Some more aerial shots

I can never understand why people would ever request an aisle seat on an aircraft as the best entertainment is generally from looking out of the window.  These are a selection of the photographs taken on some recent flights, they certainly provide inspiration for some future kayak trips.

A rather bumpy departure from Jersey, we were quickly into the cloud, re-appearing just before landing at Gatwick.

 My first flight into London City, with the descent taking us close to Dungeness.  A superb example of a cuspate foreland.

 Approaching London from the east, passing over the River Medway, close to Rochester.  One day I must try to visit this area to go sea kayaking.

 Flying over the deserts of the Middle East.  This was on a Qatar Airways A380, which is a great aircraft but not the best for taking photographs from.

 Sunrise over the Loire.  I have paddled on the white water of the Upper Loire but never on this section which is more famous for its Chateaux.  This was an interesting flight as we climbed to 34,000 feet after take off from Toulouse and then dropped down to 24,000 feet just north of Bordeaux and stayed at that height all the way back to Heathrow.  There was no announcement as to why we were flying back at such a low level.

 Late afternoon approach into Warsaw.  The River Vistula is the longest river in Poland.  In the early 1980's I visited one the Canoe Exhibitions at Crystal Palace and came across the International Long River Canoeists Club, an organization run by Peter Salisbury.  He used to produce numerous expedition reports, the first one I bought was his report of paddling down the River Vistula in the 1970's.  I still have it somewhere and must dig out for a read.

Some seats just aren't great for photographs, descending in Jersey we passed over Guernsey with Lihou just visible off the west coast.  I am looking forward to another weekend of paddling off this delightful island in June.

Cowes, on the Isle of Wight.  There were great views as the plane banked as it turned south towards the Channel Islands.

Anything but boring

It is obvious that some mountains are more interesting and/or challenging than others and at times the write up they receive in guide books is less than complementary.  Ben Chonzie is one of the mountains which falls into this category. We decided to ignore the written cautions, believing that any mountain in full winter conditions has to be interesting.

As we drove up the narrow Glen Lednock a red kite flew up in from of us, surely a positive omen.  Other people had clearly had the same idea as the small car park was virtually full.  The initial route followed a well defined track which gradually disappeared under a covering of snow.  The snow was largely unconsolidated as we floundered our way uphill.  The thought of breaking a trail through the snow without the benefit of walking poles didn't bear thinking about.
Ben Chonzie is the highest point in a large area of moorland and reputed to have a healthy population of mountain hares, although we didn't see any on our day on the mountain.   Cameron McNeish, in his book on "The Munros", states that it has ".... a reputation of being one of the dullest Munros in the land".  It is easy to imagine that in the summer the long walk in along the land rover track wouldn't be the most interesting way to spend a day in the mountains but on a bright winters day, with the snow down low, then Ben Chonzie (the 250th highest Munro)  is a hill well worth considering.

Beautiful walking conditions.

Cutting a track through the deeper snow, our route had followed the line of the valley , which is discernible behind Nicky. 

Heading up the slopes, using previous footsteps was no guarantee that you wouldn't fall through to your waist.

As we followed the broad ridge towards the summit, snow was blown across the slopes and at times stinging our faces.

On the summit.  It was bitterly cold in the wind so it was a case of a quick sandwich before heading for the shelter of the lower slopes.

Memorable Mountain Day

The last few weeks have seen some superb conditions in the Scottish mountains and we were fortunate enough to be able to take advantage of some of them.  There are two mountains, which dominate the A82 above the Bridge of Orchy and are a familiar sight to those people who drive along this trunk road.  Beinn Dorain and Beinn an Dothaidh were selected as our target for the day.

The forecast was perfect for a day in the mountains so it was a matter of packing the rucksacks and heading up.  Conditions couldn't have been much better.

What followed was probably the best day I have ever spent in the mountains in the UK, at least I can't remember any which were better. I suppose any day when you wear crampons for six hours has to be a good day.

 Leaving the Bridge of Orchy.  Our route took us right from the col initially before dropping back down and heading up to the left.

 On the ridge towards the summit of Beinn Dorain.  Views of distant summits were starting to appear.

