Round up: Best of 2019

Every December I like to put out a post reflecting on the best bits of my work and play in the previous year; this year on the whole has been fantastic again but I’m slowly coming round to the fact we shouldn’t necessarily be lauded for jetting around the place. So while this post celebrates some of those journeys, I’m making changes to my lifestyle to moderate my travel for the hope of reducing my future carbon footprint and putting a £1 per work day donation to the Woodland Trust … sadly everywhere I’ve gone this year I’ve seen the encroaching effects of global warming…

 

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January can be a fairly brutal month. Cold, snowy, short daylight hours and tired legs. A few weeks of walking work was interspersed with some great climbing

Ticking classic V’s with Becs: a very hoared up Savage Slit

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February was a strange month. After a cold and snowy start, it got nuclear warm and we had a (wonderful) week of high pressure with dry rocks, setting up alpine like conditions on the Ben. Very unseasonal though

Ticking all the Ben Nevis ridges in a week with Jagged Globe clients was pretty special; here we are on NE buttress (note no gloves!)

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March saw a return to very snowy conditions.

Windy and wild; winter skills week, here on Criese

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April is the transition time. A snowy week of skiing in the Alps was followed by weeks of sunny rock climbing in Snowdonia

Skinning up in Switzerland for fresh tracks

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May was my best month of the year for rock climbing. A couple of weeks in Scotland and the rest at home; I climbed nearly every day

Andy cragging in perfect conditions up in the North West at Loch Tollaidh Crags

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June. After a week in the Alps it was back to Snowdonia for a lot of climbing coaching work.

1:1 with Luke, high above Cwm Silyn

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July was dominated by the Alps again but also a brief trip to Scotland and one to Iceland!

Hvannadalshnúkur, highest peak in Iceland above a sea of clouds with Mark

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August/September. Again were very alpine focused; two further Tour de Mont Blancs and a good few days out climbing myself. As usual this was a mix of rock and alpinism

Looking back on the Matterhorn from the Dent d’Herens

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October was deliberately quiet to start before I went off to work in Nepal, leading on Tharpu Chuli in the Annapurna Sanctuary for Jagged Globe

Trekkers high point

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November

Busy, busy, busy. Work was hectic and we attended (and passed) Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician course in Scotland

Crib Goch on a stunning day

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December. A chance to rest and be at home. Mountain biking, a bit of walking, kayaking and a quick hit to the Alps for some skiing!

Dart loop on Boxing day

As ever the end of the year is a chance to reflect on the ups and downs, the good and the bad and to decide on my targets and goals for the coming year. I’ve got a couple of personal goals and a few professional ones. Watch this space for details but I’m going back to my roots and focussing on local challenges… As ever thanks to everyone I’ve shared time with on the mountains with in 2019; here’s to more in 2020

Simon Verspeak