Its been a while since I was last on the blog so I thought I would quickly round up my 2010.
From January to April I was tied into the Plas y Brenin Fast Track Instructor scheme, this is a four month scheme for 12 students run from the centre with the intent of giving them a clear platform to launch or continue their own outdoor careers from. My role was to mentor and organise the group facilitating with their various courses and qualifications but also working alongside the other part of the Brenin’s business. Highlights included a week of winter walking in the Lake District from their Keswick base, which also saw some very snowy mountain biking. The other point to remember was a week of rock climbing in the Peak District towards the end of their course.
Once completing the four months I headed North to Scotland for a week of guiding on the West Coast in sea kayaks. Assisted with Louise Beetlestone the expedition saw a day out from Arisaig and Ardnuish, and finished with a 3 day trip around the sound of Mull and up Loch Linnhe as the winds picked up and views of a snow covered Ben Nevis came into view.
June was action packed with two weeks of kayaking in the South of France, in the Briancon and Embrun areas. The short trip saw 7 clients do battle with the classic rivers of the Durance, Guil and Ubaye sections. Whilst Spike, Sally, Ross and I made use of the abundant hours of daylight in the evening to run the Onde, Gyronde, plenty of mountain biking and even some valley cragging.
Some sunny whether followed back in the UK with plenty of evening cragging in the Llanberis Pass and out at Gogarth before July saw be back out in the Alps but this time in Austria with another two clients for a further week of guiding on the whitewater rivers around the Innsbruck area. We paddled most of the classic sections of the Inn, the Sanna and the Trisanna, before leaving back for the UK with super heavy rains forecast.
August was a wet month and started with some summer paddling on the Welsh rivers before work, involving 6am starts and mad dashes into the staffroom still togged up in drysuits before the staff meeting. Anne and I then headed South with the intention of climbing and sea kayaking on the Hampshire and Dorset coast. Strong winds and the occasional drizzle made this hard work but we did still managed the classic trips out around Old Harry’s Rocks and along into Lulworth Cove, before long fell runs back to our vehicles.
September I paid the Brenin back for my long trips and extensive holidays with some further work back in Wales, before Anne and I headed out to Kenyain October for a 3 week holiday and James and Nikki’s wedding.
The trip was a non stop adventure, 6 days were spent on the Mombasa/Diani coast at James and Nikki’s amazing wedding and involved some kayak surfing, snorkelling and even a blast at Scuba Diving on the Wasini Island Heritage site. A short turnaround in Nairobi and we headed off to the Masai Mara for a few days game drive and safari, encountering cheetah, lion, hippo, giraffe, elephant and a many many more.
A further journey up country saw us have a few rest days at the Savage Camp on the banks of the Tana River before embarking on a very quick trip to the summit of Mount Kenya (4085m) with Anne. I also chose to propose to Anne on the summit making this holiday that little bit more special.
Our final day saw a quick paddle on the Classic stretch of the Tana and finished with us both running the 8m clean waterfall of the mission. A truly awesome holiday!!!
Two weeks back in the UK and then I have just returned from a week of winter sun and rock climbing in El Chorro, Spain. The warmth made such a difference and allowed us to climb hard at the various Frontales cliffs and Despomolandia crags. Running every morning was also great fun, before returning to the artic temperatures back in the UK.
The weather this week has been super cold and looks to be set for the foreseeable future. The rivers got so cold that icicles were forming on our helmet peaks and our buoyancy aids froze over in verglas, so off to set up my winter kit and hit some of the snowy mountains before Christmas in a few weeks and the head North to Scotland for New Year.
A truly brilliant year with awesome adventures and great to meet so many new friends, I just wonder what 2011 has in store for us……..
Adamharmer 
Leave a Reply