Day 8: Rest day, future planning and meeting new friends

Today is the 1st rest day I've had and you would think I'd be taking advantage of a long lie in bed, lots of sleep and a big hearty breakfast but instead, I had about 5 hours sleep, got up at 7am and ate a bowl of cereal and croissants (my favourite thing in the world) before washing that down with about 4 cups of tea. You would also think that I would be loving being able to not do much and just chill out but those closest to me will know that after about 2 hours (maximum probably) of having nothing to do, I tend to get a little restless and bored. I like the fact that I always want to be doing something active, I don't think it's a bad thing at all.

The weather here in Chamonix isn't the best today so I won't be doing anything touristy that requires a good view to make good use of it. Instead I decided to spend some time reading and writing and then I began going over some plans for my next adventures. Lots of investigating and pricing of trips, training and equipment. There is so much I want to do and then there is even more that I have to do in order to allow me to fulfil my future dreams.

It's always a difficult thing to decide what is next on the cards, lots of questions can be asked at this time: What should I do first? What comes next? How do I arrange that? How much will it cost? What training is involved? How much time do I have to dedicate to that? The list of questions is endless really. I don't know how other people go about making sure these questions are answered but for me I usually find it best to write things down and just work through it, kind of like a to do list of questions. But that's just me. So today I took some time to write some stuff down and give me a new list of things to answer.

After a few hours of sitting around, I had to get out. So I out on my waterproof jacket and off I went to wander in the light snow around Chamonix Centre. Not heading anywhere in particular, I just strolled and looked in some shop windows before I bumped into Ben. We decided to go for a drink to pass some time and I got to enjoy one of my favourite drinks, desperados and watch some rugby in a little pub somewhere off the main beaten track. We had a spot of lunch and then went back to the hotel as Ben had to leave for home, hope all goes safely there. So here I was again back at the hotel, just relaxing with a cuppa watching some rugby before I decided to go get showered and ready for dinner. I arranged to meet up with Simon again for a few drinks after dinner. It's always nice to have an evening plan in a new place. Beats sitting watching YouTube videos alone in the room haha.

I had dinner with the guys on the weekend ice climbing trip and got to hear some great stories and learn a little more about them all and then met simon and his friend for a drink and had a great night with some new friends.

Talking about stories,. Dan (on the ice climbing weekend course) in particular has a great story to tell, he is heading to Everest in March this year and plans to out the first red nose on the summit for comic relief. As it's not really my story to tell, it's best that he tells you himself to please go to www.everestmillion.com to check it out. I do wish him all the best of luck with it and I am sure the whole expedition will be a massive success. I look forward to following all the progress online.

S xx

A small step for me...

After taking a couple of months to figure out my climbing/mountaineering options and where I want to begin, I have repeatedly changed my mind regarding the whole Kilimanjaro thing. This very famous peak, is every trekkers dream starting point at altitude and that is the down side in a way. It has become such a common dream among walkers that I have decided, for now, to postpone my trip. Of course, this is not to say that I will never climb it but for now, it is on hold.
I have not given up on my climbing / mountaineering dreams, instead I put my ideas and goals and dreams into perspective and came up with a starter plan.

Now with this plan in mind, I booked a winter mountaineering course with Jagged Globe today for 6 days and this week, I will be signing up for my 6 week intensive bootcamp course to kick start my training motivation. You can read about the course here: Jagged Globe - Winter Mountaineering

It is such a refreshing thing to finally take a step into the realm of your dreams and I could not have done it without the inspiration from Richard Parks. He reminded me that even in the face of our deepest fears, dreams are attainable no matter how far off they may seem. All you have to do is take the first step
You can follow Rich's 737 Challenge to climb the 7 Summits (Aconcagua, Mount Vinson, Kilimanjaro, Carstensz Pyramid, Everest, Denali & Elbrus) which are the highest mountains on each of the world's continents, and venture the last degree to The South Pole and Geographic North Pole. All against a 7 month clock here: http://www.737challenge.com/ and you can donate here: Donate

