Well it's been a while and the hands on the clock keep turning.

 

The last couple of weeks have been busy, with outdoors once again taking priority in life. From gear testing to climbing, Coniston to Kathmandu it's been non stop - but at last the time has come for rest and recovery before the challenge ahead.

 

Mild camping was a revelation. A motley crew from around the country congregated at Coniston for an unofficial OM meet. There was Stu and Jules in the overheating Vortex, Dawn, Cherie - the one in pink fluffy PJs and Matt and myself for the full weekend. A flying visit from the Cruxster family (Drew and Jo), Frank for a couple of days, and Iain and kirsten for a night.

 

Bank Holiday Friday saw Me, Matt, Stu, Jules, Cherie and dawn take a mainly off track route over Brim Fell and The Old Man in stunning weather. From Low Water we took the stream off to the right then an impromptu self designed scramble up the ridge to Brim Fell summit. The views were amongst the best I've been fortunate to have in the Lakes - on a par with the Mosedale Horseshoe walk and the Esk Hause wild camp. From there the logical route was to the summit of the Old Man, where the views were good but not quite of the same standard. OK Brim Fell may not be a realistic mountain in its own right, and simply a hump between the Old man and Swirl How but you can see why Wainwright devoted a chapter to it for its views alone.

 

The evenings, as is now the tradition, consisted of wine, whisky and good banter - enlivened by the appearance of some girls from Liverpool. Saturday morning saw a field test of a different kind with real life testing of flame retardent material. A moments lack of attention to help Matt lift the 25 litre water container saw the frying pan burst into flame and put a new window in the side wall of the tent! The good news was that the fire was restricted to just where the flames hit the fabric - proving that the material really is flame retardent. A quick patch with enclosed kit and the hole was sealed - so all in all a lucky escape.

 

After Coniston came Kathmandu, with a trip in the new Land Rover Disco to cjheck out digital road mapping in practise, A quick trip with as much time flying as working - but it was great to be back out there at last and it's renewed the desire to return for a decent period.

 

Last weekend was back to hands on - literally, with a day on Windgather with Stu, Jules and Max. OK the routes weren't spectacularly difficult at V.Diff and the location was its usual windswept self, but it was good to get back to the vertical. Compared to the last time there we all fairly flew up the routes before us, showing the difference a year and some added confidence makes. Maybe it's time to start going back on some more serious rock! Itb was also good to walk all over something called Heather instead of the other way round for once lol.

 

Now the attention switches to the TGO. With the month's workload already finished there's a week to get some R&R and a bit of training in. Darren's done a sterling job sorting out pre-departure accommodation at Mallaig - where 50 of the 300 will depart from, and the lifts each way are all arranged. The final items of kit are tested, weighed and space allocated now the Minim's been found up to the job and checked in combination with the Z lite. The main training left now looks like being a 30 mile weekend with 8000ft of ascent in the lakes with Drew - carrying the full Scotland kit. Times closing in, and it's now a mix of apprehension at the task ahead and excitement at the prospect. 18 days from now ad we'll be on our way :)  A month today and it'll all be over