Catbells

Feeling that I had ignored my family on Sunday climbing Helvellyn, I thought I'd take them up Catbells. A tiny pimple of a fell, so thought I'd carry my youngest daughter on my back. 3 hours with her on my back should help with the fitness...
Proud of my eldest as this is her first "mountain" without any assistance. Well done Morgan!

Getting into the mountains

Weather looked good at the weekend, so I jumped on the train on Friday to head back up to the Lakes. Managed to get on a couple of big walks (Skiddaw and Haystacks).

Good news... after nearly 7 hours walking, I didn't get one blister. Phew!

New shoes!

After trying on a bunch of different makes and sizes. Here are my new boots ;-) La Sportiva Nepal Extreme

I tried the Scarpa Cumbre and the Mont Blanc, but they felt like wellington boots. And, that's just a recipe for blisters...

These puppies fit like a glove and come in half sizes.

Just seen Mont Blanc in the flesh

Skiing in the 3 Valleys at the moment. Weather was beautiful yesterday and we saw the mountain from Val Thorens. Phew, it's big - towering over all of the other peaks in the area.

I now have a new sense of urgency to get fit and prepare myself...

Best get a few hard days skiing in.

The BIG 40

Well, it was my birthday yesterday. So a few thoughts about getting older, a cold hard look in the mirror and a rather large birthday supper with my lovely wife.

Now that's out of the way, and the fact that I'm in my 40's, means I better focus on getting fit...

The right boots for the job

Looking at the suggested list of equipment, it looks like I've got most of the things I need. However, I'm not sure my current hiking boots will suffice, so best think about getting a pair of mountain boots that will work in snowy, cold conditions. So, thinking about the Scarpa Cumbre GSB.
Here's a bit of blurb from the website: The Cumbre GSB by Scarpa is a classic mountaineering boot, that offers high performance, and exceptional durability, from an alpine and winter mountaineering boot. Perfect for UK winter routes and ice climbing, this boot is equally at home on a Himalayan peak of up to 6500m, summer alpine trips and ice climbing/cragging trips.

Might try-on a pair on my next trip to the Lake District. Will need to buy them with enough time to wear them in before the trip...

Things to do on the top of Mont Blanc

Found this image on Google. Jacuzzi on the top of Mont Blanc.

Now there's an idea...
Come on lads, are you up for it?