Reconnecting when I should be reflecting

Hey big wide world.

So right now I should be doing an assignment on reflection (presses snooze button). Instead I thought ,I'd tell anyone that actually reads this old (electronic) rag , what's happening this winter with the adventurist.

Last Thursday after truly insightful conversation with Simon Baker, I set about contacting various organisations to really get some wheels on this expedition train moving. The most important of which I feel , is the massive grey cloud over the whole thing, nutrition. So I emailed the head of sports nutrition and bio mechanics at arguably the best sports science Uni in the country, Loughborough. He replied registering his interest to aid however he can. This looks to be a truly promising and exciting link.

As winter is finally here, I'll be road tripping up to the Lakes and Scotland with some of my fearless comrades =] . With this will come a whole tonne of gear reviews , from ice axes and crampons to hooded base layers and  waterproof trousers. I'll also be undertaking a mini solo expedition late January up north of the border , so stay tuned for a whole host of awesome pictures and a full trip report from that.

In the mean time, get after it ! There's a whole world out there just waiting for YOU.

Keep Adventuring and I'll leave you with this.

People are good.

   After what was quite an epic night out ( started at 10pm , got in at 7am ) , I sat down on my bed and started to watch the below video on First Descents and another cool non- profit that works with Native American tribes. I just deleted a big paragraph because my opinion on peoples quick judgments is not at all important. What is important is that you watch some of the video below. Take it in, and change.

http://byutv.org/watch/937a3970-27a0-4c49-82f6-278f8ea92f60#ooid=hwd3B0MjoOXn83l_V3r2ZP5eOAXHhHI9

I watched the First Descents portion of the video with re-ignition. I needed reminding of the amazing work that the staff at FD do and more impressively the awesome tasks that the participants take on from day 1. I say again . If you have cancer , have had cancer , know someone with cancer. Get in contact now ! Fly out to the US and prepare to have your life changed . For those who have never had cancer get involved . Donate, Run a race volunteer , or just tell someone else about it . This is not a company , not a organisation. It is a family . An ever loving group of people that though separated sometimes by oceans, is still connected. Help it grow.

Love and Blessing to Nicknames Family.
I never had the pleasure of meeting you ,but my god you seem cool :)

You know its time to head home ... When you've got wet balls : The Bowfell Story

A paragliding friend of mine once told me how cool it is to fly up in the clouds. He called it the White Room . Sounds pretty cool right ? Poetic even. This is not always the case.

 The location for my latest adventure was a up in the Langdales. Louis, Paddy and I planned to do a route know as the Langdale horseshoe with a cheeky extension to the highest point in England , Scafell Pike. The day started off with some epic disco tunes from Gloria Gaynor and The Jackson 5. After a short journey including some questionable driving from Paddy , we arrived in an extremely gray Lake District. Thick fog clung to the mountain quietly jeering " Your going to have a fun day with me up here". However the first mile or so was fairly easy going and the weather not far from Amazonian. Muggy , sweaty but dry. I spent the first half of the day in just a t-shirt I was so hot. 

This tropical weather faded quickly as our ascent continued. The fog got thicker with each metre gained and as we topped out of what is known as 'the band' , Mr. Wind joined the party. We made short work of a small section of flat and sped past what , that day must have been the most miserable group of high school girls ever. I did not envy those teachers. 

The thing you should know about Bow Fell is that shes a deceptive little bitch especially in the fog. You'll see what looks like the summit , there are even rocks that look like Cairns. But we weren't there yet. Yesss there it is . Nope still a fake one. Finally we reached the summit . 

Now I thought that the teachers of those girls was as bad as a day on this mountain could get. But they were nowhere near the title of worlds worst job on that day. Though commendable they took second place. The winners of worlds worst job on the mountain goes to ( drum roll please.) The two radio check point men stood at the top all day ! Congratulations ! You see, on this wet and windy day in East Cumbria several hundred ridiculously fit and equally crazy fell runners gathered for the Langdale Horseshoe Fell race. The men at the summit were a radio checkpoint and they were in it for the long haul. 

We quickly scoffed down some lunch before making an executive decision that it was time to call it a day. Once we'd planned an escape route , we were of in search of the pub. We made light work of the descent and after the best views we had seen all day and a fantastic 'legs over head' epic fail from me we got back to the car we enjoyed 8 caramel short breads and 4 maple donuts for TWO QUID !! 

