On my bike....

I'm now officially car-less. It's a sad state to be in, as to get to work by public transport takes at least 2.5 times as long as driving. So, this morning I attempted the impossible...

I cycled to work!!

Amazingly, it took around the same time as it does on the bus, but is far healthier and cheaper. I may try again sometime.

Switzerland.......in Spring!

Well, it started off okay. A nice easy walk from Mannlichen to Kleine Schiedegg, enjoying the alpine flowers. It was drizzling, but an okay day. Then, we woke up to this....




Not quite what I'd planned for! Would've been fun if I'd had my skis with me. Still, we made the best of it, and had quite a lot of sun for the rest of the week.

Most of the mountain paths were closed due to snow/avalanche risk, but did manage to First-Bachalpsee in knee deep snow. I guess I'll just have to go back when the weather is better.

Fox House

Went off to Fox House to try and find some people. I just can't believe that I'm in the 2nd most visited national park in the world!! Eventually I found a group of climbers on Burbage edge...but it took a fair amount of hunting.

The weather was beautiful, and I wished I could have stayed out longer. It was the perfect spring evening. However, if I'd done Stanage edge as well, it would have been dark before I got back.

....And Again

I'm a creature of habit. I find a walk that I like and do it over and over again. So, in that spirit, and with the limitations put on me by my car, I returned to Houndkirk Moor. Once again, I was surprised by how empty the place was. Okay, so it looked like it was going to rain, but really....three kids and a dog isn't quite what you expect to meet on a 1 1/2 hour walk that is no more than 15 mins from the centre of Sheffield.

Fortunatley the rain held off, and I had a nice stroll across the moor, and along Burbage Edge. And no, there wasn't an ice cream van at Upper Burbage Bridge :-(

Houndkirk Moor

Sad news. My car is has a terminal diagnosis :-(

The result is that I can't quite get back from work without it overheating. The midway point in my journey is somewhere near Ringinglow, so I decided to stop there and go for a walk on Houndkirk/Burbage Moor.

Usually when I go out in this area, I'm parked at Foxhouse and doing navigation training, so it was nice just to be able to wander. It is great how many nice places there are walk, that are within easy reach of work or home.

As with Ladybower, I was amazed how few people there were out on a beautiful spring evening. Still, mustn't complain....it's better than it being busy!

Ladybower

One of things I love about the light evenings, is being able to get out to the Peaks after work. It's amazing how quiet it is. The past couple of weeks I've been out four or five times to Ladybower. If I park on the A57, it's a nice walk to Fairholmes and back, round past Derwent dam. It also has the added bonus of toilets half way round (I drink far too much tea at work!).

At this time of year, it's quite common to see low flying aircraft trying to emulate the dam busters practices...however the one that I saw tonight was even lower than usual. It was quite a sight, and I almost felt that if I reached up that I could touch it.

Edale

Or to be technically correct, Upper Booth.

This has to be my favourite campsite in the Peaks. It's isolated enough that it feels like a proper rural campsite, and you wake up to amazing views of the hills around you. It's even nicer when I'm not sharing it with 100s of teenagers, but...hey hum!

We spent both nights at the same campsite, with two of the groups heading up onto Kinder on Sat, and the other heading along Crowden Edge towards Edale Cross, before doubling back towards Edale. Tony & I had a lazy morning, not expecting anyone back before 3pm. We were just about to go for a walk when one of the groups arrived back at the campsite. They were adamant that they had been to Kinder Downfall and back...but couldn't describe what Kinder Downfall looked like! (Yes, it was the same group that didn't know where Stanage Edge was). So we went for a stroll to Edale instead. They've not long opened their new visitor centre, so we went for a look round that. A fair amount of it is dedicated to the Mass Trespass that occurred on Kinder Scout in 1932, and was the catalyst for the opening up of much of our countryside to the general public.

Hathersage

Last year I had good intentions to keep this up-to-date throughout the summer as well as the winter, and it came to nothing. So this year, I'll try harder!

Life is busy at the moment. No sooner had I got back from Austria, I was thrown into busyness at work, with two weekends in the Peak District on D of E practices.

This weekend we've been in Hathersage. One of the great myths about running The Duke of Edinburgh's Award is that I have to do lots of walking. In fact, it's the precise opposite. The students do lots of walking, and I do lots of driving/sitting in tea shops/hanging around the campsite. I was based at Glenbrook Guide Association campsite (on the main road between Bamford and Hope), and had one group with me on Friday night, and two on Saturday. The other night they were at Hagg Farm campsite (just off the Snake Pass). They had a short walk on Fri evening, a long walk between the two camps on Sat, and then a shorter walk on Sunday.

Group dynamics were interesting, as were some of their navigation skills. Quote of the weekend goes to one group who phoned me up lost on Sunday.

Me: "So, where are you?"
Them: "Don't know"
Me: "Any idea at all? What can you see?"
Them: "We think we can see Stanage Edge. What does Stanage Edge look like?"

Er....well, it's big, and it's an edge, and.....

Wagrain - Part 2

This week it's been even hotter than last week. It's been reported to be 24-25C in the valley during the day. Not surprisingly, the snow is suffering, and it is no longer possible to ski back to Wagrain. There's something a bit depressing about "downloading" in a gondola rather than being able to ski home. The snow up top is being well managed, and there is still good skiing around. We've spent more time in Alpendorf this week, as it is more suited to the large numbers of beginners we have.