 Looking along the summit ridge of Beinn an Dothaidh.  At this point the wind had dropped completely. 

 Nicky approaching one of the summits along the ridge.

 We left the summit just after 3.00, we were the only people remaining up apart from one other person heading down the snow slope.  He is the black dot just below the ridge.  Apart from him we had the mountain to ourselves.

 Nicky on the descent.

A summit photo taken by somebody who isn't used to using an iPhone, judging by their finger in the bottom right hand corner.

Breton Canoeing

The forecast for the weekend was pretty dreadful, we were questioning whether the ferry would be able to sail for St Malo, and even more importantly would we be able to get home on the Sunday.  As it was the ferry did sail on the Friday and the sea state was calm enough that most people were able to enjoy a beer or wine on the crossing.

The aim for the weekend was to enjoy a couple of days of canoeing on the inland waterways of Northern Brittany, with a few people having the opportunity to take their 2 Star, mainly as a pre-requisite for their Level 1 coach course in May.  Amazingly two of the people had their 5 Star (Sea) but not their 2 Star.  In Jersey there is no inland water, suitable for paddling, so it is very difficult to get the appropriate experience, you either have to travel off island or we have to start encouraging people to paddle canoes on the sea, something which sits uneasily with me, due to the size of the tides, exposure to swell and changeable weather.

We had arranged to rent canoes from the Canoe Club in Dinan, there were 16 of us and luckily they had 8 canoes in their spacious facilities.  We headed downstream, fully aware that the forecast on French TV was for winds possibly reaching 100 kmh during the afternoon.  Clearly we needed to exercise a degree of caution.

Shelter was found inside a small inlet where it was possible to work on a few skills and also by coincidence to receive a phone call from the ferry company informing us that the sailing on Sunday had been brought forward to hopefully avoid the rapidly deteriorating weather conditions, particularly the increasing wind strength.  We would get home but it meant that there would be no paddling on Sunday.

Lunch was taken further downstream before we had to fight our way back to Dinan.  It was a pleasant contrast to the sea kayaking that we normally experience in Jersey and most of the group felt that we shouldn't leave it too long before returning to France to hone our single blade paddling skills.

 Louis and Lisa getting ready to head downstream.  At this point the wind wasn't too bad.

 We found shelter in a small inlet where we were able to practice a few skills such as rescues, as well as receive a phone call from Condor (the ferry company) that our ferry was leaving earlier on the Sunday due to the strong winds which were forecast.  The main consequence, apart from getting home, was that there would be no paddling on the Sunday.

 Tracey having a go at gunwhale bobbing.  Clearly the days that she spent canoeing down the Yukon has had a significant impact on her skill level.  She looked really competent.

 Once off the water there were a couple of choices, head to the local bar to watch a Six Nations rugby game on the television or head to Decathlon in search of kit.

 Sunday dawned sunny and still, a walk around the walls of St Malo was the option in the time that we had with the forecast of a rapidly increasing wind.

 Once on the ferry we headed out past Cezembre, a small island off the coast of St Malo, which is an interesting place to visit by kayak.

 Le Grand Jardin light marks the entrance channel into St Malo, for us as we headed out to sea it marked the start of a decline in the weather, with an increasing wind and a deteriorating sea state, but at least due to our early departure we made it home.

North Wales Wanderings

My Salewa adjustable crampons, which had seen service since 1976, were finally replaced today as I purchased a lovely pair of yellow crampons from the Cotswold Store in Betws Y Coed.  It was clear that there was snow on the mountains but the weather forecast was just abysmal.  It was one of those days when an afternoon with a good book by the fire was preferable to struggling up a wind blasted Welsh mountain side.

Amazingly though the torrential rain, which had been a pouring down for the last couple of hours, stopped as I walked out of the shop and so the reasons for not going on the hill were rapidly disappearing.

I decided to follow the path into Cwm Tryfan, hoping that I would get some shelter from the wind and if at any time the conditions deteriorated too much it would be relatively easy to retrace my steps.  As it turned out I had an interesting few hours and didn't see anybody else all the time I was walking. 
Sadly though I didn't get to use the new crampons.

 Leaving the A5, conditions were really wet under foot but it was clear that there was snow higher up.

