Gozo Chalice, by Stevie supplicant Haston

Climbing on Gozo keeps giving me solace. A week ago I was depressed, today ecstatic !! The ordinary day becomes something more, by chance, the chance is Gozo, and it's called choice. You choose, or you loose.

Yesterday Katie visited the Underworld, and did 3 great routes, The gift of small things, The Kinky Dwarf  and Styx and Stoners, all 3  stars routes, all unique.

Today we went to Sopu Tower and Inigo wanted to take photos. With truth I didn’t, but you know you got to compromise and in the compromising we got a first ascent of  a route called The Inflatable Madonna 6c, poor rock leading to perfect bridging over a huge  chasm. 

Inigo tried to do it but  was defeated by careless and cavalier cleaning. We also did an ascent of Chalice of Malice 7a which despite its low grade. Continues to shock.

Thank you,

Have a nice day.

Normal abnormal Malta, by Stevie normal Haston.

So it's back to the sun, Britain is flooding, Malta is dry, surprise! Actually France was fairly gash, damp and boring, small snow, avalanche prone, and repleat with masses of great food. Fat had overtaken me, off to diet, sun, and rock.

A major problem was no drill! Still first day I cleaned a great new route at 7c+, then day two, a swim, and a run as part of an ongoing plan for alpine betterment.

Here is a few photos in no particular order, cleaning routes is fairly good for the soul but so is looking at things you wouldnt normaly see.

Just before  my little  trip a friend came over from Switerland a good extreme telemarker with a few nice mountain descents, hello mr Steve Hadik,and hello to all my friends in Verbier, I do miss the alps but not in a bad snow year. As for my lucky mates in the Dolimites who are having a good year, well great you lucky people, enjoy.

La Sportva Olympus Mons, Stevie Haston.

The warmest boot La Sportiva make is the Olympus Mons, its prime market are the big hills, 8000 mt peaks. I have warn the prototype, which was already good, but this is much better. It's a bit lighter, in smaller sizes you get 1.2 kg each boot, 2.4 a pair. It's a big boot which walks and climbs O.K, dont expect the nimbleness of the Batura 2.O, which you might be able to get away with on 7000 meter peaks. I had my protos for snowboarding above 7000 mts and they worked like a snowboard boot but I am keen to try these out as they look a bit better.  

The inner is really toasty with a reflective material, check the sizing out realy well for the boots as they cost a bomb. You need to size them with your sock system and add a bit for swelling feet. Constriction brings on the cold but too loose and you swim around. It's worth taking a long time to get the fit right. 

The lacing system is really speedy and convenient  There's no friction thru the eyelets and pulley hook eyelets to make it as easy as possible. And truth to tell, putting your boots on in the morning with cold hands is one of the harder things in big hill climbing. The overgaiter is really good with a weather proof seal zip. It's a three layer boot, removable inner, then a substanial warm boot covered in an insulated gaiter. It is the most popular boot on big mountains. Check the LaSportiva catalogue for details of materials etc, and remember this might be too much boot for you, especialy if you are doing low treking peaks. The Batura 2.0 for lower peaks is very hard to beat and actually climbs very well. With the  Olympus Mons you can put clip crampons on front and back, and maybe you should invest in a light pair, the lighter your foot package the swifter of foot you will be. 

I am planning to go to the big hills again, and with these boots I should bring my toes back. Today I went for a little walk in the snow, post holing, and was thinking about the boys on Nanga Parbat this winter, hope you guys are good, and enjoy sucess.

Quarry threatens Ariege peace, by Stevie Haston.

The climbing and tourism in Ariege, in my part of France, is part of our culture, and our wealth, now we are to have a Quarry in the middle, in the heart of all our beauty. So start shouting now.

Never mind that its in 'site a 2000 natura', and there are rare birds there, this doesn't matter. A wierd nefarious agreement has been struck, and the evil, noisey, dusty machine is due to start. 120 trucks a day one every four minuits in a peaceful hameu less than a hundred yards from houses! This is just behind, and adjacent to the parking for Calames cliff one of the oldest, and the most frequented in Ariege. Nobody local wants this, local inhabitants, climbers, walkers. 

Here are a few links, this is a disaster localy, do something if you can please.  

The link to the petition to sign and share, and an article in French which describe the  nuisances.

Voici un résumé des nuisances que causeront la réouverture de la carrière de Bédeilhac en Ariège dans une magnifique vallée classée "Site Natura 2000", dans un charmant village, et proche d'un superbe site d'escalade et de balades, alors si vous aimez vous balader, grimper dans des beaux sites comme l'Ariège signer la pétition! 

Spell Kukuczka, by Stevie Haston.

I was asked who the best Himalayan climber was the other day by two editors of magazines. I knew it was a loaded question, so I gave back a loaded answer. Kukuczka. Can you spell Kukuczka I asked? One could. I also did an interview with one of the most prominent mags, but I guess that won't be published, cos although that editor agreed with me 90%, it's way to against everything you read.

Anyway, 4 of the 8000 meter peaks in winter, before it became the last bastion of big marketing brands! It was all a long time ago, so perhaps you have every right not to know, and no one tells you right.

  

Ordinary perfect. By Stevie defect Haston.

What's more ordinary than a walk? Nothing! So I am depressed, it's low cloud, drizzle and grumpy me is going to go running, but not looking forward to putting waterproofs on. I prevaricate. 

Laurence comes home from the market and says there's good weather coming, so why dont I go up the mountain and check the snow? Yea, maybe, it might be ok, etc, what ever, but I get ready.

So the hill infront of zee house is an ordinary montagne à vache as we say in French, it's 1200 meters up and indeed in summer there's horses, sheep and cows right on the top. But before the top there's a mystical beech forest, then there's a grove of birch, and then a few lonely gnarled junipers. And today it was sublime.

The walk up the though the beach had lots of animal tracks, as in winter the animals come down for food. there were chamois tracks, badger and fox and I got to see one young deer. Some birds were chirping lower down, but it got colder as I got higher, and then at a certain point you know life stops apart from visitors.

The reason for the walk?  Exercise? Checking conditions? Therapy? Well, to the left of the ridge is a deep bowl and it fills full of magical fluff, and theres good riding in there, and the view from the top can be good, and it's better than a run.

Cold it was, the camera thingy froze, Laurence caught me up, and she drank all my water, she always does that! But she did tell me to go for a walk, so I thank her.

These birch all had a wind mark of snow, but it was melting as we went down, some of the most beautiful stuff is very ephemeral, a bit like a human life as viewed thru geological time. A shame that we are distroying everthing in our short orgasim of existance. But today I don't care, I had a very ordinary pleasent walk. Tomorrow I might ride the big bowl which is full of windblown fluff, which wont be ordinary, it will be the ride of the Valkyries, but then words are never that trustworthy a thing, and the bilberies under my board wont even know I have passed, and the last wind knarled juniper which is older than my great great grandfather wont even flutter as I pass.

The new Light Brigade, by Stevie heavy Haston.

If you want to run over snow, you need a water proof running shoe and an alu crampon, I have a combo that weighs : 400 grs -shoe 200gr +crampon 200 grs. 

You have two feet total just under 800grs. 

If you want to run up ice it's 1 kg for one foot, 2 kg for Bi peds. This is the lightest combo with a back crampon§

If you want to run up steep mountains, this combo comes out at 1.5 kg, 3kg for Bi peds. This is the lightest boot crampon combo that was commercially possible, the boot and the axe are no longer manafactured. Why? Because you the customer dont know what you got till it's gone! And reviewers in mags and on the web dont know their  exit from their entry portal.

The last combo might just be ok in a karakorum summer§