To all quite simply THANK YOU - namaste

So it’s just over 3 days until lift off.... The past year has flown by quicker than Jenson Button over that finish line in Australia yesterday!! It’s been a rollercoaster of a ride and there’s been some of the best times I’ve had. I’ve met loads of great people (some I’ve not met yet!!), been to loads of new places (with more still to visit) and taken part in loads of great activities: fundraising, swinging from the trees at Go Ape!, blogging, Friday lunching, climbing the hills of Scotland (plenty more still to do – but remember ‘I don’t have a tick list’!).... just lots of fun times...

With all of that in mind, I think it’s now time for some more thank yous to everyone who has made the last year possible and the future so very very bright! Here goes:

Mum, Dad, Karen (sister) and Ryan (the bestest nephew in the whole wide world!) – you’s are my everything Love you guy’s lots; my brilliant family too many to mention but you all know who you are; Linda for being always there and for listening to my talking about all manner of things, for your fantastic fundraising efforts, Christmas card making and cake baking and a true friend; Brigitte for your endless support, encouragement and a good friend; Donna a dear friend what more can I say, I’m just sorry we missed out on all those years but we’re making up for it now; Bernie for being a good friend and a long distance pen pal; Susan thanks for everything you are a great friend, a brill mummy and an inspiration; Andrew thanks for the very cool quiz night posters and for sharing your fantastic pictures on Flickr – they really are amazing (check his pics out here, taken with an old fashioned Holga camera); Olly M quite simply thank you, for your wise words, encouragement, fabulous films, great pictures and I’m glad I can now call you a friend; Kev, Chris, Ian H, Sharon, Ian Mc, Douglas, Louise, Vikki, Billie, Tara, Suzanne, Dorothy a great bunch of fantastic friends and workmates; to everyone at work in DASS that has sponsored me, bought my cakes, came to the quiz night, encouraged me, helped me and hopefully read my blog! – thank you all; Jackie O and the fabulous members of the Ochils Mountaineering Club thanks for taking me under your wings and up the mountains, yes ‘tis true people I am now officially a member of the OMC (I have a card and everything!!); Martin McGarvey a pal, a great source of information and still a huge inspiration – Good Luck in 2010 I know you will do it!; Michael for your wise words and your offer to take me up the hills – I’m holding you to that when I get back; PTC is that really your name! Keep writing that marvellous blog, your stories, foties and kit advice are great!; all the inspirational speakers I’ve heard over the past few months Simon Yates, Kenton Cool, Ian Parnell, Es Tressider, Kev Shields, Olly Metherell and Niall McNair - the simple words and fabulous panoramas you offer really do provide lots of inspiration to lots of people - keep it up!; Dave and Claire MacLeod I’m an avid reader of your blog and congratulations on the ever-continuing success of Echo Wall - a great film that even us non-climbers got hooked on within the first few minutes – inspiring!; Alison Culshaw, Claire Maxted and Tom Bailey thanks for taking me up a munro in the Cairngorms and giving some great memories and photos of the day (see Trail magazine Oct o8 edition); Jackie Johnson from Marie Curie Cancer Care, thanks for your help and encouragement; to all the lovely 4th year students who will graduate in June including Karen A, Andrew H, Frazer, David C, Nina, Matthew, Gwyneth, Gareth S, David P, Gemma, Alex S, Lyndsay H and everyone else so sorry I won’t be there when you guys hand in your dissertations but GOOD LUCK and you’re in safe hands at the office with Linda!; Paul Roberts at Terrevista Trails - thanks so much for the sleeping bag liner much appreciated; to Mark Beaumont the first person to really inspire me way back in early 2008 with his solo round the world cycle, it gave me a fire in my belly and compelled me to step outside my comfort zone, take on a new challenge and live life to the fullest that I can – Thank you, truly.

And finally to new friends Kate F, Ruth R, Andy W, Emma C and the other members of team Charity Challenge EBC 2009, can’t wait to meet you all!!

To all I simply say thank you... for everything.

