Crazy Nuts...

Weekend Beach Bivi under the stars with gorgeous Suzi

Monday morning filming

Monday Evening Hill Run up Crib Goch & Snowdon

Tuesday Trad with Jay - Autism At Height

Wednesday Sea Cliff climbing with Jay working on
 Autism At Height Project

Thursday Coaching Pretty Boy on his
8a Paraclimbing Project

Friday morningTea break tools in between coaching
 Pretty Boy

Friday afternoon 15 mile hill run back up.

By the time my week had got from Suzi arriving on the Friday the week before, a lot of great things had happened. An amazingly perfect weekend with a wonderful woman, followed by mornings, afternoons, and evenings filled with exciting and inspiring events, one thing just driving my energy for more of the next thing. It just kept getting better and better. My friend Colin couldn't make the training weekend (which I knew was killing him, but he had some bad shit to sort out, and he did).

I wanted the Eiger Paraclimb to energise my life, and it has, as I knew it would. I'm not crazy, just had to deal with some crazy stuff in the last few years. The Eiger Paraclimb is not crazy, it's just going to require a level of concentration that will be very draining at the time but will be worth it.

I intentionally pushed myself aerobically the day before the team arrived on the Friday, because I knew that the Eiger is not about having energy for one day. It's about having the fitness and endurance to sustain more than one day on a mountain, and when that is drained, it's about whats left inside you, your heart and wither you choose to just look after yourself in a life threatening environment or are prepared to put others lives in front of yours.

Even our training day was inspiring. To sight guide John up a reasonably technical ridge climb in such poor conditions whilst keeping one eye on Alex when she needed it and getting her help when I needed it, was fascinating.

I got soaked in the initial hail/rain storm bringing John up on an exposed part of the ridge and couldn't get warm again at the pace we were moving at. I was hypothermic but was pleased that I stuck by them both in such a state, as I was desperate to just go faster and faster to try and get warm again, but that wasn't possible for John and I on that terrain.

It was a training weekend to test us all and it did. John and Al's courage and trust that they have put in me was actually a little over whelming. John and I moved much quicker and safer than I expected on the technical ground. The boulder fields were hell for both of us. For me it was hell because I knew it was hell for John. When you hold another human beings hand/arm most of the way up and down a mountain, you get a greater feel of what life, trust and friendship is actually all about.

Topping the Eiger with a blind climber and a climber with MS has little to do with the Eiger or John and Al's diversity. It is all about the human journey and the spirit of how capable and courageous all of us actually are when faced with such things.

Inspiration is not really found in an individual, it lives among us all.

Nearly froze ma nuts off, Note to self... Get some decent gear from somewhere asap because I like my nuts. Couldn't stop thinking about Suzi's perfectly formed bum to keep me going at the worst moments. Crazy for her...

The Eiger Team minus Colin setting out for
Tryfan North Ridge in Snowdonia