One challenge at a time

I woke up really really early on this morning... 0245 to be precise. I think I woke up because the room was too hot so I got up, opened a window and turned down the heating. I logged onto facebook to have a quick catch up and with sadness learned of the passing of someone who I had met just the once, but who had made an impression on me. He was also friends with many of my friends from the states as he had been involved in the first Everest basecamp trek with LHS. Dan had fought against Cancer with courage and a spirit that was an inspiration to many. The title of this blog were his words on his last fb post. R.I.P Dan and LHS to all those mourning his loss. It was a privilege to meet you. I finally got back to sleep to be woken by my Alarm clock to the start of my final whole day in Venabu. I had decided that I didn't want to join the tour today but instead ski at my own pace and try and practice some of the new things I had learnt. Stefan also wanted to avoid the tour a...

Day 6.. the body was just about still willing. The brain was starting to wish I had more time here. Yesterday's snowshoe journey had been tough but on a whole different set of muscles than other days... so it had felt like a bit of a rest day. Because of that, I felt ready for the short intermediate ski tour today and had signed my name up on the wall. My trepidation increased somewhat when I learned that we would be getting a bus a little way south, essentially to the top of a hill and then ski our way back to the hotel... the problem... mainly down and I am still not hugely confident about stopping. Still, I piled on the bus with the others and we had a ten minute ride out to Trebilia. Once there we strapped on the skis and went off... all following each other, gliding gently down at times, other times striding uphill. So far so good. Then we came to a steep slope, well steep for me. My courage failed me slightly and I took off my skis for the first part of the hill, fe...

Today was billed as a 'rest day' ... well at least a rest from Classic skiing. Having watched both types of cross country skiing, classic or diagonal stride and freestyle or skating style... I was very keen to try them both. This holiday basically provided instruction in the classic style but I had asked one of the other instructors if I could get a lesson in skating. Initially it looked as though I would have to miss the snowshoe tour this morning but after 4 people including myself had signed up, it was moved to the afternoon so I got to go on the snowshoe tour after all. I had been warned by people who had been here before that the snowshoe tour was in no means an easy option for the day, just utilising different muscles than the ones used for classic skiing. Great... those muscles needed a rest! So I was down in the ski hall very promptly at 9am ready to get on the snowshoes. I had had to squeeze both heels into my hiking boots for this and after redressing both he...

Thank you to all my friends who sent me pictures of the snow in Reading with the message... 'Don't know why you bothered to go to Norway'... just so you are aware... This...  is not snow... This...  is! So as you might have read on the day 3 blog... I am in some pain as the skin on the back of both heels is non-existent due to a bad fitting pair of boots on the first day of skiing (day 2). Day 3  made them worse and I was concerned on the morning of day 4 that I would go with the short intermediate group and find myself 5 miles and a few hills from the hotel.. not being able to go any further due to the pain. Therefore I stuck myself back in the beginners group as they were staying near the hotel, practicing technique so if I was in too much pain, I could try another pair of boots, or add another insert. Remember I was already on my third pair!  So we strolled down to the nursery area and played netball and tag and other games designed to improve our...

It was a bit chilly when we headed out in the morning.... a green wax day again. I had once again arrived at the ski hall ready and raring to go... with the pair of boots that I had yesterday afternoon. Squished toes but non slip heels. The plan for today was to join the beginners ski tour and then go for a uphill/downhill lesson in the afternoon. All good. And then one of the instructors came round to some of us in the beginners class and suggested that we join the intermediate short tour. Hmmm thats a bit scary.. especially when the lesson on stopping is this afternoon. Hey ho. So off we went, striding and gliding. A line of shuffling skiers in the classic track. It was cold still but once again, my clothes seemed to be ok. Today I had swapped a sweater for my down gillet which had the advantage of having a chest pocket, meaning I could put my phone in there protecting it from the cold a little more. As we climbed up towards a mountain, I felt pretty good. I was howev...

Day 2 was a reasonably early start... I woke early enough to try and get my gear in order for the day... all without really having a clue. Harder than it sounds. I sat at breakfast with a little apprehension and a little excitement. Having spent a reasonable amount to get here and invested a bit of time and effort into the off road rollerskis... it would be a shame if I didn't like it! After breakfast I went down to the ski hall... in my eagerness I was a little early so sat and stared out of the window. White mountains rose up in the distance, the outline etched perfectly against a bright blue sky. The snow looked perfect and I could see some tracks stretching into the distance.... not yet... need to learn to ski first! The first hour was spent learning about and waxing the skis... for classic skiing, a little grip wax is applied to a small area of the ski so that you are able to get purchase with the steps forward. Stride and glide was the watchword. The rest of the ski...

It began at 0600.... Paul, having offered to drive me to Heathrow, by some miracle, had crawled out of bed , showered and was ready to go by the allotted time. Miracle because usually us getting up early to go somewhere consists of me almost literally dragging him out of bed! Once on the plane, I settled down with a book.... no it wasn't a novel... yes it involved Everest... and I was transported to a world of snow, ice, avalanches, and altitude for the very pleasant 2 hour flight. Every now and then I glanced out of the window and eventually saw snow capped forested hills and mountains with lakes, and rivers and everything required for adventure. I could sense I was going to like this country already. I have been to Scandinavia... Denmark and Sweden to be exact and the bits I saw involved few mountains or areas of possible adventure. In fact I was a little disappointed as I had imagined something a little more wild. Norway, seen from a plane, looked more like I had dreamed....

Firstly.... clear your minds of whatever filth that came into your mind when you read the title of this blog.... I meant 'training'! I'm not a person who trains well... if at all if I can help it. I would much prefer to suffer that bit more if it means I needn't spend hours practicing for the real thing. Lets face it... I got away with in on Route 66, and New Zealand. But I have to face up to the fact that my Tour Divide attempt may have gone better, if I had put a few more hours training in...equally it may not have done, but I am left wondering a little. I don't doubt that I gave everything I had at the time and expended every ounce of strength I had... but there is still a slight what if left revolving round my brain. Add that to the inevitable fact that age makes it harder. I can still go out, with little to no training and hike 20 miles up hills.... but my muscles certainly let me know about it the next day.  This year... 2019 is go...