Ange xxxxx

Pictures done on Wordle.net

More pictures and larger sizes here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ange77h/sets/72157616028845491/

TRAIL magazine, October Issue ... Out Now!! eek

Hey everyone

well the time has come and it's finally out!!! The article about little old me in TRAIL magazine. Go out and buy it now!! If i do say so myself it is a pretty good article (cheers Claire) and the pictures are fantastic (thanks Tom). No seriously it's well smart and I'm well proud of it. If anyone is actually out there reading this and you go out and buy it, let me know what you think?

I was on a communication and supervisory skills course in St Andrews University from Wednesday to today (Friday) and only managed to get hold of a copy yesterday. They didn't have a copy anywhere and me and Brigitte 'trailed' the streets of St Andrews trying to find a place that stocked something more than a Financial Times or a trashy gossip mag! Thankfully good old WH Smith had a huge selection of mags and i stood there in the shop reading (well looking at the pictures really) before heading proudly to the till to buy it. I was dying to open it up at the page and say to the guy serving me 'this is me - look!!' but i resisted.

Anyhoo let me know what you think of it,

word of the day - knackered (and pleased)

Ange xx

http://www.livefortheoutdoors.com/

Munro 1, part 1 - the ascent...

As promised here's the story of my first official munro climbed. Settle in, this could a long one...

Won't bore you with the details but my first munro is to be featured in Trail magazine. Long story about how that came about, ask me for the details if you're interested.

Anyway yeah I'm ashamed to say I'd never been further north than....... well .... Pitlochry! I know, I know shameful living in our lovely country and not having ventured out in it. I'm making up for that now. So I started out on Tuesday afternoon, after a morning at work, for the drive north to Aviemore. I notice the rain coming in and the scenery getting lovelier the further north i drive. I'm hoping it's not raining for my big day tomorrow. I arrive at the guesthouse (Ravenscraig guest house http://www.aviemoreonline.com/index.htm ) and check in, then head out to see the bright lights of Aviemore!! (joke!) and take a drive along to Glenmore Lodge so i know where I'm going the next day (I've to be there by 9am). It's only about 15 minutes drive and the views are amazing so i stop off at a lay by and take some pictures of Loch Morlich and Cairngorm.

I'm undecided about what to have for dinner and settle on the Cairngorm Hotel (plus it's the only place i can find that showing the football ). So there i am settled in, ready and they put two different games on each tv. Sound goes up on the Italy V France game, I'm happy - Holland V Romania doesn't mean much after all, then in walks 4 Dutch people and they request the sound up for the boring Holland game! Rubbish. Oh well i can still see the Italy game so it's fine. So after the games have finished i make a quick exit as the Tuesday night pub quiz is about to begin!

Anyway my day starts with a hearty breakfast at the guesthouse and i have to admit I'm a bit nervous so i can't finish it all. Fruit juice, eggs, bacon, sausages, tea and lashings of toast. Too much for me on a week day but i force as much down as i can as i know I'll need it today. I say my goodbyes ('m not paying as it's all been paid for me!!) then i set off for my adventure. Oh no the butterflies are starting to happen now. At least it's not raining, it's a nice sunny morning in fact. I arrive at Glenmore Lodge and get my boots on, lock the car and head to reception. It all seems very friendly and I'm met by Alison who will be my mountain guide and Nigel (head of training). We head for a cup of tea and a chat then Claire and tom from Trail arrive. They all seem like really nice people.

