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

Sometimes it's good to step back and rejuvenate your plans

It's been such a long time since my last update and you may think that I have forgotten or abandoned this place but it's actually been all go here. I've spent a lot of time calculating and saving and doing meticulous research for my future dreams and lots and lots of training to get myself in the right mindset to tackle the project without distractions. That was more difficult than I anticipated really.

The first thing I had to do was determine what; after the mountaineering course; came next in the plan. When looking back at my old plans, they were just a rough sketch and were not as realistic and as indepth as I needed them to be. Now if I have learned anything from my time studying various courses, both at work and university, it is that you have to set yourself SMART objectives. (i.e Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely) to give yourself the biggest chance of success.. So I had to go back to the start and re-plan. That meant scrapping my rough plan and sitting down to write a whole new one.

As the long term dream is such a massive one, it had to be broken down into 2 year increments so that I could focus on taking steps rather than huge leaps which would inevitably be detrimental in the long run.
So for the next step in the plan I broke it down to 2 choices, an advanced mountaineering course at altitude or ice climbing. Both are beneficial as the altitude exposure and Ice climbing skills are a major part of the long term goal. In the end, it came down to what skills would take longer to perfect and after some research and finding a suitable course, I decided to go on an Ice Climbing course in Chamonix and Cogne in January with Jagged globe. That way I have exposure to altitude and am getting more ice climbing experience. 2 birds: 1 stone. Especially if I manage to squeeze in a few extra days around it but that's another story.

Over the past few months I have been doing so much climbing as part of my training programme to get myself strong and fit for the challenges ahead. Most of my training takes place at the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena where I go climbing for around 6 hours a day, 3 times a week. On top of that, once a month, I practise my ice climbing at the Ice Factor in Kinlochleven for 2-4 hours. I have also added in gym sessions a 3 times a week in order to help build core and back strength. I am still nowhere near ready but I am definitely a lot closer than I was at the start of the year. Now, with more appropriate SMART objectives, I am in the right frame of mind for it and after another 7 months of hard work and training, I'll be ready.

It's definitely a great feeling to have a plan in place towards your dreams and now with my next adventure just around the corner, Fun is definitely in my immediate future.

The words of wisdom today are:

Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use ~ Earl Nightingale

S xx

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