3162 miles (+ a few more for wrong turns) to go!

As I pack for another adventure, I cant help but think back down memory lane to past exploits and expeditions. After many years on the road in a past life as a mountain guide.

It is a good feeling to know we will soon be back in the French Alps for a bit of r & r, “hitting the slopes”, thats the terminology now days I believe, before a little local exploration, of the local climbs, food and no doubt a few beers to help us sleep. 

As is exciting as it is to be heading to the mountains, I also cant wait to get the cameras out and get to record the experience of traveling with my friends, sharing in Pete’s journey to the Ice Climbing World Cup in Switzerland. Now that I am a film maker and an artists I wonder how I will see the mountains, rather than the pure thrill I used to feel, will I experience that profound poetic beauty that is often associated with these environments, and most of all how am I going to capture it? Will it be with my newly acquired old school brownie camera, re creating some of those historic photos of days gone by, towering mountains, canvas clothes, and hob nail boots, just with a slightly modern twist. Or am I gonna rely, as we tend to do, on digital imagery shot on DSLR’s and swanky smart phones, only time will tell.  

After a week of getting everything done, tying up loose ends, and trying to fit in packing and preparing, its nice to know the bags are packed, now we just got to try and fit it in all in the beast, alongside five hyped up guys, a interesting mix of athletes, hippies, climbers, artists, and Alps virgins. I am not gonna lie it was a bit like the tetris olympics finals trying to squeeze and shape everything in to the remaining voids. Well I am glad to say thats us, were under way, I am currently now sitting in the back of Pete’s mean machine, writing this blog, waiting for Dale to get his quad-copter fixed. Just one of the many many modern day toys we have managed to cram in to our home for the next fifteen days or so, I say home but I got a little tent stowed away for me and the hippy, four foot nothing bed and five guys is a step to far for even me! 

No real agenda, good friends, and good attitudes, what could possibly go wrong? Time for some old school tunes as we head further south through the rest of England, and then onwards, on our relay through France, to Chamonix. See you all there!