outdoors what I’m about to tell you makes absolutely no sense but here we go… My new November sport is… drum roll… dramatic X Factor pause… off road trials motorbiking!

For those of you who have no idea what this means – think that dreadful, intrusive, whining, chainsawesque noise that you hear sometimes when you’re out for a walk looking for a bit of fresh air and peace and quiet. Think the overpowering stench of petrol fumes that really should be illegal in an increasingly environmentally conscious world. And think of a sport driven by ego, where the ‘look’ is all about bling, and where the riders dress in uniforms splattered by a technicolour yawn.

Yup, it’s a far cry from what I normally gravitate towards but hey, I’m 35, perhaps this is the start of a mid life crisis? Or perhaps this is the long overdue fulfillment of a dream that I’ve held to ride a motorbike: a dream that started as a kid watching stars like Dougie Lampkin hopping their bikes from a small log and up onto a double decker bus on the kids TV programme ‘Kickstart’.

Trials biking may well be noisy, smelly and a bit vulgar but let me tell you, it’s so much fun. It’s something totally new and it’s completely different. It requires coordination, good balance, concentration and commitment. And more than anything else, trials biking demands bravery. Lots of it. I honestly cannot remember the last time I have had that much adrenaline pumping through my body. It makes me want a beer just thinking about it!

I know it’s not socially acceptable, I know it’s probably ‘not a sport for women’ and I know that it makes a bit of a mess of our otherwise pure and tranquil Alpine environment. But hey it’s an adventure and for whatever reason I’ll always gravitate in that general direction. I like to blame Eleanor Roosevelt and her ‘do one thing everyday that scares you’ mantra. After all, it’s November – what else am I going to do – grow a moustache?

Autumn glow part 1

It’s been the most glorious of weeks in the Alps. The tourists have long gone, the locals are resting in between seasons, and a sense of peaceful calm has descended upon the valley.

For those of us who live and play here on a permanent basis, it is the perfect time of the year. This is particularly the case for the climbers: no more scorching, energy sapping heat, no more school parties at the local crags, and no more fighting for tables at the cafes. We’ve got our valley back and we’re going to make damn sure we make the most of it before winter and the inevitable swapping of rock shoes for crampons and chalk bags for ice axes.

With manfriend back in Scotland doing some TV work and the Alps bathing in glorious autumnal sunshine, it was time for me to find some new climbing partners if I was going to make the most of this wonderful time of year. It didn’t take long to find willing companions, the only problem was that they were a slightly different breed of rock lizard to myself. Let’s just say if it was football they’d be the Barcelona and I’d be more like… well, Brechin City…

Ladies and gentlemen I give you…

Last week’s potential climbing partner number 1:

Agnieska Warszawska - the Vallee du Giffre’s most ripped and accomplished female climber and canyoning/hiking instructor. Climbing and Agnieska go together like me and Creme Eggs and she regularly climbs around the 6c mark. I climb the stairs and regularly open bottles of wine.

And next up we have potential climbing partner number 2:

John Falkiner - a Verbier based legendary mountain guide and Scarpa/Marmot sponsored athlete. John is beyond an expert in the vertical world having spent most of his life skiing, climbing and mountaineering all over the globe. He was the mountain guide and safety guy for the film Touching the Void. My contribution to this film was to sit on my sofa, and watch it whilst eating Creme Eggs. Cripes. I detected a slight mismatch.

As you can imagine for a relative novice like myself, the concept of climbing with such experts was beyond intimidating but it was also simultaneously fantastically exciting. And in my experience, these two factors make for a brilliant combination. Butterflies in your belly generally mean that something big is about to happen and how you choose to view this is really up to you.

Option 1 would be to shrink from the opportunity, politely decline the offer, and stay at home and eat Creme Eggs. This decision would be understandable as you’d ensure your ego stayed intact but deep down it would be a deeply unsatisfactory choice to have made. The other option would be to brush the ego aside, be open to the opportunity, push beyond the comfort zone and rise to the challenge.

I admit that on both occasions, I briefly toyed with the former option. This lasted for all of about five seconds before I got my head straight, ‘manned up’, picked up the phone to both mountain goats and started to make the plan…

The times they are a’changing…

After a rather tediously long absence from the rock, I got out again last week for the first time in over a month. Those of you who read my previous post will know that the last time I was oot and aboot in les montagnes I ended up with someone else’s crampon in my leg which somewhat stopped play for a while.

Add to that three weeks back in Scotland to see my folks and then a rather debilitating kidney infection upon returning to the Alps, and you’d have to be crazy to not see that perhaps the world was conspiring for you to do different things for a while!

Anyway, this week I got out again and it was only for a couple of hours on a very local crag but it was good to be back. 3 routes done: 5c, 6a and a ‘getting-back-into-it’ lead of 5a.

Nothing strenuous, nothing life punctuating but if nothing else, a perfect opportunity to try out my new Ultimate Hoody that Mammut have kindly given me in reward for annoying them lots! Great bit of kit actually - a soft shell windstopper with a funky zip system that allows you to access your harness and quickdraws with the jacket still zipped up.

And I tell you what, I think it’s going to become quite a fixture in my backpack over the next couple of months. Because people, it’s getting cold out there. In fact, the day after it snowed at 1,200m. A lot!! It’s melted now of course but one of the things that struck me most last week during my afternoon rock potter was just how cold the rock was at this time of year. This is totally new to me as I’m far more used to climbing in the baking spring/summer sunshine to the cicada soundtrack and with lizards clambering all over my chosen route.

Now I can see that keeping warm is definitely going to be the autumn challenge out here in the Alps and this is especially relevant for me as I suffer from very cold fingers and hands. Due to the fact that rock climbing isn’t really conducive to wearing gloves (lack of feel and dexterity), I’m going to be focusing on keeping my core, wrists and head as warm as possible for the next outing so as to minimise numb, useless digits and inevitable ensuing frustration…

And on that note, the next outing is hopefully going to be the end of this week as I’ve had a couple of offers to get out on the rock which are very exciting - one’s a legendary mountain guide and the other is the best female climber in the valley! No pressure then…