Gear of the day goes to the Patagonia R1 hoodie. This piece is super lightweight, an excellent fit, and as warm as fleeces twice its weight. The hood and offside zip are awesome at keeping the heat from escaping from your head even if fully zipped up you do look like a condom crossed with a ninja. This piece is seldom going to leave my pack and I can't wait to use it in colder climates. 

We should be able to see this peak in the distance .... 

Shepherds , Running and Google Earth

It been a while but I thought I'd check back in with the world of blogging .

This is kind of the first mention on here of my FD challenge... Well I say its an FD challenge I should say obsession. The next 2 years of my life are going to be pretty much dedicated to achieving this massive goal.

The first stage of my massive undertaking is getting fit, which includes the devils exercise itself. Running. Ergghhh , even the word makes me sigh with misery. But its a means to an ends. BodyPump on the other hand is where its at ! Epic cheesy club tunes. Burner of a work out. Rivers of sweat dripping off which ever scrabby t-shirt I've worn that session . Now that's what I call fun =]

Climbing is also going to be a big part of my trip, with some of the snowy faces reaching a daunting 70deg angle. Snow isn't unseen in many parts of the world at this time of year . However here in England we've hit a mini heat wave providing me the perfect excuse (not that you really ever need one) to go climbing .

Sheperds Crag was the venue and starting the day , I was not as psyked as Loz for the climbs to come, but I digress. Our first route of the day, Ardous (MVS, 4b), had it all. I led the first pitch .A chossy slab with ample gear and a fair amount to hold to. You reach a comfy belay nest through a somewhat bold step across. Pitch 2 changes things up , presenting climbers with a right wandering crack which is much steeper than it first looks. Hand holds are scarce and emphasis lies solely ( pun intended ) with your feet. Massive spike to start a  pitch with protection a plenty. The final stretch of this 3 star beaut is a bold traverse with great problem solving. The crux definitely gets the heart going with a ' will they/ won't they stick ' moments for your feet before gaining an average top out . Definitely deserves the 3 stars its given.

Now for the dark horse of the day. Fisherman's Folly (VS 4c) wasn't happening for us on this particular day. So we moved over to CDM . With cobwebs in most of the cracks and an encroaching tree to the right this climb needed some TLC. The neglect is understandable as its within sniffing distance of the 3 star fisherman's , however with some traffic CDM would be cleaned out and bumped up to a 3 star route. The gear is bomber, the route is steep and the moves just flow. Brilliant route . Go climb it.

Must get back to google earth . This expedition isn't going to plan itself...

Divergent thinking - Education = Force Uniformity = Stunted Collective Mental Growth

/\ Watch the video  /\

                             

Soo I'm casually surfing facebook, thinking about how awesome the pancakes I had this morning were and realising that drinking more water is the key to being more alert and awake, when I find this in my news feed from the guys of 'The Tribe'. A group of kayakers on the frontier of their sport, running huge waterfalls and burley rapids daily. I often recieve interesting stuff from them , latest beatdown videos , kayaking news or awesome music referals . But this, this is something much more interesting .

The video is a animation of a seminar given by Sir Ken Robinson at the RSA. Robinson is a renowned education and creativity expert and quite frankly has blown my mind.

The one section that really hit me square in the jaw was the 'anethesis' of the current education system. Learning should be purposeful , passionate and flavoursome. For all you aspiring teachers out there lets make it happen!

First post - For First Descents !

Just a little re-cap

Over the past two months I've been volunteering for an amazing cause . First Descents, a non profit organization who's purpose is to bring together young adults who have / have had cancer , for a week of adventure therapy. Whether its climbing in Estes Park , CO , whitewater kayaking on the Salmon River , ID or hiking up Mt. Hood in Hood River , OR.

(Wallaby, Mamma Bear, 8 ball, Toque, Bugz, Miss Robinson and Beef Eater

The participants come  from all over the country and some even further afield . Los Angeles, CA ( Shawn John Won Ton) , Portland, OR (Squirrel Gurl and E Paso), Alberta , Canada (Beef Eater and Touque) and even Melbourne , Australia (Dory) .




Now I can tell, your sitting there at home , and thinking, who in there right mind would call there child 'Squirrel Gurl' or 'Beef Eater'. This is one of the first things the campers get met with when we pick them up from the airport , nicknames. Other than being a great conversation starter (how'd you get yours) , its main purpose is a start over, a clean sheet. I really believe it allows the campers to begin to leave the strains and stresses of there life back at home , behind.