We head off at about 9.30am along a long, easy smooth track that runs straight from the lodge through a forest of old scots pine trees and passes a beautiful lake with the greenest water you've ever seen - Lochan Uaine. We come to a fork in the track and go right - the left one takes you to Ryvoan Bothy. The track goes on for a bit more and becomes a bit more gravelly. We come to a small wooden bridge and decide this is good for our first break. It is here i get my first sight of Bynack More. It looks pretty high! I get some guidance from Alison on how to read the map and use the compass. I have done some a way long time ago at school but geography was one of my favourite subjects. (Yes, i am a geek!). So we head on again and in between time we stop for a few minutes while Tom takes some pictures (hope he gets my good side ha ha). I am not entirely comfortable with this picture taking malarkey but I do it. Alison confides she is not liking this part either - phew, thought it was only me. The chat ranges from tips and hints for a first time munro bagger (me!) to the use of the words 'munro-bagger' - apparently some people get a bit sensitive and do not like being referred to as a 'munro bagger' or deny that they actively use a tick list! Why?? Anyway we are now making a steady ascent and I'm starting to feel the burn in my legs. We decide to keep going and I'm told I'm a natural and am making good progress at a steady pace. I worry I'm going to be left at the back! I say this worries me a bit and am told that you should go at your own pace and if you are out with more experienced walkers they should be considerate and not rush way ahead of you. I'm told that you'll get there just the same at a slow and steady pace - the tortoise and the hare story!!

We're now about half way there and stop for a bite to eat and more water. We are on a fairly level plateau now, a vast gently rolling upthrust of pink granite and the wind is starting to become stronger. The views are fantastic and more photos are taken. I look up and see what i think is the summit but am told the summit is out of view (I'm finding a pattern to these summits!) A jet flies over in the distance and twists and turns from side to side and i wonder what it muse be like to do that!!! But no, i have to focus on my current task in hand. After about 20 minutes we head off again and up ahead i can see a much steeper part that doesn't appear to have an obvious track (uh oh!). Alison gets me to scramble over a fairly large flat rock, the camera clicks in the background, that was a fairly easy thing i think to myself. I'm not scared of heights or anything but never imagined I'd be climbing over rocks and stuff. High five Ange! So we head off and start our ascent to the summit.

The weather is kind of closing in so it's time for the waterproofs to go on. I already have my jacket on and then proceed to embarrass myself by struggling trying to get my trousers on. What an idiot. Now if you've been reading these blogs form the start you'll know that i have only recently taken up this hill walking business and am slowly buying kit. I realised as i struggled on a rock in the wind and rain, that this was the first time I'd tried getting my waterproof trousers on over my boots. Of course I've tried them on in the house - in my bare feet, but not with the boots. I tried to play it cool and pretended the zip was stuck, i don't think they noticed ha ha. So i got them on eventually and this was another to be another photo op on the rocks in the rain (well it was really on a small shower).

So onwards and upwards, I'm getting used to this rock climbing thing apart from a few hairy moments and slips but on the whole it's fine and a pretty good feeling when you look down and see what you've done. I look up and see what i think is the summit and I'm told, yes you guessed it, this is not the summit it's about another few metres away - of course it is! So then i catch sight of the summit cairn and reach it at just over 3 and a half hours, not bad going for a first timer i say. Woohoo! congratulations all around and few souvenir snapshots are taken, then we take shelter from the wind and have another food/drink break. The views are amazing and Alison is showing me different hills and river in the distance. Tom suggest it's Ben Nevis next for me as i seem to have found this one easy - eh I think not!! Claire has meanwhile not asked me many direct questions but has been busily jotting notes down in her tiny waterproof notepad with her broken pencil. Time for the gloves and hats to go on the wind is so strong. I realise now too that my face is starting to sting from the wind and maybe sun too. I have put sunscreen on but not since the morning so i put some more on. I hope i don't have a bright red face in the pictures - oh well if I do it'll match my jacket!

Ok i'm going to stop here as it's taken me an age to write this (and Italy V Spain is coming on too). I'll come back in a bit with 'the descent'...

Angela and Alison at the summit

Tom, Claire and Alison (team 'first munro') Huge thanks guys!

More pics can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ange77h/sets/72157605721766334/

My first munro!

Hey guys
Ok i have officially climbed my first munro! Bynack More, Aviemore with huge help from Tom and Claire (Trail Magazine http://www.livefortheoutdoors.com/ ) and Alison Culshaw (Mountain Guide - Glenmore Lodge, Aviemore http://www.glenmorelodge.org.uk/ ). Needless to say i am a very tired person tonight so i will give the full story tomorrow. Fantastic day though.