Back Spasm - 22/02/09
Had big plans this weekend of going ice climbing on Saturday and walking today. However I couldn't get the motivation to pack my stuff on Saturday, so that plan was scrapped. Instead I went to my mum's to use the pressure washer on the mould on my car hood - no I'm not a minger, it's apparently due to the clean air. My back decided it wanted to go into spasm as I got out of the car and that was that; the rest of the day was painful. I figured a night resting it would makes things all better, but I am still suffering now. A quick Google search suggests oxygen deprivation (ischemia) could well be the cause. My sitting posture isn't particularly that good, which might be the cause. I've had it a few times before bending over to pick something up and then it's lingered for the rest of the day, like a mild (but painful) cramp. So not a lot planned for me today. Booo.

Uncoordinated Climbing - 18/02/09
Climbed again tonight. Found it not as good as the last time, perhaps I was over confident, expecting an improvement in skill every time. I felt uncoordinated and didn't judge my movements very well - would look for the next move, rather than the one after that and ended up stepping up with the wrong foot. Still, really enjoyed it. It seems I'm going every 2 weeks now, which is good. I'd like it to be a weekly thing though.

Deep Snow - 15/02/09
Went for a walk with my step dad (Jonathan) up to Shining Clough Moss. He does work for Defra and Moors for the Future and they are looking at ways to control the moorland fires easily. We had to go to a site to have a look and see its suitability - I won't say what for just yet in case it's confidential. The snow was pretty wet compared with last weekend. In fact, there was just slush on the lower ground, only changing to snow past the tree line. We walked straight up Wildboar Clough, which is starts at about 35-40 degrees and steadily increases to about 60 degrees. Due to the instability under foot it was a challenge to keep upright. In fact although I wasn't particularly out of breath getting to the top (I presume because I went walking last week) my thighs were on fire. Jonathan was breathing pretty heavily, which isn't like him; he would normally slow his pace down to maintain easier breathing.

As we got on to the moor proper we discovered drifts of snow in the groughs which were 10-12 feet high. They looked like huge snow waves and being fairly stable meant I could punch in to the snow with my hands and kick with my feet to climb it like a ladder. It was great fun!

Coming down was interesting. Due to the low cloud it was only possible to see for 30 feet in front. This meant that after we walked to the edge of the moor it was near impossible to work out where you were. We headed north until we hit the edge of the moor and the large drop down. Walking along the ridge would get us back towards Wildboar clough, where just before there is a diagonal which easier than scrambling down direct. I stopped at the bit which felt familiar - it was still impossible to see anything - and checked the GPS in my rucksack. It showed that we'd stopped exactly at a route we'd done before. However, after starting down it quickly dawned on me that this was not the diagonal, but in fact a route we had only climbed up because of how steep it was! I went straight down and Jonathan went diagonally to avoid any rock bopping me on the head. It was hard going because the snow would produce a flat surface, yet when you put weight your leg would unexpectedly drop down in between to boulders. Then there was the slippery, wet snow to contend with. I managed best I could to zig zag down whilst facing down, but then it got so steep I had to flip over and climb down like it was a ladder. I kept glancing up to see Jonathan, but nothing. I got to the bottom, still unable to see him, and joked to myself that I was so exhausted that if he had fallen I couldn't be bothered to move. 10 minutes later I saw him slowly plodding along towards me. It was good to be walking back to the car in the light for a change.

Wii Fit - 14/02/09
Today was a day of Wii Fit. My sister was slowly improving her score on the ski jump and ski slalom. I mentioned that I was now in possession of a Wii Fit to my brother on Messenger and he managed 10 minutes before he said he was coming round, hah!

Bladdered - 13/02/09
Decided to go for a couple of pints after work with Mike. My sister had been in touch to say she'd bought Wii Fit and wanted to bring it round. I have her Wii as she has know scart socket on her TV, mwahaha. I actually rarely play it. It ended up being a messy night; Mike and I were getting through the pints, then I started buying shots. Basically, I remember walking home at 10pm with my sis and not much else after falling over upstairs whilst getting changed. I ended up sleeping on a camping mattress as I gave my bed up for her. What a gent!

Snow Induced Crash (Nearly) - 08/02/09
Plenty of snow had fallen this weekend and I knew there would be loads of it in the Peak District just waiting for me. I had planned on walking up Wildboar Clough, but ended up nearly smashing my car just getting on to the carpark. I pulled into the entrance of the carpark to see that two cars had been abandoned because of the snow. As I crept up the slight hill I thought that I wasn't going to get very far. But when I applied the brake the car started slipping backwards. No amount of pumping of the break or slipping the clutch in 1st or 2nd made any difference to the direction and velocity. Looking in one of the wing mirrors I could see the stone wall fast approaching. I braced for impact, accepting that I was going to have a nasty bill at the end of this. I didn't tense up or curse, I just let it happen without emotion. Luckily for me, the car pushed in to a drift and slowed to a stop. I got out to have a look and was 4 inches from the wall, but was nearly 2 feet into the drift. Because the car had turned 90 degrees in the process of hitting the snow drift the next bit was like an Austin Powers moment. I had to tease the car back and forwards to try to turn it round. At a guess it was a 15-point turn!

Instead of Wildboar I drove over to Crowdon. The carpark was as bad as the other one, but the road leading to it was fine, which is where I joined other walkers parking their cars. First time in gaitors. I've always loathed them as they always seem to be donned by ramblers, regardless of conditions. Worse still, they are worn by ramblers in summer with shorts! The only reason why I wanted to use them this time was purely to keep the snow from going into my boots. Nothing to do with keeping mud, or grit, away like they seem to be used for - what's the point of going walking there if you don't expect to have to put up with either!

Anyway, quickly getting ready I set off up the horse shoe (well, I actually just go up and down one half, rather then up one and down the other as the other side is boring and flat). It's just under 15km, so is a nice training session. I tend to push myself on it too and end up jogging some parts of it with a heavy rucksack. The snow was brilliant, really dry and powdery. Sometimes it would be knee deep on the path, but more often just up to the ankle. It was actually easy walking off the path where the snow wasn't compacted and thus less treacherous under foot. Walking the last part of the first half was a killer. It's the part of the penine way which is paved; however, that's not the problem. The problem was stomping up hill in deep snow. My legs were burning big time afterwards. Coming back wasn't too bad, but I'm a bugger if I see someone in front of me; I have to get past them no matter how far away they are. The competitive streak comes out and takes over. The last 2km I jogged and being already absolutely knackered the run gave me 'safety burps' when I got back to the car.