The weeks generally shape up like so .

Does this boat make my bum look big ?

Day 1 , Settle in , get to know everyone and a BBQ =]

Day 2-3, Getting to grips with the basics of the sports .

Day 2 - Hood River - Rollan Lake . Games of polo rarely stay peaceful

For the kayakers - Wet exits, eskimo rescues, paddling technique and crazy games such as 'All in' Kayak polo, the slightly hazardous, but totally hilarious Piano Keys and huge Tug of war contests.

For the climbers - Belaying, Abseiling (Rappeling for the yanks among us) and an intro to climbing technique.




 Mid week gives the campers a day off , however the adventure doesn't slow up with camper, Whitewater Rafting, Hiking and Horseback rides before walks around the local town and some actual down time.

Rafting the rather big 'Little White Salmon'

  After a few days of learning the ropes ( pun totally intended ) the final day brings together all the campers have learned to a day of graduation . This part always blows me away. After less than a week doing the activity the participants are launched into the fray. For the kayakers a they are faced with a grade 3+ rapid scouting potential lines and picking their own way through the rapid. The climbers tackle a 5-6 pitch climb without the assistance of the instructors or volunteer staff.

Cussing Crack- Sustained 5.7 with some 5.8

 Now for people who have just started kayaking or climbing this would be impressive.

At the T.O.P. with my climbing partner for the day , Panda

   But from my experiences at camp these are no ordinary people. Many of these campers are mid way through chemo treatments and dealing with all that comes with that- nausea , fatigue, sleeplessness etc. Others are just in remission and have changed dramatically  putting on or losing considerable weight and losing coordination. In short they are the strongest, most inspirational people I have had the pleasure to meet.

Squirrel Girl here , showing us how the nutters do it...

The B.A.M.F. herself

(Mother may be reading) So EFF! impressive. How about bloody astounding to see and mind-blowingly (screw you dictionary) game changing to be a part of.


 Yes. I said game changing. If you come truly open to the experience at First descents , campers and volunteers alike, it will change you . The way you think, the way you go about everyday business and for me the way I throw myself ( previously not so ) into the sports I love. If a blind man can throw himself down rapids , with no second thoughts and complete trust in the people around him. If a women who has had over 15 brain surgeries , losing a lot of her coordination can climb her first multi-pitch screaming (sorry mother) 'BAD ASS MOTHER FUCKER !!' , then what the hell am I doing being tentative and anxious about climbing and kayaking.








At the end of each trip, the campers must leave. I hate it. Over the space of a week we have laughed together, cried together and kicked ass together. Yes the kayaking and the climbing is great and extremely valuable to the campers experience. It equips the campers with a new found confidence, a realization of their mental and physical strength. But , and this is a huge but. The activities are secondary, to the family that is formed. Every night camp fires are lit and the participants and staff gather round for a bit of a get-together. This is where the community is really formed, campers share there experiences with cancer , what the camps have meant to them, their hopes for the future. Many of the things discussed at the camp fires , the campers have never discussed with anyone. But within a few days of laughs , sweat and tears the communities formed at the camps offer a safe and supportive environment for both campers and staff to get it all out there and leave it at the fire. This , I feel is the real magic of FD.

Me, Dory, Jwana, Ames and Spring Roll

I asked a few of the campers some questions about FD , heres what they had to say . 

1. 5 words to say to someone who needs to get their asses to FD ?

Cancer doesn't mean you're beaten

It will change your life

You will never stop smiling! 


2. 4 ingredients that make the perfect FD recipe ?

One cancer warrior/veteran. An unthinkable challange. Positive energy. Friends who understand the fight 

Compassion. Strength. Laught​er. Adventure.

Awesome people. Adventure. Laughter. Understanding. 
 

Ain't no party , like a Van roof party !

 If your 18-40 and have or have had cancer , I urge you to sign up. For everyone else do what you can, give up a week of your summer and volunteer, run and race and get sponsored or simply donate.

I promise you , You will never look back 

To everyone that has made my summer with FD the best ever, you know who you are. Thankyou.

Some of the Beasties at the T.O.P.

A few years ago I had this idea for a magazine.

All the adventure sports I enjoy in one place . Gear reviews , News , Interviews with my friends about there adventures, Films and Music .

So here goes 

Stay tuned , Enjoy and Get out there !!!