 The east face of Tryfan, disappearing into the cloud.

 Looking up towards Glyder Fach

 I headed up this slope to Bwlch Tryfan.  On the way up I has considered crossing the col and heading back to the car by Cwm Bochlwyd but the gusts of wind were so strong I preferred the shelter of my ascent route.

Just starting the descent, back into the relative quiet of Cwm Tryfan, trying to seek some shelter from the strongest gusts of wind.

It almost appeared as if there was some sunshine in the Ogwen Valley but it had certainly disappeared by the time I got there.  Replaced by heavy rain and a howling wind.  It was just past this point that I was blown off my feet by a particularly strong gust.  Time for coffee and cake in Capel Curig.

First Paddle of the Year

Today was one of those days when it would have been so easy to stay in bed or to go to the gym, but it was well worth making the effort to head out in to the rain.  With strong winds from the south blowing the north coast was the only really viable option.  Bouley Bay to Rozel and back.  A good run out for my first paddle of the year.

 Kate inside Rozel Harbour.   Just about to head back.

 Kate trying to get a bit of help from the following wind.

 The north side of the harbour wall provided some shelter from the strong offshore wind.

 Relaxing paddle back, not rushing as the thought of getting changed in the rain wasn't too appealing

 At times the rain was so heavy that it obscured the finer details of Bouley Bay.

 Water was running down the road with some considerable force and then amazingly after we had tied the kayaks on the cars the rain stopped and we were able to get changed in the dry!

 Water pouring down the steps and onto the beach had discoloured the sea.

Last paddle of the year

After a Christmas break away from the Island it was good to get a quick paddle in today.  The south easterly force 6-7, which was forecast, plus the rather large westerly swell reduced the options but Bouley Bay on the north coast seemed ideal for a couple of hours out on the water.

For the last paddle of the year it proved to be a pretty reasonable choice.

 The small pier was constructed in 1828, although there had been earlier plans to construct a much larger harbour in the area.  This project was dropped due to the lack of available flat land to build on.

 The heavy rain of recent weeks has resulted in a few seasonal waterfalls appearing along this section of coast.

 Alex approach Tour de Rozel, the wind was pushing us along quite nicely.

 Tour de Rozel is one of the iconic landmarks of the north coast of the Island.  On the flood a delightful tide race develops which has provided hundreds of hours of entertainment to local kayakers.  Here are a few pictures taken 5 years ago.

 Fort Leicester dominated the western side of the bay, rebuilt in 1835 it is now available for hire from Jersey Heritage, as a rather unique place to stay.

India Walk About - Day 4

After another cold night it was an early start as we aimed to reach our highest camp of the trip before crossing a col tomorrow and starting our descent into another valley.  We knew that the crossing of the col would be the most challenging part of the whole trek so we needed to be in a good position if the weather was in our favour.

In the bright sunshine we walked through an increasingly rugged landscape.   One section of the walk was particularly exposed but we did manage to get a phone signal at one of the bends in the path.  The information wasn't good, poor weather was heading our way and above a certain level the precipitation would be falling as snow.

We spent the night in some huts but were concerned about the incoming poor weather so we decided to get up before dawn ensuring that we were ready to head towards lower pastures at first light.

Just above where we camped the previous 2 nights and preparing for the first section of uphill of the day.  The peak behind is the one we had climbed the day before.

Some distant views of the Indian Himalaya's as we walked along some broad ridges.  The temperature had been modified by the altitude, resulting in perfect walking conditions.

One of the few steeper sections.  Just before starting this ascent there was plenty of evidence of bears in the area although unfortunately we didn't see any.

Traversing towards are high camp.  Small patches of snow indicated the weather conditions of a few days previously.  Just before this position we had manged to get a mobile phone signal so were able to check the weather forecast.  It was not good.

There was a feeling that we were at the heart of some significant mountains.

Just below our high point of 3907 metres.  We knew that this would be our last night at this altitude.  We were due to go over a col tomorrow, which required further ascent but in light of the weather forecast we were heading downhill in the morning.

Looking down on the huts where we were going to spend the night.

Celebrating Maureen's birthday before going to bed early.  We were due to get up at 5.45 the following morning, with the potential for it to be quite a hard day.