Ep.2 - Climbing Ben Nevis In Storm Ciara
The Mountain With Its Head In The Clouds Ben Nevis is the tallest mountain in the UK. Being only 1345m high you’d think that would be nothing to brag about, but what the UK lacks in height it more than makes up for in elevation gain and most importantly: weather. In hindsight, I’ve had seeds sown all my life to adventure in the outdoors. I discuss this further on a podcast I featured on with Destinations Beyond Expectations. As I began to love hiking – which is continuously growing more and more – I decided to do the National Three Peaks in my own debut way. I’d climb them in winter! Winter Is Coming In summer, you just need to make sure you bring water and good boots for most of our mountains. In winter, it’s a different situation. I know, it sounds a bit crazy to do something like this, right? Well, let me briefly explain before you listen how myself and my best friend – Dan – ended up doing this. I had climbed Snowdon successfully in December covered in… well, snow. I had reached the top of Scafell Pike through 60+mph winds solo in January. Finally, I had this date planned to go to Ben Nevis and tick the last one off. Then the forecast announced a storm was coming. This completely changed everything. But not our decision to climb. Where I was packing a coffee flask, first aid, and a dry bag before, our kit list now grew more. We kept a close eye on the forecast the whole way through, keeping updated on everything. I checked the avalanche report daily and right up until we left I was checking the summit forecast, hourly at the end! I had already dealt with extremely high wind at Scafell Pike (the way down was worse!), so I knew what that would feel like. I had watched every YouTube video and read all the articles I could find to check out the route. We had spikes, safety kit, map… and an epic forecast. We were good to go! Climbing In A Storm A bit of an epic day would be an understatement. This experience was incredible! But we were safe (as I discuss, links below!) and everything went perfectly. Why? Because of the planning and preparation we put in place. There is a lake at around 500m on the Mountain Track route. That’s where the snow and wind really started to pick up. After this, there was a cover from the wind by a waterfall where we got our spikes on. Then it was the high winds, harder wind gusts, and just us two climbing to the top. We hiked past so many people who were on their way down. Some due to the lack of visibility, some due to wind, some to snow. But Dan and I kept pushing on. At no point were we ever in any real danger as we had mitigated so much, and there are no knife edge routes on this popular yet long and strenuous route. Just before we did the summit push at around 1200m, we met the only other two people who had got that far. Thinking it a smart idea, we decided to stick together and move as a group, Storm Ciara taking our balance frequently. Things were very windy (80-90+mph gusts) with occasional white-outs on the way up. But we did it! I managed to get footage of some of the calmer moments, but the summit was different. One word: Epic – and I gave my self no option but to make sure I filmed it! Don’t Be A Fool What I took away from this was my first proper lesson in mitigating risk, working hard, staying alert, and it paying off. We were back at the car and ready to set home just before the official yellow warning was put in place at 15:00. But know your limits, and research as much as you can. 4 ‘hikers’ had to be saved by 22 mountain rescuers sent out two days after us. They went out with no appropriate clothing, trainers, no crampons, no map etc. Please, even if it’s the summer, take hiking seriously (but remember to smile!). I want to listen, now! Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and all other platforms; just search “Between The Mountains”! If you enjoy the show please subscribe/follow and share with a friend! If you really enjoy the show please check out our Patreon site here, starting from only £4 (that’s only a cup of coffee each month!). This really helps support the background costs and quality of episodes! To come on the show or work with me, please email on: btmtravelpod@gmail.com Join in with the community. Instagram/Twitter/Facebook and our new Facebook Page to share your own photos and videos here https://betweenthemountains.org/2020/06/21/ben-nevis-storm-ciara/ https://betweenthemountains.org/
30 Mars 202016min
Ep.1 - Roadtrip To The Swiss Alps
Escapism Sometimes, you just need to get away. You need to escape to free your headspace and start lifting the fog in front of your eyes. For Episode 1 I thought I would discuss my very own "Episode 1" and the moment I was bitten by the travel bug. I was doing just exactly as I stated above: escaping. It was a fairly difficult time of my life. Quite heavy for someone of my age and level of life-experience. I was working in a 50+ hour a week job, never had any weekends, with 4 days annual leave remaining. I was thinking of escaping to Greece and sitting by a pool for a week, just like most of my childhood holidays. But, I had this car (pictured above). My colleague suggested I do a roadtrip in it, to which I promised I'd look into it. As soon as I did, I was hooked. I researched all the best driving roads, all of the best locations and routes. Google Maps was my friend and each night after work and my personal life could pause I planned a day of my trip. Since I got back, nothing has been the same. Or maybe, 'Same Same But Different'. My First Podcast - My First Roadtrip This is my first travel podcast and it is just myself talking. The podcast typically jumps from interviews, to recommendations, to people's itineraries. So, excuse my shaky or quiet voice, and I hope I don't lose you as I tell you all the details of what would become my first of many roadtrips. The Roadtrip - To Switzerland And Back! As you'll hear in the podcast, the first thing I recommend you do is sleep 8 hours per night! Or, simply shorten your drives each day and take more days off/travel less. This trip was just under a week and took me from Dover-Geneva, Geneva-Bern (featuring the Furka Pass drive!), Bern-Amsterdam and Amsterdam-Dover. I also seemed to have some nice luck on my side. The night I arrived in Geneva was the day before their National Day. Which meant that the following night in Bern I was able to go our and enjoy the night with strangers, celebrating into the early hours of the morning. Although driving from Bern to Amsterdam in a day was long, I couldn't recommend a trip like this highly enough to you all. --------------------- If you enjoy the show please subscribe/follow and share with a friend! If you really enjoy the show please check out our Patreon site here, starting from only £4 (that’s only a cup of coffee each month!). This really helps support the background costs and quality of episodes! To come on the show or work with me, please email on: btmtravelpod@gmail.com Join in with the community. Instagram/Twitter/Facebook and our new Facebook Page to share your own photos and videos here https://betweenthemountains.org/2020/06/21/ep-1-roadtrip-to-the-swiss-alps/ https://betweenthemountains.org/
30 Mars 202024min