We did a torchlit walk on Sunday evening. There's something dangerous yet exciting about letting teenagers carry fire! Fortunatley nothing burned that shouldn't have done.

We had one kid visit hospital yesterday. Nothing serious, but after not having any injuries last week, I thought I was on a roll! Still one in two weeks isn't a bad ratio.

Salzburg

Wagrain is only about an hour's drive from Salzburg, so we decided to finish skiing early on Wed and go and visit the city. It's not a big place, but it's beautiful. I really don't know why I haven't been here before. A weekend trip is definitely on the cards, as a couple of hours really wasn't long enough.

The castle dominates the city skyline, with mountains all around...it's amazing to be in a city that has such dramatic scenery. The shops are concentrated around one main street and a market area. I didn't have time to visit the Mozart museum or the tourist attractions on the other side of the river. I'll definitely have to return.

Wagrain - Part 1

One of the great things about working for PGL (other than being paid for going skiing!) is that I get to ski resorts that I wouldn't normally think of going to.

Wagrain is part of the Sportwelt Amade ski area in Austria, along with Flachau and Alpendorf (there are other bits as well, but I haven't skied any of them). It is a typically Austrian village, whose main attraction outside of skiing is the Wasserworld swimming pool. It is also famous for being one of the villages where Joseph Mohr was vicar (Joseph Mohr famously wrote the lyrics to Silent Night).

I'm out here for 2 weeks, this week working with an all boys catholic grammar school. There are over 20 British school groups here this week, so it's busy. The place that we're staying is about 15 mins walk from anywhere, so I'm getting fit.

The snow is holding up well, despite it being warm. The ski area is mainly intermediate terrain, but I'm having fun....I just hope that the snow stays good until the end of next week.

Snow, Snow, Snow

What a week!!

The snow situation in Europe this season hasn't been as good as it normally is. In fact, some areas have had a really mild winter. When we arrived in Wengen, it looked more like May than March. It was just about possible to ski to Allmend, but there was no chance of getting back to the village.

And then it snowed.

I was away with a group of snowHeads staying at the Victoria Lauberhorn in Wengen (very nice wellness centre for after a hard days skiing). While I have been there dozens of times, most of them were on their 1st visit (some had ever skied in Switzerland before!!). We didn't manage to ski at First, but did a couple of days over at the Schilthorn Iincluding checking out the new Riggli lift) and managed to ski down to Grund (through someone's back garden). Brandegg was a hit with everyone, and we had lunch there most days. It would have been nice if the sun had been out a bit more, but other than that, the perfect week

Back Home......

in Wengen :-)

Foppolo

It's in Italy. About 2 hours from Milan. And it had some snow (although they don't seem to have got the internet yet)!!

I'd tried to do some research prior to going, but there's not too much info out there about Foppolo. I knew it was a small resort, but the piste map lies....it shows a ski area double the size to the one actually in existance!

I was working as a ski rep for a school group, so didn't mind too much that the skiing wasn't great. There was enough open to keep me amused, and the hotel couldn't have been in a better position. And, best of all, I only spent €15 all week :-)

The resort is ideal for school groups, as it has everything within a small area. Ice rink, swimming pool, bum boarding and skiing. The hotel was okay...but I never want to see tomato pasta ever again.

The snow conditions were poor - several runs had mud strips across them, so the skiing was limited. We did have one interesting "off piste" experience where we thought we were on a black run, but ended up trying to get down a steep slope covered in shrubs. I've never been so glad to reach a drag lift!

We also had fun with a helicopter rescue from the slopes...but that's another story!

Back on the Snow

After getting so much skiing in last year....it's been a long summer. I had intended to update this blog with my Summer walking adventures...but it doesn't seem to have happened.

However, winter has arrived, and the skiing starts again - tomorrow :-))

Back Home

After a long, long journey I've made it home. It's been a great month, and if the snow hadn't been about to melt, I'd have been tempted to stay out there. I need to start looking for a well paid job in the Alps!!

Best Of The Week

Most of the snowHeads left this morning...just as the sun came out. The remaining few of us headed off to ski Mont Vallon, which was in great condition. The lifts in that sector all seemed to be closing at around 1pm, so we headed back over to Plain Sud for lunch.

Doing the last run is always sad....but all good things must come to an end - until next season!

SnowHeads Race Day

The second snowHeads SNAFU cup race was held today. I had a fall on the training run, so took it steady and posted an okay time, but not one that would challenge for the title. Several of the guys were very up tight about it all, and seemed to forget that it was supposed to be "fun"!!

After the race we went and skied some off piste over in the fourth valley (they market it as the three valleys, but there are actually four!).

More Of The Same

The weather forecast doesn't show too much improvement for the next few days. Visibility is poor, and occasionally it improves for a bit, and then closes in again. The snow condition is quite good though.

White Out

Visibility was virtually zero today. There had been a small amount of snow overnight, so conditions "under ski" weren't too bad, but it was definiely a day for a long lunch. One of the great things about being part of a large group, is that you can always find someone in a mountain restaurant.