I'm putting this out here, just in case... I am taking a bit of time off (again) to do what we all love the most. No fixed plans, this time I am thinking of 6 months on the road to Caucasus and back. I have, a Toyota 4x4 Hilux with Bimobil pod, so I figure I should drive it until I meet rough enough roads to warrant the 4x4 investment. Ushba looks beautiful and I have all the time in the world (almost).
My climbing partners have changed a bit recently and I always welcome new ones. I haven’t usually struggled finding company on the fly, but while I am still in London until end of March, perhaps I could start finding new friends already. So, if you have time and the stoke, let’s meet up and see if our plans and pace would match for some fun missions together?!
What am I thinking: April - May - around Chamonix and Ceuse getting fit, steep skiing and ticking some tricky classics. Then June-July in Dolomites. I’ve got my eyes set on Hasse Bradler and something from Tofana di Rozes. After that, in July, bum in my camper eastwards, heading towards Caucasus though Bulgaria & Turkey until about September. I can be tempted to alter the plan, e.g. the Albanian climbing festival in May could be a laugh!
My log book is more or less up to date - I lived in Chamonix and Finale Ligure just recently for 5 years. Last summer I drove down to Kalymnos via Transylvania, Bulgaria, Cappadocia and Geyikbayiri so this time I’d like to go further. I dream of the mountains and exotic travels.
The boring CV part: I am an ok mountaineer (Kuffner Arete is my level, so nothing crazy), fairly solid F7A sports climber with highest onsight F7B. In trad I am lead happily F6b+ which I am planning to bump up this spring. Mixed climbing I do to the level that I need for my steep skiing. I also like just the plain old walking: long approaches are my twisted fetish.
Send me an e-mail and let's talk. And if you have any practical tips or contacts along the way, comment away!
