Objectives

Over the last year I’ve been writing more and more about  various trips into the mountains and doing less and less of the usual rants and screams at society. I've been rather undecided whether to leave the Bucket to general stuff and to start a new blog with another title with a newer more dramatic layout and keep that just for mountains and walking and stuff. But being a lazy bastard, as Baldrick so often tells me I am, and my life not just being all walking, I'll think I'll stick with this one and just carry on popping stuff in as and when I feel like it. It’s sort of homely (for me I mean). The reason I have been considering this is because this year, if all goes well, it’ll get even more walks shoved in it having decided on the objectives for 2010. In addition to continuing to map out routes for guests at the B&B and carrying on with hunting out prehistoric rock carvings in preparation for the book, I really want to climb Monviso (3,841m) this summer (see photo taken from Alpe Caugis with Viso in the background). However I need to get fitter than I am and get over a few personal barriers, re-learn what a rope is and above all conquer a fear of heights before attempting it. So with this aim in mind I’ve laid out the objectives for this year. From the kitchen window I can see Mounts Frioland 2,735m, Manzol 2,933m, Meidassa 3,105m, Granero 3,171, which seem like good starting points. Then I have Viso Mozzo 3,019m on the list, too to get a taste as it were of the biggie. Then Monte Rosa 4,634 m would be another good one to do being the second highest in the western Europe (nothing like ambition is there?!). Rosa and Viso of course are going to be tough. My basic problem is not actually physical fitness or getting fitter, it’s oxygen saturation. Because of the various health problems and lung ops I had in my youth mine’s very low and I have the sneaky feeling that it’s going to be tougher than I think getting used to going up high; as it stands at the moment, both Rosa and Viso might just as well be Everest for all the chance I have of getting to the top. So it’s going to be a busy few months especially with new baby.  Basically I’m going to try to aim at summiting (can you say that?) anything over 3,000 as many times as I can between now and august and wild camping as high as I can as often as I can.

So there, I’ve done it. I’ve said it. There’s no going back. Once I push the publish button on this blog entry that’s it, I’m committed for fear of ridicule. And… Puuuuuush!