Bye for now
S xx

P.s: You can also follow Rich on Twitter and Facebook

T to the I to the N.T.O

So I figured that everyone has to start somewhere and without using steep Glasgow streets as my starting point, I decided to go with a real hill. Not a Munro but everyone has to start somewhere right. So Tinto was that place:

(Picture by Siobhann McClory)

Bearing in mind, I haven't been hill walking for many a year so I didn't want to have a long drive before starting out on the days adventure. Tinto reaches a height of 2320ft (707m) and as a smallish hill close to home (approx 5 miles from Lanark, i.e 24 miles from home), it's quite impressive indeed. It has a very beautiful setting even on a less than perfect day and it benefits from the usual unpredictable Scottish weather for an all round experience of a hill walking day out.

Starting out kind of late was nice because it meant the hill was a little quieter and I was able to just take my time and enjoy the view:

(Picture by Siobhann McClory)

I reach the 2 false summits and see ice in front of me and think; awesome, I'm almost there so I'll have a water break and get going on the last 100 or so metres to the top before taking in the view and starting back down. in typical Scottish weather pattern fashion, I turn around and enjoy a beautiful view and when I put my water away, turn to face the direction of the summit and all of a sudden I can't see... the fog decends so quickly:

(Picture by Siobhann McClory)

There's more of a hurry to reach the summit now before it is too late. So walking on ice and rocks and taking slightly less time than I would have liked, I make my way to the final goal. Frozen and windy, the summit is a bitter place in January but I made it:

(Picture by Siobhann McClory)

As you can see, the rocks directly in front of me are the only things that can be seen (except the other camera of course) Damn that fog, I was looking forward to avoiding getting my picture taken with the view in the background. Tinto - Done! That makes Stage one complete... what next? I guess you'll have to wait and see.

Until next time x

An idea to behold

I have so many ideas of what I want to achieve and having an idea is always a good place to start. So why not start big and in doing so, mould and shape those ideas so that they can become a reality.

This is my beginning: The Seven Summits Challenge. Consisting of Kilimanjaro, Denali, Aconcagua, Mt Vinson, Carstensz Pyramid, Elbrus and of course the highest peak in the world, Everest. (Further information on the challenge can be found here: Seven Summits Challenge)
I realise that some people may think I am a little insane for even considering the idea but aren't we all nuts for something? Whether it's driving around late at night to fulfil that chocolate craving, sticking posters on the wall or travelling around the world for concerts (me included).

We all have something that we love to do and dreams we want to achieve so why can't we just do it? Why not just take the chance, just risk everything and go for it? Isn't life there for the taking? If we hold ourselves back or let fear take over, we aren't really living the lives we could be. Even if we fail at least we tried and in trying, lies success.

So whatever it is, Dare it all and Dream it to life

Beginnings

I thought I would start with a little introduction: Hello, I'm Siobhann and I have a dream... too cliché? Seriously then:

Ever since I was young(er) I have always had an idea in my head of certain things that I want to achieve in my life. Just like everyone, there were some fairly regular things on that list: Learn to drive, have my own house, travel and many others that change and grow as you move through various stages of your life and many of which I am proud to say, I have achieved. However, there has always been one, a dream you may call it and that was to climb mountains. Not just any ones, but MOUNTAINS made of dreams. I'll give you some idea of the ones I am referring to: Ben Nevis, Mont Blanc, Everest, Annapurna, Kilimanjaro and my ultimate dream... K2. Sadly, I have always managed to avoid doing these for one reason or another but the feeling and the desire has never really gone away, no matter how much I tried to replace it with something new.

What began this transformation was back in January 2010 when I decided and promised myself that I would do what I wanted and go where I wanted and celebrate my life and my 30th birthday for a whole 12 months. What a promise that was and how much fun it was actually fulfilling that promise to myself and in doing all of the travelling and having adventures I realised something magnificent... I can accomplish anything. So at the end of December 2010, I decided that I am going to live my dreams and I am going to set out to climb the mountains of my life. Voila! My little seed of an idea had been firmly planted and watered for the first time and now there is no stopping it.

So here we are. The newest chapter in my life and the starting point of something, which I just know, is going to be wonderful.