Perseverance & Patience

What an amazing weeks weather we've had.  It was like summer had arrived early with blue skies, sunshine and little wind.  Time to get into the mountains whenever I could squeeze it into my diary.  Wednesday presented me with an great opportunity to head up early to Ben Ledi.  A route I knew the first half of and not too far that I could get back and do an afternoons work.  
I arrived at the hill and was so excited, a mid-week solo adventure.  It's a steep start but I headed off briskly.  It soon became clear that there was a haze so the summit photos wouldn't be clear but that was made up for but the snow which showed off the surrounding hills.  I passed one climber on the way up and nobody else all day.  Therefore it was a magnificent summit just taking everything in in peace and quiet.  The only company I had as a black crow and it followed me as I descended the other side which was new territory for me.  I missed the path and found myself on my back on a wet peak bog and up to my arse in purple heather as I cut down the side of the mountain - great fun!  The crow must have thought I was mad as the path was hidden about 30 yards away!
My chest wasn't great when I ran 5km on Thursday, nor was my heart rate so Friday was a day off.
On Saturday I headed off to Ben More which is one of the steepest climbs around.  I aimed to climb to the summit then follow the ridge round to another summit completing a circle.  However, despite the blue skies on the way up, cloud base came in and there was some technical climbing across some icy and snow patches that required me to be careful.  At the top it was completely clagged in with no views and it was cold.  This is why I carry a survival bag and full waterproofs, gloves and hat even when it was blue skies at the car park.  For safety reasons I didn't complete the circuit but came back down and after 15 minutes the sun broke through and there would have been lovely views at the top!  Still I was happy I made the right decision and didn't take any unnecessary risks.  Had I gone with my friend Michael I would have had blue skies where he went but it was too far to travel and I didn't want to hold him back with my chesty cough.
I parked up down the road and had myself a delicious picnic as my reward for the early start.  I was a beautiful journey home in the sun and it's days like these that make me realise how lucky I am living in such a beautiful country with the mountains less than 2 hours away.
On Sunday the clocks changed but I still managed to get it wrong so was up way too early.  I headed to Blair Atholl to tackle 3 summits with my pal Stu.  I had full fog lights on as we travelled north and we thought we'd made a mistake in not bringing head torches!  The driving conditions were awful. But after Perth the blue skies appeared and stayed for the rest of the day.
My legs were a bit tired from the day before but we raced up the first summit in under an hour.  The conditions were perfect and crossing the long curved ridge to the adjoining mountain was fun as we ran down the snow never knowing whether we'd sink 2 inches of 4 feet!  We didn't see the climbers we met on the first hill again as we were travelling at pace and in just under 4 hours we'd completed the 3 summits and were back at the car.  Those are the best conditions for being in the mountains.  There was almost no wind at all.
I got home but was too tired to write the blog, so apologies. I had burned 2,400 calories and needed to replace them which I did with my daughter's beautiful paella - thanks Eilidh!  When I woke this morning I was starving so had a big breakfast to satisfy me.  Being out in the mountains gives you an appetite and you need to make sure you eat well.
So this weeks message is you need to persevere if you are to achieve what you want.  I have fought through this chest cold and risked the weather conditions all so I could be where I wanted to be - in the mountains.  And you need to be patient as the weather is so erratic on this small island so be prepared for the worse and hope you get the best while carrying a heavier load on your back.  Better than than being caught  out with life endangering consequences.  I got first hand experience of that in the mountains of Tahoe and many racers had to pull out as they were ill equipped despite the warnings.
So persevere towards your goals / dream and be patient along the way.  We are so lucky living in a stable country where we are not fearful for our lives.  Take nothing for granted and when I'm in the mountains it reinforces how lucky I am.  
I'll sign off now but as I look out the window the skies are blue, there is no wind and whilst I know I have a lot of work to do, what I'd give to be back on the mountains.  They are special.  Why not try them if you haven't been out.  Pick an easy one and take some advice on what to wear, especially on your feet.